LAMICTAL Reviews (LAMOTRIGINE)Average Rating: 3.4 (1917 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare LAMICTAL with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Gender with females listed first (reviews with no gender reported listed before females). Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 |
More on LAMICTAL: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR LAMICTAL | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 5 | Bipolar I | Some skin irritation, mostly in the beginning, and slight issues forgetting or misspelling words, but which generally never happened to me in the past. Haven't really experienced any of the other side effects mentioned here. | I am at 100mg and this drug has seriously saved my life. Instead of the madness of mood swings, I am completely balanced and I feel consistent like I did in my teens. This was my first bipolar medication and I haven't experienced anything really negative to date. In the beginning I did have a few inconsistent spells, or brief periods of depression, but I haven't experienced that in quite a while. | M | 28 | 90 days | 4/27/2007 | 5 | Bipolar I | Back pain, blurred vision, night sweats, short-term memory loss, sensation of water drops on skin. | My doctor told me there were no side effects using Lamictal. That is just wrong. But, he did me a big favor by putting me on this. I had a lot of side effects with Depakote also, but nowhere near the benefits. I am at 300mg day, taking 200 in the morning, and 100 at night. I have a lot of energy, and just feel good, which is a really odd thing for me. I feel like what I imagine a "normal" person feels like. If you are hesitant to use this, don't be. Any side effects are worth getting through. | M | 41 | 8 months | 10/5/2006 | 5 | Originally TLE, then BPD | None | The relief of Cyclothymic (Bi-Polar) symptoms I originally experienced, along with an overall regulation of mood, was noticable. However, it was when due to financial issues (no insurance) I had to go off Lamictal for a while that I fully realized how greatly it had affected me. Now in Canada where Generic Lamictal IS available, I'm back to | M | 61 | 3 years | 1/14/2005 | 5 | TLE, BPD | None | Ref previous entry: TLE: Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (Complex Partial Seizures) BPD: Borderline Personality Disorder (also related Bipolar Disorder) | M | 61 | 3 years | 1/14/2005 | 5 | Bipolar I (depressed) | dry mouth | I am taking 300mg/day. It has worked very well to stabilize me when nothing else would (I am treatment resistant). I feel the best that I have in 20 years. | M | 40 | 14 months | 1/21/2005 | 5 | Bipolar II | Minor headaches, a bit drowsy while stepping up dosage. | I'm taking 200mg daily, which effectively cut off my manic episodes, but didn't seem to help the depressed side. Last month, added 300mg of Wellbutrin XL daily, and have not felt this good in years. | M | 24 | 5 months | 4/21/2005 | 5 | No side effects at all | I think Lamictal is the best drug for controlling petit-mal epilepsy. I had been on Dilantin, & Depokote for 30+ years & when my neurologist finally realized it was not working she switched me to this drug after we moved to Mena,Arkansas | M | 38 | 5 times | 4/5/2005 | 5 | Petit mal seizues | NO SIDE EFFECTS AT ALL | Lamictal is undoubtably the best anti-epilepsy drug. I had been on Dilantin/Depokote/Phenobarbital for 30+ years & my neurologist discovered that this combo was not working as it should.As a matter of fact,in 1999, my WBC had dropped so low,due to the depokote that she thought that I might need a bone marrow biopsy to see what was happening. My neurologist recommended getting off of the Dilantin/Depokote & trying the Lamictal/Phenobarbital combination to see how that would work & to see if that would bring my white blood count back to normal. I started the Lamictal in 1999 & I have had fantastic results with this particular drug.I had to get off of the Dilantin/Depokote combo first & that was a very unpleasant experience. But since I started taking 25mg of Lamictal twice a day, I have had NO petit-mal seizure problems since. | M | 38 | 5 years | 4/5/2005 | 5 | Bi Polar | floating things in vision, skin sensitivity-more prone to rashes than normal IE itchy sweater results in a minor rash that Hydrocortisone gets rid of. Memory loss. | I am taking 100 MG 2x/day and it has helped to bring me back to a more normal state. I dont seem to have the severe highs and lows anymore. The side effects are well worth it in my opinion. | M | 30 | 2 years | 12/27/2007 | 5 | bipolar | Insomnia for days mixed with oversleeping for days, back and forth. Breast enlargement. Increased concentration, mental acuity, and memory | The dosage is being increased very slowly ...25mg, 50 mg, and 75 mg - which is what I am on now but will continue to go up I'm sure. It has substantially increased my concentration, mental acuity, and memory. I have insomnia for days mixed with oversleeping for days, back and forth, which I have not yet been able get undercontrol, with Vistaril, but I'm hopeful I'll find something that will work. I certainly feel better, which is amazing after 30 years of trying what seems lile every MAOi, Tricyclic, NRI, and SSRI there is. Lo and behold, my bust / bust size has been increasing as well. That was listed as a possible side effect on the meds sheet the doctor gave me. She laughed when I said that I had never heard of such a thing. I wondered aloud why, that being true, this drug wasn't being sold in the back of every magazine along with all the ads for penis enlargement, etc. She said that they ( I assume she meant docs ...the medical community) want to keep it a secret just for | M | 53 | 3 months | 1/3/2008 | 5 | bi-polar | Slight memory loss, blurred vision. | Lamictal has helped me tramendously. My mood has stabalized and i'm actually in a good mood most of the time. It has been worth the side effects. I have also lost over 30lbs. and have not changed my eating habits. I actually started to eat more to see if I would gain weight but my weight remained the same. | M | 42 | 9 months | 11/4/2007 | 5 | Depression and anxiety (unipolar) | On 200 mg (1 week), I seemed to be more tired and hungry than usual. On 100 mg, no side effects. | Lamictal is a godsend for me. I had no success with cymbalta, remeron, or pamelor - I was depressed all the time (mainly due to orthopedic pain and related incapacities) and often anxious. My psychiatrist said it was worth trying lamictal along with the cymbalta and remeron that I was taking at the time, and within a few days I began feeling a bit better, even at 25 mg of lamictal. Went all the way up to 200 mg and discontinued the other meds, but found that 200 mg was too much. A 100 mg dose of lamictal has been helping enormously with my depression and anxiety. At the times when my orthopedic problems aren't too bad, I sometimes go down to 67 mg for a while (doc says that's fine). | M | 52 | 6 months | 1/3/2008 | 5 | Rapid cycling bi-polar II | Insomnia (may be BP though) Dry and red eyes??? Itchiness at first. Weird dreams sometimes. | Pretty amazing stuff overall. I have been plagued with rapid thinking and obsessive thoughts all my life. This is the first time I haven't obsessed on angry thoughts. I am able to get over things much easier now - I used to brood for weeks. I also obsessed on confrontations from YEARS past, reworking in my mind how I could have "triumphed" This is getting that under control. Also, much less aggressive and angry. Only medication that has EVER worked for my problems. | M | | 4/11/2008 | 5 | Bi Polar 1 | 3rd post- August and Sept 07 /March 08. I have minor word issues still. Very vivid dreams have returned to normal. Moods have stabilized. No longer feeling like I have to get out and drive my car an hour or two late at night anymore. | Highly recommended. I've logged posts as updates so I can have a baseline for my own treatment and see progress. Lamictal causes a narrowing of "Highs and Lows" but instead of having long deep cycles where the high and low are furthur apart and intense, they become lessened and the cycles become shorter. In my case they are very mild, and quicker cycling, almost looking like normal day-to day moods. | M | 40 | 10 months | 3/21/2008 | 5 | bipolar, depression (suicidal) | No noticeable side effects - I'm sure that I've experienced them, but nothing that couldn't be attributed to something else (such as age). | I have been very thankful for Lamictal. I was VERY hesitant about taking it in the beginning. I didn't want to accept that I was bipolar and had a major mental illness. I was VERY scared when I read some of the possible side effects. The primary reason I took the drug was that I was suicidal and it was just a matter of time before I killed myself. I figured that I had nothing to lose. I started on 25 mg, went to 50 mg a week later, then 100 mg two weeks later, 150 mg two weeks later, and 200 mg two weeks later. I've been on 200 mg for a little over a year. As a side note, my doctor added Lithium (600 mg) when I hit 100 mg of Lamictal, because the Lamictal wasn't enough. When I hit 150 mg of Lamictal with the Lithium, it was like someone flipped a switch and my life was back. It was just incredible. I hate mental illness, primarily because the answers don't come in neat little packages (take two pills and call me in the morning). Your brain chemistry may not be anything like | M | 48 | 14 months | 2/17/2008 | 5 | Bipolar 1 | Memory problems, affected physical coordination, sleep interruption - long one night, periodic the next night, blurred vision, involuntary limb movement | This med saved my life, marriage, family. Worth the side effects. Two years without any extended mood disorder. A regular loss of cognitive ability equal to about twenty-five IQ points. Luckily, I've tested very high to begin with. Of course, my mother could drop dead in front of me and I'd shrug my shoulders and keep doing whatever I was doing. Perhaps this has absolutely nothing to do with the drug ;) | M | 45 | 2 years | 2/25/2008 | 5 | In the very begining of taking it, 25mg a day, I had a continuous mild headache. this lessened over the first couple of weeks and I've had no side effects since. | My wife and I have noticed a big difference in my behavior and my ability to handle stressful situations. This was when I got to the level of 200mg/day. My doctor had me increase up to 300mg/day but we don't notice any improvement over the 200mg/day. On my next appointment I am going to ask the doctor if we should drop back down to the 200mg level. Does anyone have any advise to share on how to determine the correct dosage? Thanks | M | 42 | 8 weeks | 3/7/2008 | 5 | bipolar disorder | mild short-term memory problems | i think lamictal is great. it didn't "cure" anything 100% but it narrowed the up and down swing. honestly, i'm surprised at how many unfortunate experiences some of you have had with it. i really hope things calibrate with time and are better. | M | 25 | 3 years | 5/29/2008 | 5 | Bipolar II | Night sweat. Temperature sensitiv. Small rash on my hands. Lamictal is the only medicine that i use. | A year ago I was searching like crazy on the net trying to find out what was wrong with me and I stumble on this page. Now that I have been cured I thought it would be nice to write some lines. I think that those who have been cured by this drug stop searching the net because they don’t need to and that’s why you have more negative feedback than positive on this medicine. Anyway, the depressive side forced me into a black hole that I could get out from without help. Started out with large doses of pure fish oil (6 large capsules a day with Omega 3 without vitamins), that lifted me up some (it took 3 months). Finally I was diagnosed bipolar II and put on lamictal. I am on 200mg a day plus fish oil and I have to say that I have never felt better. My brain is working again, all thoughts of dead has gone, muscle tension is much better, I have control over my anxiety +++. If lamictal or other drugs fail….try fish oil. | M | 42 | 2 months | 1/13/2009 | 5 | Cyclothymia / BP2 | Some terrible headaches to start with and some mouth ulcers - nothing serious. Also very very vivid dreams. Incredibly realistic and fun! Oh I cant drink anything more than 2 beers on this as I get the headaches badly | Lamictal has changed my life. After 12 years of struggling with episodes of deep depression followed by a few days of ecstasy and then normality, I had come to the end of my tether and was determined to give mood stabilisers a go with SSRI's making the whole rollercoaster much more pronounced. I havent tried any others, I dont need to. Im only on 50mg but it makes everything much more focussed and lighter. | M | 35 | 4 months | 11/11/2008 |