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 |
| 4 | Grand Mal Seizures | Short term memory loss and sometimes lost in thought... | I asked my Neurologist if I could stop taking Lamictal. He said if I did I would have a seizure. I weined myself down from 150mg twice a day (morning & night) to just once a day. This lasted 3 weeks before I was back in the hospital due to another Grand Mal Seizure... I will continue taking my meds as directed. | M | 42 | 2 years | 3/13/2007 | 4 | MOOD DISORDER (Bi-Polar 2) | Absolutely crazy and vivid, often disturbing dreams. GI problems (mostly flatulence). | I just started taking Lamictal recently and noticed an improvement in my mood in 3 days. Also after the 3rd day is when my disturbing and vivid dreams started. The jury is still out on this med for me but I am willing to continue. I have run the gamut on mind altering substances from Prescribed to illegal drugs (which I know didnt help and made me worse, especially ecstacy/MDMA). Ecstacy was fun but I now know how much that stuff messes with your brain chemistry and potentially causing brain damage. I wonder how many people young and old who participate in illegal drugs are causing their own demise into depression, anxiety, bi-polar mood disorders and the like. So far so good with Lamictal though (fingers crossed). | M | 38 | 10 days | 10/19/2005 | 4 | Bi-polar disorder | lower back pain, almost like a muscle fatigue. pin prick pains throughout my body. disrupted sleep patterns. short term memory loss. trouble with speech, or finding the right words. i seem to drift easily, and my mind races. | beats the anti-depressants i went thru. | M | 35 | 6 weeks | 11/29/2006 | 4 | Bipolar | TERRIBLE INSOMNIA!!! | I have been taking 200MG. It helps me control mania, but I have TERRIBLE INSOMNIA. I have gone 48 hours with 20 minutes of sleep. I can't function like this. I almost had a driving accident because of this. Now waiting for a return call from the doctor. There HAS to be something better than this. I have been diagnosed with Bipolar over 20 years ago and have been on numerous medications. This helps me with mania better than anything else, BUT I can't function without sleep! | M | 64 | 45 days | 2/17/2006 | 4 | Bi Polar 2 | Taking 400 mg, sometimes I feel like I am drunk. Slight weight gain. I have not had hair loss, maybe it will come later. Spelling and typing are harder, I mix up letters and whatnot | M | 23 | 9 days | 4/23/2007 | 4 | Bipolar Disorder Mania | Double Vision | In order to drive, I would have to close one eye. Problem went away after several weeks. | M | 56 | 6 years | 2/24/2006 | 4 | refractory depression | Serious confusion, serious short term memory loss, serious incoordination at 200mg/day. Had to go back to 100mg/day. At both dosages it keeps me from sleeping well if I take it at night (even with 600mg Trazodone), and makes me groggy if I take it in the morning (even with 150mg Wellbutrin and 10mg Ritalin). | I didn't complain, even with serious side effects, because this med WORKS. My current depressive episode is 10 years old and nothing has resolved it. So when something helps me to rise a little more out of the muck, I'm grateful. | M | 44 | 6 weeks | 2/26/2006 | 4 | SAD,GAD, bipolar | Tiredness, itches, little insomnia | I think this drug is working, I had these unwanted thoughts going through my head that I just couldn't stop, I hated it, my psych put me on xanax 2mg for GAD, and lamictal for bipolar, well the unwanted thoughts aren't gone but they definitly decreased because of the Lamictal 100mg. I've only been on it for a little over a week so Iam gonna give more time. I just hope I don't get that rash | M | 36 | 1 weeks | 11/16/2006 | 4 | Bipolar II | Very few early on. Lately, they have become more troublesome: poor memory recall & difficulty spelling, fatigue, weakness - muscles burn like I've had a major workout after only minor exertion, irritability & confusion if I miss one dose. | Lamictal worked like a miracle drug for the first two years. However, I've noticed its effect on my depression has diminished in the last year. | M | 34 | 3 years | 1/2/2006 | 4 | Bi-polar | Itching in legs first two weeks at 25 mg per day, excessive salivation, yet dry-mouth at times, zero sex drive (this is becoming aggravating), and now after two weeks at 50 mg per day (4 weeks total so far), I started 100 mg per day last night and had a terrifyingly vivid dream. | As mentioned as side effects, the vivid dream thing has me greatly concerned. My psychiatrist started me out with the orange starter kit and things seem to be working wonderfully so far, but last night my dosage in the starter pack went to 100 mg and I had a terrifying and terrifyingly vivid dream. It was so disturbing that when I woke, after 2 hours of sleep, I was afraid to sleep again (in my dream I murdered someone in an horrific way, brutally, and I am a very peaceful person!). If this continues, I'm going to ask what to do next. My doc also has prescribed Xanax (1 mg) on an as-needed basis to calm me down, but it makes me sleepy. He also prescribed Seroquel, which I absolutely refuse to take now. His initial Rx was 100 mg Seroquel and I woke up on the floor a half a day later not knowing where I was or how I got there. He then lowered the Seroquel to 25 mg, continuing the lamictal, and then there's the Xanax, which, other than sleepiness (which is sort of good because I ca | M | 34 | 4 weeks | 1/3/2006 | 4 | Depression | 400 mg/day. Anxiety, impatience, irritability, sleeplessness, acute awareness accompanied by grandiose hopes and a feeling that I'm experiencing everything for the first time. | I've cycled through all the common SSRI's for years. I'm currently on Celexa (80 mg/day). We are using Lamictal as a "floor" to keep the Celexa effective, as I seem to build up a tolerance to SSRI's. I am submitting this post because of this bizarre side effect I'm experiencing. It's a kind of euphoria, a sense of seeing everything as it "is." I also feel grandiose and hypo-manic. I'll contact people I haven't seen in years, make big plans. I'm not much fun to be around, though, because I get impatient with conversation. I would prefer to stare at a pencil and wonder at the phenomenon of its invention. Anyway, I just thought I'd post this in case anyone else is experiencing something similar. Lamictal has helped me, however. I haven't changed meds in over 2 years. | M | 40 | 2 years | 10/3/2007 | 4 | Depression and Anxiety | Loss of appetite during first month or so. Increased acne during first 2 months. Itchy skin and flu symptoms (but no fever) for 3 days during first month, which I keep down with facial soap and skin conditioner. I am currently suffering from mild memory loss and spelling problems. This isn't dyslexia; I'm not transposing letters, but leaving letters out, or having trouble spelling. | I'm currently on 300 mg once daily. My moods are usually very stable. I was suffering from SEVERE chronic anxiety, agitation, insomnia, and depression for two months prior to starting Lamictal. Gradual improvement as I upped the dosage (started at 50 mg, then moved up by 50 mg every week). Was stable at 250 for a couple of weeks, then had to move up to 300. Been there for about a month and I'm doing well. Did have one weird experience: took 275 one day and suffered from anxiety for 3 to 4 days thereafter. This may or may not have been caused by the one-day lower dosage. Although I'm concerned about longterm memory and spelling problems, this drug is still a life-saver. New users, please note: You MUST give it time to work. The initial side-effects can be a big problem. They do start to decrease after a month or so. This is basically how all psycho-therapeutic drugs work. Just stick with it. | M | 41 | 3 months | 9/29/2005 | 4 | Bipolar type II | Possibly tinnitus | 200mg/daily in morning. This drug has been a wonderful drug for me. I do not experience any side effects that are clearly caused by Lamictal. The reason for one point loss is the fact that I have tinnitus that may have been caused by Lamictal, yet there's no way of knowing if it caused it. I could go off of it, but I do not wish to go on any other meds! Lamictal is the absolute best mood stabilizer if it works for you. I have had no noticable side effects like I have with the millions of other bipolar medications I have tried. | M | 20 | 1.5 years | 2/8/2007 | 4 | bp1 | Headache, nausea, no appetite, some dizziness early going. Dizzy if I miss two 100mg doses in a row. I write to address the athlete's question: I am not a career athlete, and I've been slacking off lately activity-wise, but I've taken this drug for a long time and, from my experience you have nothing to be concerned with. All the side effects - i never really had any muscular ones - went away within 6 months, and it doesn't cloud the mind like other anticonvulsants. It is very effective for the lows; I fortunately have not had a major ep either way since I took it, and perhaps more importantly I hardly have any minor swings - I think I'm more stable than "regular" people, actually. The reason I mention all this is because I think not only does this have no effects on your physical performance, it should prevent you from having alternating periods of high and low energy, which would lend itself to inconsistency in your physical stamina and your ability to adhere to your g | The best thing out there for bp1 in my experience. Depakote made my life worse than before diagnosis, Lamictal better than ever. May require add'l meds to supplement if have ME, though, if only temporarily. | M | 29 | 5 years | 2/20/2007 | 4 | Bipolar type II | Possibly tinnitus | 200mg/daily in morning. This drug has been a wonderful drug for me. I do not experience any side effects that are clearly caused by Lamictal. The reason for one point loss is the fact that I have tinnitus that may have been caused by Lamictal, yet there's no way of knowing if it caused it. I could go off of it, but I do not wish to go on any other meds! Lamictal is the absolute best mood stabilizer if it works for you. I have had no noticable side effects like I have with the millions of other bipolar medications I have tried. | M | 20 | | 2/8/2007 | 4 | depression | Hands shaky, fatigue, sometimes dizzy, body aches (which are the worst when it happens). | Haven't had a depressive episode since started taking medication 1.5 years ago. I seem to have episodes of side effects that have increased with time. These usually dissipate after a week or two, but return in the future. Though the side effects are a pain, they are not worth stopping the medication. I am at 200 mgs. a day. | M | 37 | 1.5 years | 11/22/2006 | 4 | Mood Disorder NOS | Feel slow & tired in the morining an hour after taking it; short term memory loss (I have a hard time recalling words, names, even what I ate for dinner the night before!)hair loss, but was told this is not a side effect. | I feel a lot calmer, happier, not irritable as much. I recently began taking 400mg. I couldn't sleep at night due to racing thoughts and the symptoms came back from the lack of sleep. Going to bed earlier and minimizing my computer use in the evenings helped me to get more sleep. | M | 25 | 6 months | 10/2/2005 | 4 | Mild bipolar and depression | None | I take 300 mg per day, 200 in the AM and 100 in the PM. I also take Wellbutrin XL 300 mg daily in the AM | M | 43 | 1 years | 9/25/2007 | 4 | bipolar | restlessness at night...not sure it was the lamictal, wild dreams, taken in the morning, seems to have me crash around 5 to 6pm...gonna start takin it at night. slow start to get on. | I must say, I was highly suicidal and recently started having anxiety attacks. I almost killed myself cause I was on nothing, and finally my girlfiend dragged me to the doctor. Lamictal was the choice, and I living to tell this story. The suicidal thoughts have receeded and I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. My ups and downs from being bipolar are less dramatic and I feel like this is working...just got up to 100mg a day....so we shall see, but for anyone who is struggling to hang in there, be patient...try it out. It saved my life. | M | 25 | 60 days | 12/29/2005 | 4 | Bipolar Type 1 | mild rash on back of arms, dizziness, neck pain every night, headaches. Throat feels swollen, difficulty swollowing at times | Prior to taking Lamictal, I was in a deep depression. This medicine has been a life saver. | M | 34 | 3 months | 2/8/2006 |