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 |
| 3 | Seizures | I was previously on topamax but my seizures were getting worse. My doctor thought i should try lamotrigine and in the beginning it felt like i was given a new lease on life but in the last year ive been acting really crazy, i cant stop laughing or smiling all day everyday. People look at me and think im being way too friendly when i look at them with my creepy smile. My favorite sport is boxing and ive been doing it since i was 15. The last time i practised it was about a year ago but while i was training i think it helped me keep sane because in order to stay motivated i had to put bad thoughts in my head so it evened the meds good and bad side effects. I learned that i have to listen to my consciouss more in order to function because the lamotrigine worked better compared to topamax which made me feel unmotivated, good luck to all. | M | 29 | 2 years 150 | 9/23/2014 | 3 | Bipolar Disorder | Mania, insomnia, increased libido, anxiety, nausea, heartburn, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache, cognitive problems | At first it made me manic, then along with Seroquel, it kept me stable and functional for a year before it stopped working and I become depressed again. | M | 23 | 1.5 years 400mg 1X day | 10/16/2013 | 3 | Bipolar 2 and anxiety | Really helped my anxiety but dramitcally increased my migraines. Now I have no anxiety but debilitating migraines daily. Not sure what I going to do | M | 56 | 3 months 150 | 7/13/2016 | 3 | Depression | It makes me very Drowsy even lower dose. Nausea and vomiting loss of appetite. | M | 45 | 9 days 25 mg | 5/23/2017 | 3 | Bipolar II Depression | Briefly describe the latest side effects you experienced. Last entry: I took one generic (Mylan, not great - bloating and weight gain, lost voice). Brand name Lamictal (Very good, but short time, due to bloating and hair loss) Now another generic: Apotex Lamotrigine (Canadian generic). As good or near as good as lamictal. No weight gain (I think lactose in the others made bloating worse). But lots of hair loss. Tremors, shaking, vision issues - blurry, and worsened astigmatism in my left eye. Dropping objects. Vertigo initially a few times a week. Insomnia at night, and sleeping in the day (but that could be "me" as well). Also on GSK Lamictal and Apo-lamotrigine initially I had rapid WEIGHT LOSS*. I am SKINNY and I am fit... but I lost like 7lb in a week, probably just adjusting. I lost a lot of weight as a teenager (I was obese) but have since been pretty fit. Despite weight loss, my stomach is bloated with fluid retention and that's from lamotrigine. People tell me lots | Additional Comments about LAMICTAL : Last entry: I have ADHD (severe) and BPII supposedly. I've been depressed lots of times from 16 years old to 30 (now). This is the only medication that really helped. I do feel more like myself now... but I don't want to lose my hair. I'm a guy, but I had long thick, nice hair up until I got on stimulants and now it's worse even on lamotrigine. Shedding crazy amounts. So much so, that I started on Finasteride. I have no recession, and I have diffuse hair loss. It's Adderall (short time only), this and Dexedrine. My hair loss started with diffuse thinning on Adderall, I quit it days later. Then I used Dexedrine and Spironolactone Cream for 2.5 years. And then it worsened again (was paused) on lamotrigine. I like being "stable", not depressed... but losing hair will make me really really depressed, so I don't know what to do. | M | 30 | 17 days 75 1X day | 4/16/2017 Patient History | 2 | Depression/Anxiety | During the honeymoon period of the first month I experienced agitation, higher anxiety, increase in sweating, and daily headaches(aspirin worked well). Now agitation went away but the rest are still present. | I have chronic lyme disease mostly causing exhaustion and depression/anxiety. I had taken 6 different SSRI's all failures and this seems to work the best on my depression. But I'm still miles away from being a functioning adult again. | M | 23 | 3 months 50 MG | 2/11/2017 | 2 | Depression | Horrible memory loss, DP/DR | Didn't help my depression. Made DP/DR bad. Had horrible memory loss. I'd be in the middle of a thought and the thought would just fall out of my head. Poof, gone. So strange. But I'm not bipolar so I'm not sure why I was prescribed this. Heard it's worked wonders for manic people. Not for me tho | M | 26 | 6 months 50 1X day | 2/27/2022 | 2 | Bipolar BRD Mood Anxiety DO | Horribly Moody - Crying Spells - Itchy (no rash though) - Fast Weight Gain | My Bipolar is fairly mild and Lamictal put me in a constant horrible mood. I had crying spells which I never have even when I'm not on any medication, and I easily put on nearly 10 pounds in 6 weeks even though my diet never changed, and I'm not normally prone to weight gain. I already take Seroquel which puts weight on some people and it's never done that to me. Maybe it was the combo. I can't give this a 1 rating because I know it works well for a friend of mine, but for me I wasn't satisfied at all. | M | 43 | 6 weeks 50 1X day | 2/11/2014 | 2 | Epilepsy, absence seizures. | Itchy skin, double vision, dejevous. Extreme tiredness, achy muscles, falling asleep in school, emotional, big increase in seizures. | My son was ok at 30mg twice aday but no controll of seizures. Since going upto 50mg, he is experiencing alot more problems. Hes drops off to sleep in school, legs ache, headaches, belly aches, itcy skin and increased seizures. Had infantile spasms at 6 months old and has very mild development delay. Falling behind in school now. | M | 10 | 6 months 50 2X day | 5/19/2013 | 2 | Depression | I was taking Lamotrigine generic. Blurred vision, mostly at night, loose my balance easily. Extensive urination. Incontinence. Hip pain, stiff neck. Cognitive problems. Cry very easily. Itchy ski, The incontinence was a major and embarrassing issue. It's the main reason I got off of lamictal. FYI: lamictal is the only med I was taking and no other life changes were made. So its safe to say my symptoms/side-effects were the cause of Lamictal. Furthermore, I reduced 25mil a week until I was completely off. The withdrawal symptoms were mainly insomnia, headache, moodiness, a feeling of fear, hard to get out of bed, very tired. Once I was up and about I felt pretty normal. The moodiness did last throughout the day. I've been off for about 3 weeks now med free and doing great! Withdrawal symptoms are gone. | M | 41 | 3 years 250ml | 4/18/2014 | 2 | Type II Bipolar Disorder/Depression | Facial itching, an odd uptight feeling. | I can't really comment on whether the medication was effective; I experienced facial itching after three doses and became concerned with the rare possibility of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. I was immediately taken off of the drug. | M | 18 | 3 days | 11/16/2009 | 2 | Epilepsy | Aggression getting worse as the dose seems to increase. | I really cannot explain as its my son who have mad episodes of aggression as he has a intellectual disability. As he cant tell me how he's feeling and I can't pick up what is wrong with him. We have done tests from MRI, Renal, eyes and dental which were all clear. Since he started at a low dose on Lamictal at 25mg he continued to have seizures but as we increased to 50mg he then became moody. Increasing now to 100mg its controlled the seizures but his aggression is worsening to the point where he throws his head back anywhere from wall to floor. As he wears a helmet at all times it doesn't keep him safe. Once he's in this aggression mood I cannot control him otherwise he's on a attack to me or whomever is trying to calm him. Feeling scared sometimes that he's going to really hurt himself or others. Spoken to specialist but they say it will pass overtime. | M | 22 | 2 years 100 1X day | 1/19/2016 | 2 | Bipolar Disorder | One MAJOR side-effect -- and I do mean major -- was an increased sex-drive. While some may think, what's the problem with that, let me submit that for the 8 months I've been using this medication I've racked up close to $3,000 in internet porn fees, i.e., memberships, dvds, and so forth. Sorta kinda think that's overkill. The good news is I'll now be weaning off the med: Lamictal was prescribed to me to get me through 6 months of Interferon/Ribivarin treatment for the Hep-C I'd contacted. Well, the treatment was a success -- thank God, and I no longer "need" nor do I want this med in my body anymore. My bipolar stuff ain't gonna kill me; it may be handled sans meds. | Let the prescribee decide. | M | 66 | 8 months | 9/16/2009 | 2 | BP II | short term memory loss, loss of words and thought, sense of humor gone, fogginess/numbed out, joint aches and complete loss of labido. | I have been on 200mg for 9 months and have begun titrating off. I don't find any value in the drug that makes it worth living with the side effects. At this moment, I am struggling to form coherent sentences. This has been typical for the 9 months that I've been on the drug but atypical prior to that. The only other drug I take is 50mg of Pristiq. I am currently down to 125mg; tritating down by 25mg every 7 days. Going from 200mg to 150mg was very easy. My last reduction to 125mg has been rough. I have felt car sick every day, been catatonic and have had a mild headache. I take the drug at night and notice that I wake up ok but then the symptoms start around 10am and last until night time. I am counting the days until I am off of Lamictal. | M | 47 | 9 months | 7/31/2009 | 2 | Epilepsy | Tiredness, memory loss, depression, lack of enthusiasm for anything, insomnia, twitching, and jerks, zoning out, increased fits | At first I was very happy with Lamictal, and did not have a grand mals for 3 years, and even got my driving license, but then I started to have them again, and my neurologist kept increasing my dose of lamictal, which gradually made me feel worse, and now Im on 150mg twice a day, but it still isn't stopping the fits, in fact they are gradually becoming more frequent, and the side effects are driving me mad. Im going to talk to my neurologist about coming off of it. | M | 28 | 8 years | 6/2/2009 | 2 | Mood stabilization and Seizures | Debilitating mood swings. Constipation. Anxiety. Depression. Small skin irritations and rashes. Insomnia. Racing thoughts. Short term memory loss. Trouble verbalizing thoughts. Low libito.Inability to calm myself down when upset. Getting emotional over nothing. Weight gain. Overall, since going on 450 mg the differance is not even perceptible. In fact, the mood swings seem to last longer and not as rapid. I anger easily when down. I do not think in the end this will be the right thing for me | M | 49 | 3 months | 5/19/2009 | 2 | BP2 | Myalgia - severe pain in my neck, shoulders, and back. Extreme tension. Couldnt sleep at night. Constant headache. Suicidal thoughts - lashing out at people and wanting to hurt them. Medicine was increased to 200mg and side effects worsened. Shaking and confusion are lessening now that I have stopped this medication. | I was taking a few other medications and didnt think the side effects were related to the Lamictal, but once the dosage was increased it became apparent that they were. | M | 21 | 6 weeks | 3/18/2009 | 2 | bipolar 2 | headache, dizzyness, blurred vision, a feeling of "spaceness", difficulty focusing. Side effects continue, though to a lesser degree, 3+ weeks after discontinuing Lamictal 25mp @ hs (really a tiny dosage). | Lamictal certainly helped W/ irritability & anxiety but the side effects prevented continuation much less an incease in dosage. | M | 60 | 30 days | 5/29/2008 | 2 | Mood Stabilize | Sexual dysfunction, attention deficit, short term memory loss, hair loss, insomnia, spaced out. | 200mg dose, Lamictal worked very well initially to my satisfaction. However over 3 yrs of taking lamictal, the side effects have increased, to the point that I either want to go off the drug, or reduce my dosage. I was on 100mg for the first 18 months without any of the side effects I'm experiencing now. Latest is development of erectile dysfunction which I (and my partner) find intolerable. Ironically, hair loss and sexual dysfunction side-effects are now contributing to increased depression. An early side effect was loss of retention (I need to learn many things quickly in my job) and attention deficit to the point of ADHT. This affects my concentration (ability to function in my job), ability to read and relate clearly to people. The jittery side effects have caused panic attacks and insomnia for which I take xanax and ambien, with added side effects. I feel this is a spiraling increase of problems, and I'm not sure what to do. I think I'll back off the lamictal and stay on Wellbutr | M | 53 | 3 years | 12/14/2008 | 2 | "Bipolar II" | Initially no problems but over time vision problems, memory problems, difficulty spelling, reading, and typing. | I've been taking Lamictal for 6 months. Initially no problems except the usual clumsiness and intial short-term memory loss. Then at 6 months I got hit with a bunch of side effects including mental fogginess, feeling "spacey" ALL the time, vision problems, problems with word recall and spelling, reading and typing. I'm A MESS and i'm getting of it ASAP. p.s. This is just MY experience. Many people find this drug enormously helpful but for a few of us there are major cognitive and perceptual problems that make it hard to function. | M | 34 | 6 months | 11/28/2008 |