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 Satisfaction lowest to highest. 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 |
| 2 | Bipolar II | I didn't think I was experiencing side effects until realizing it was causing my tremors. the drug however seemed to be working. However, since cutting way back with Dr.'s advice I'm experiencing all of the side effects people are having that are just starting the drug: loss of memory, limited vocab., no present recall ability, chronic muscle aches, body of a 70 yr. old, burning eyes, "why bother" feeling, muddy brain, bruising, word loss, worse eyesight AND to top it off BPII symptoms are returning! Any comments?! | F | 48 | 7 years | 11/5/2009 | 2 | BIPOLAR | EXTREME HAIR LOSS-------SO AWFUL----I CAN'T STAND IT. ALSO CONSTIPATION. ALSO 'MUDDY BRAIN SYNDROME'----CAN'T THINK OF SIMPLE WORDS. | TOO BAD THIS CRAP DOES WORK. DEPRESSION AND MOOD SWINGS, PARANOIA MUCH LESS NOW. BUT WHAT GOOD IS THAT WHEN I AM GOING BALD?????? ALSO, IF YOU CAN'T POOP---LIFE IS BAD. | F | 53 | 3 months | 10/28/2009 | 2 | depression | extreme weight gain, severe itchy scalp and neck, felt like bugs under my scalp | F | 44 | 60 days | 9/16/2009 | 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 | Biopolar I | Weight gain, inablity to lose weight, depression, flat-lined emotions, stuffiness | I have been taking 200mg of Lamictal for almost 5 months and I recently began to wonder if the medication was responsible for my emotional pain and loss rather than my illness. After reading this site, which has been really helpful, I am pretty sure the drug is the cause of my problems. It has been terrible, I take no joy in anything and it takes a great effort to do anything. I gained weight taking Zyprexa, which I have been off for a couple months, but even with a greatly decreased diet and lots of exercise I can't lose any of it. I am going to ask my doctor if there is something else I can take to control my symptoms because this drug is making me miserable. | F | 38 | 5 months | 7/18/2009 | 2 | mood stabilizer | Insomnia, increased appetite, slightly itchy skin, cry easily and anger easily. I am very annoyed with everything, depression seems to have worsened. | I am on the starter pack and just went up from 25mg to 50mg today. I will give this drug some time but it is sure hard with these side effects. I really hope my husband will be patient with me as all my anger and hostility seems to be directed towards him. | F | 42 | 14 days | 6/14/2009 | 2 | Bipolar disorder | This med is (incorrectly) touted as an anti-depressant. According to the manufacturer's website, it is a mood-stabilizing anticonvusant that prevents the onset of depression. | It doesn't do anything. | 1 years | 6/8/2009 | 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 | bipolar disorder | Double-vision, Concentration problems, unable to verbally express thoughts, lack of energy, sometimes I get a slight rash, drunk feelings, weight loss (although not rapid), Diarrhea, heartburn, Weakness, Speech problems, Sinus infection, Nervousness, and Memory loss. | It has helped with the depression thoughts and behaviors of my bipolar disorder however the side effects are ruining my life. I'm going to try to get off the medication in the next few days. | F | 29 | 90 days | 5/24/2009 | 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 | bi-polar II, SAD, migraines | intense vivid dreams/nightmares. when i finally tapered up to 150 mg, i was totally depressed, a walking zombie, unfocused and unable to do my job to any degree of usual competency. this was for the most part putting everything in my life in jeopardy. not good. intense nausea developed the last 2 weeks on it and became intolerable. | i hope this helps others, but did not help me...possibly helped "up" mood swings, but not the depression component. there also seems to be a difference between generic formulations. | F | 37 | 3 months | 5/2/2009 | 2 | Seizures | Severe acne, Back/muscle pains, Sores/bumps on my gum lines, Sebatious cysts on my body and genitalia (which is similar to acne), Changes in my libido (I find it almost impossible to reach orgasm now- never EVER had a problem before!), Hair loss, Weight gain, Blurred vision, and more... | I HATE this drug. It did control my seizures, but at what cost? Im totally falling apart over this drug. Its supposed to help with depression too, coincidentally, lol, but Im depressed now cuz of of all the side effects! I never had acne! My family and friends keep asking me what happened to my face- this is the most depressing/insulting question Ive ever been asked. My husband is worried that he cant 'please' me anymore- and our sex life is horrible now- I cant even 'please' myself anymore! Ive been having really bad back/shoulder pain, and muscle pains, and find it hard to stand or sleep or sit because of the pain Im in. I went to the ER due to the pain and they prescribed pain killers for that pain...Im not a pill popper and hate taking meds to counteract the side effects of another med! This is ridiculous. Im thinking of stopping medication with or without my doc's consent. I have an appt. with him on 4-28-09, and cant wait to tell him how I feel...not that he will care. He will just tell me that the benefits outweigh the risks. I can only imagine what other issues will arise from taking this med in the future...maybe liver disease? Now thats something to look forward to! Cant wait to see that solemn commercial saying: "Have you, or a loved one, died from taking the medication 'Lamictal'? If so, please call the law offices of...." 1-800-R Bad | F | 29 | 1 years | 4/21/2009 | 2 | seizures | insomnia, mood changes, headaches, anxiety, weight gain | I have been on lamictal for 6 months. I do not like it. It has caused too many side effects for me to live with. I have had seizures for 18 years. My doctors have put me on 8 other seizure medications in different combinations over the years! I have only had 2 grande mal seizures. (Quite a bit of petite mals) But, really, I have suffered with a lot of side effects from all these drugs. I can't take it anymore. | F | 42 | 6 months | 4/17/2009 | 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 | Major depression/OCD | I had extreme thirst and dry mouth, fatigue and vision problems. I also had problems with retention and memory loss. I had numbness and tingling in my feet. I went to my doctor about these problems and was told that these systems would disappear in time. I later discovered that I had developed diabetes along with some kidney problems after being given a clean bill of health three months earlier for blood glucose, liver and kidney functions. I was hospitalized to get my sugar level down. There is no history of diabetes in my family. After I was diagnosed with diabetes, my doctor immediately took me off this medicine and put me on paxil. | Lamictal might work well for some people, but not for me. None of the doctors that I asked about this drug considered it to be a risk for diabetes. | F | 58 | 2 months | 3/18/2009 | 2 | bipolar depression | Acne, intestinal upset at doses higher than 200mg, short fuse and intense anger leading to rage at times and inability to control anger episodes as well, suicidal ideation and worsening of depression at higher doses | I posted on 11/12 and am updating. I am trying to wean myself off Lamictal. I had 3 suicide attempts since going up on 100mg and subsequently 200mg (I should have listened to my own instincts instead of my dr. who said that the worsening depression was due to my illness and not the lamictal). Due to these overdoses my psychiatrist of 5 years dropped me b/c I became a liability. So I took the lamictal he prescribed, overdosed on meds due to the lamictal and now I currently have no dr. to oversee coming off the lamictal. I'm taking the reduction slow as to pay very close attention to negative changes in my mood. For me, lamictal acted very much like an antidepressant and I will not take it any longer b/c some antidepressants did worsen my depression. Sorry so long. | F | 35 | 4 months | 2/12/2009 | 2 | Bipolar II | Dizziness - for first few weeks Mild daily headaches Sleep interruptions Complete loss of libido Acne Hair breakage Irregular menstrual cycle | I was reluctant to attribute my symptoms to side effects of Lamictal, but after going off of it, everything has relented. I found the medication useful for stabilizing my depression, but now that I am in a better place, I feel MUCH better without it. What I would caution most against is possible withdrawal. Though I had daily headaches while taking Lamictal, they are far worse now that I've stopped the medication. | F | 28 | 18 months | 1/28/2009 | 2 | Epilepsy/Partial Seizures | Morbid thoughts and associations, lack of coordination, clumsiness, difficulty with finding words (spelling, writing, etc.), weight gain due to very increased appetite, pimples along jawline and neck only. | At first, I loved this drug. It gave me a mood boost and helped with depression. It stopped doing it's job about a year and a half through so there was no question as to keep taking this or not. Great news, considering I was feeling like a stupid, clumsy fool everyday! I couldn't spell, speak, talk or write proficiently at all! I truly felt stupid all the time. I had terrible coordination and tripped, fell and swayed constantly. I would tip over several times a day. The morbid thoughts put me over the edge too so I was going to request taken off the med for just this reason alone. I also gained 20lbs the first year from just wanting to eat all the time. That has drastically changed since being off the med. The acne part was weird - just acne along the jaw line and around the neck/ears region. That has disappeared as well - very happy about that! This did not make me sleepy though, which I loved. I had tons of energy so I put up with this drug as long as possible. I had energy like | F | 40 | 18 months | 1/22/2009 | 2 | Biopolar II- depression and anxiety | Well taking the starter pack- the 25 mg was not that bad... had stomach pains, terrible back aches too. When started taking the 50 mg- it became unbearable. I was so sleepy I could not work! Would have horrible back spasms, headaches, horrible cotton mouth, I was slow at everything, clusmy, etc... The final straw was when I ran my car up on a median from being sooo tired on this medicine. The only positive I have is my dreams were vivid and very interesting... Also I have had weight gain- about four pounds since Jan. 1st- that is horrible.... | Not for me! Wellbutrin XL is much better for me- but I never suffered extreme mania like some people just more anxiety and depression-- so probably was not a good fit for me anyways. | F | 31 | 18 days | 1/21/2009 |