Drug Ratings for LAMICTALAverage Rating: 3.5 (1656 Ratings)
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Results are sorted by Satisfaction from 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 |
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR LAMICTAL | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
  | F M | | | | |||
| 1 | Constant, Daily Migraine | Concentration Loss, Stopped caring about everything, depression, fatigue, worsened headache | I've had a migraine every day for four years (non-stop) and I was given Lamictal as a new preventative... Headache has worsened, I've stopped caring about everything. I'm in college and can't concentrate in class... can't concentrate on homework. This medicine is definitely not the best.. | F | 21 | 7 days 25 mg 1X D | 2/21/2010 | 1 | Mood Stabilizer - OH MY GOSH....After 3 days on RX, huge HAIR loss, SORE throat, puke puke puke, SEVERE, CHRONIC migraine type HA. WEIGHT GAIN, TREMORS, VISION DECREASE, Dry Skin, HELL on the teeth, Sore areas inside mouth, RASH, OH MY GOSH, HUGE, RED, HOT, Appears as area is BURNED, MEMORY decreasem dysphagia, WEIGHT GAIN, 2+ EDEMA :Lower Extremeties, 10 fold Increase, SEVERE back pain, Hell, this RX alone would cause SA in the most healthy of individuals. Drugs, can't live with em, can't live without them! Entire OVERALL body discomfort, feel like I have what LockJaw is perceived to feel.. TRASH this RX, feels like entire body is toxic and poisoned. Good job research, think this one was rigged! this is after 3 days starter pack initiation. GOOD GRIEF. | Only for those with an immediate death wish. GOSH. YEAH it rocked if one loves total misery!! | F | 50 | 3 days | 12/14/2009 | 1 | Bipolar II | continued effects from last post | now my hair is falling out, I have wrinkles that are getting worse under my eyes (I'm 20), acne and dry skin, and nails that are literally so weak they break when I fluff pillows. I'm having to get fake nails because they are starting to break off below the nail bed even though I have them trimmed very short. I also gained weight, despite monitoring my food intake. This drug was like a poison to my body!! No one could pay me enough money to take this drug again. Very scary experience. On top of all the side effects it did NOTHING for my depression or anxiety or anything else for that matter. Currently working down on the dose as quickly as is possible while still being safe. HR continues to stay high. EKG and all other tests were normal. I can just hope it didn't do any lasting damage. | F | 20 | 3 months | 11/21/2009 | 1 | Biploar II | HIGH anxiety, increased heart rate, constant chest pains though the day, back pain, ice pick headaches (some lasting hours), lower abdominal pain, muscle aches, constipation, constant indigestion/heart burn, feeling like I can't get full or feeling like I'm starving after I eat a meal, worsened nerve pain (I have FM), hot flashes and chills, dry mouth, dehydration, deteriorating nails hair and skin condition, weight gain | Apparently this drug is a miracle drug for some. For me it was poison. Couldn't pay me to take it again. I had the worst anxiety I've had in years- I rarely take my xanax but ever since being on this med. I've had to take it almost every day, sometimes several times a day. The most disturbing side effect:It increased my heart rate greatly- never below 80pbm, mostly hangs around 100bmp, resting average 96bpm, 115-120+ if I get a little exited, and 150+ when doing light activities or walking leisurely. Pulse wakes me up, can feel it pounding through my entire body or at least my torso and neck. I also experienced more chest pains than usual for much longer, that would also wake me up in my sleep. Ended up in the ER because of such a high HR. I had back pain that pain killers couldn't touch, ice pick headaches that were severe and sometimes lasted for hours, intense lower abdominal pain, random muscle aches, constipation, constant indigestion and heart burn- didn't matter what I ate, I never felt full and would even feel like I was starving after meals so I had to watch my food intake, worsened my nerve pain from my FM, I get hot flashes as well as chills with violent chills and am still cold after I get warm enough to stop shaking, dry mouth no matter how much water I drank, very stubborn dehydration that didn't go way no matter how much I drank and even after I got IV fluids. My hair skin and nails are now extremely weak (started when I started meds)- now my hair is falli | F | 20 | 3 months | 11/21/2009 | 1 | epilepsy | mouth sores, sore throat, rash, muscle aches, agitation, irratibility, hyperness- mind racing, heart paliptiations/racing | These are rare side effects that dont effect everyone, but i wouldnt recomment this medicine to anyond | F | 25 | 2 weeks | 11/12/2009 | 1 | migraines | Vaginal itching after one dose. After two doses the itching turned to burning and soreness in the pubic region. Was taking at bedtime. Upon awakening after the third dose I had blisters on the outer labia. I had continued soreness in the vaginal area and increased chills that day. While on an hour+ drive home the third night I became very ill, severe headache, severe low backache, chills, and body aches like the flu. I was praying for my life so I could continue to raise my children, even though I do not believe in god! It is the next evening and the blister continue to worsen, the pain and soreness in my entire public region continues to worsen, and I have developed a good size lump under my skin on both sides of the pubic area, like the bikini line. The one on the left is about golf ball size and the one on the right is about quarter size, right now. You can physically see the entire area swollen from the lump on the left. My entire pubic region is extremely tender and painf | My neurologist that prescribed the med, told me to see my primary gyn if symptoms are not gone one week after discontinued use. Isn't that nice! Hell my symptoms continue to worsen after almost two days of discontinuation. I live in a rural town over an hour from a gyn and don't have an established gyn right now so I'm sure it would be over a month and more like two months to get an appointment. Not a good situation! I'm no doctor, but I strongly urge any female taking this med to discontinue use IMMEDIATELY if you have and gyn changes or disturbances, no matter how small you may think they are! I only took this drug for three days! BEWARE!!! | F | 44 | 3 days | 11/2/2009 | 1 | Depression | I have been on Lamictal for four years or so, taking 200 mg each day. I have most of the symptons described below: loss of memory, limited vocabulary, almost feel as if my I have no "present" recall ability. I see and hear, but can't summarize verbally without sounding like a fool. I am beginning to experience chronic muscle aches (almost flu like symptons), headaches, face and jaw pain, feeling as if I have the body of a 70 year old. The symptons come and go, but the pain is increasing enough that I've become suspect of this drug. I experience severe chills throughout my whole body; can't warm up. Hands and feet always cold. If I forget to take the lamictal, I have increased bouts of irritability and become paranoid or abnormally obsessed. I have also felt "confused". I would like to slowly get off Lamictal and try to survive the depression with increasing exercise and therapy. My next question is whether going off the drug will reverse these side affects | F | 53 | 4 years | 10/27/2009 | 1 | Bipolar II - rapid cycler | Burning eyes, "why bother" feeling. Huge sense of urgency to do something in the middle of the night. Insomnia, Very very dark thoughts. I want off this med. | I have never had the kind of thougths I am currently having. I know it has to be the lamictal. I keep having thoughts about the world ending and nothing matters because we are all doomed to die anyway. When I have these thougts I am absolutely certain it is the truth and that I (and everyone else) is just wasting time living. I have to fight to get that thought out of my head. I am also waking up knowing I have to do a certain task, like look up something on the internet or call someone. I am most certain that it has to be done at that moment. It makes perfect sense to me at the time. I don't do it because there is still a part of my brain that stops me. I have been on Trileptal for years but my circle thoughts were coming back and it was causing me to lose my concentration. My psychiatrist put me on this (100mgs sid) to help-thinking it might get rid of depression and thus help me focus (can't take adderall for too long-screws me up big time) but it hasn't helped at all. I can't wait to be finished with it. I'll take my lack of concentration and rapid thoughts over this any day. It actually seems to make them worse! I need to find a med that works well with the trileptal (my miracle med-this drug is the reason I can hold a steady job)and helps me focus as well. Tried concerta and strattera, but upset my stomach way too much. Adderall made me an emotional wreck. Thanks to this site, I know I am even more certain it is the med and I am not going into a bad place again. | F | 41 | 3 months | 10/18/2009 | 1 | Temporal Lobe Epilepsy | Weight gain, extreme irritability, tremor, loss of sex drive, wild mood swings, stomach pain, insomnia. | HORRIBLE. I've been on numerous AED's, and besides Zonegran, this is the worst one. Does next to nothing for seizure control. | M | 33 | 2 years | 10/14/2009 | 1 | Seizures | HAIR LOSS IS MY MAIN CONCERN ON THIS POST I AM TAKING 200 MG 2X'S A DAY FOR A SEIZURE DISORDER MY SEIZURES ONLY HAPPEN @ NIGHT WHEN I SLEEP. I HAVE ONLY HAD MAYBE 10 SEIZURES IN THE LAST 10 YEARS.............. I HAVE BEEN ON LAMICTAL FOR 5 YEARS | I HAVE A POST HERE ALREADY ABOUT MY ISSUES WITH LAMICTAL. HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD DRAMATIC CHANGES IN THEIR HAIR AND SKIN ???? MY HAIR IS "SHEDDING" AWAY. I AM LOSING IT BAD. IF ANYONE ELSE HAS EXPERIENCED THIS I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU AND POSSIBLY EXCHANGE PHOTOS OF YOUR HAIR LOSS AND SEE IF THE PATTERNS ARE SIMULAR. I KNOW IT'S FROM THE LAMICTAL BUT MY DOCTORS ARE NOT IN AGREEMENT. | F | 40 | 5 years | 9/26/2009 | 1 | Cyclothemia | I took this for a year and the following occured: rashes, blurred vision, insomnia, anxiety (extreme), combative comments with co-workers and people in general and to top it off at times I honestlt thought I was going to go crazy. | This drug is overrated and nonsense. I needed a mood stabilizer, not some hybrid version of an antidepressant. It's an anticonvulsant yes, but it does nothing CONSISTENTLY for anxiety and mania. I suggest people who like this drug to take 300mg of Dilantin daily. It costs nothing and acts the same way, calm one minute, crazy the next. I would give it a minus if I could. I took it for a year and gave it it's chance. I am on something else now with a fraction of the side effects. How I managed to keep my job I'll never know. | M | 29 | 1 years | 9/11/2009 | 1 | TBI,possible seizures,now bipolar? | Short term memory loss, dislexia, word loss, agitation, angry outbursts, craving alcohol or benzo's. At first great mood then week long lasting swings - depression to hypomania, (never had any form of mania) difficulty concentrating, shaking, general feeling of out control of both body and mind...I have had to proofread this to ensure I have not repeated myself or switched letters in words. | Once I began the starter pack I had great hopes of assistance getting through a traumatic brain injury and the mood issues that accompanied it. I fell down 12 stairs while out of town attempting to get to the bathroom. I was taken to a hospital and released without a CT scan. Walked around with blood on my brain for 5 days until reporting to my doctor what happened and how I had neck pain. I was told to immediately go to the hospital and I did. CT scan showed 3 brain contusions and an intracranial hemmorage. I was then transported to another hospital with a neurosurgeon on standby to operate. They presume I had a seizure after the fall, since that is what the witness stated (my boyfriend). I was referred to a seizure specialist. EEg came back abnormal. Tried several anticonvulsants to keep my driver's liscence. Mild side effects causing me to switch to others then there was carbazazapam (horrible), now the lamictal nightmare...literally. Horrid vivd dreams, while in a weird half awake sleep. My short term memory was improving from my injury until this medication which has made it as bad as when I first fell! My seizure "guru" claims I need this medication, and it is not the lamictal but I am experiencing post traumatic psychosis??? I am a social worker by trade, I am NOT psychotic. He wants me taking 200mg BID, another doctor said I could break them in half, 100mg BID. It helped in the beggining, what went so wrong? This medication. I would value a | F | 28 | 6 weeks | 9/2/2009 | 1 | mood stabilizer | Alarming memory loss and impaired thinking | BRAIN SCANS TO DOCUMENT HARMFUL EFFECTS | F | 53 | 2 years | 9/2/2009 | 1 | For mood stabilization of bipolar | The dreams/nightmares are HORRIBLE! I was doing well on 100mg dosage, but went up to 200mg and that's when the vivid, bizarre dreams began. Losing people and things close to me, being haunted by a demon, sleeping but in an awake state and people at work who I dislike tormenting and scaring me. It goes on and on. My PsychDoc asked me to take it up to 250mg which I did for 1 night and the dreams turned into real nightmares. That was it for me. I switched to taking the Lamictal from night to morning and dropped the dosage to 150mg. I plan on dropping it in a couple of days to my original 100 mg dose. | Lamictal and almost ALL the Psych meds I have been on since 1994 have really been terrible. I cannot get any peace with any of these meds and yes I am angry. I know the manufacturers are trying to make money and MAYBE trying to help the mentally ill, but without the proper trials (which I have read the doctor's instructions online for every script I have taken)are not done because the pharmaceuticals are rushing to beat each other to the punchline. And the FDA condones this behavior - not sure what the standard is or the reasons why. Yes, I am angry. I am almost through with taking any meds as I have had my chin up everytime my PsychDoc asked for me to try something new with me not knowing what side effects will manifest themselves in me. Don't want to sound suicidal, but I am 47 years old now and have been battling my depression and manic episodes, making decisions one minute and changing my mind by going another way the next. This causes extreme stress which adds another med to my list because I cannot control my agitation and anxiety. I say now, I have lived my life and now it's time for me to go. It's of my opinion that most people in this world are so caught up in their own doings that they don't care for their own children nevertheless care for some stranger like me. It breaks my heart to feel that I want to leave this world, but I am of sound mind and body right now and would like to move on. | F | 47 | 3 months | 8/27/2009 | 1 | Bipolar | Stevens Jonhson Symdrome | It almost killed me in just two days | F | 52 | 1 days | 8/23/2009 | 1 | Bipolar Type 2 | EXTREME moodiness. My kids think I am a "mean mom" and my boyfriend is considering leaving me for how much I put him through over the weekend: paranoid, irritable, anxious, sleepliness. I have been more labile than I have ever been. Stopped it last night...good riddens! | F | 39 | 7 days | 8/23/2009 | 1 | Binge Eating, Depression, Bipolar 2 | Extreme Appetite Decrease, Lost 30 lbs in 2 months, Listlessness, Trouble With Memory and Concentration, and the worst 2 - Frequent Peeing (Every 10 min) and BAD HAIR LOSS | It evened my moods out but then turned me into a zombie. I couldn't feel properly happy or sad or angry or anything. It zapped my creativity and made me not want to do anything. It allowed me to lose weight too quickly because it suppressed hunger so severely. I didn't realize I was basically in starvation mode and robbing my body of nutrients. I had to pee constantly and my parents spent a lot of money on tests to see what was causing this after my doctor said Lamictal couldn't be the culprit. This IS IN FACT a side effect of Lamictal - a quick Google search shows this. My doctor also denies that my devastating hair loss is a result of this medication and insists it is purely the weight loss. I am quitting it completely despite their wishes. I am an 18 yr old girl with long amazingly red hair which I love and is a big part of me. I have received compliments on it every day of my life. I've lost maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of it in the last 2 months. Nothing has ever caused me so much anxiety and depression as this...this med is NOT worth it. IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR HAIR, STAY AWAY FROM LAMICTAL. If you must take it, don't let yourself lose weight too fast. You'll have to eat when you don't feel like it. Thankfully I had thick hair to begin with, but now I'm doing everything I can to save it - Maxi Hair supplements, a really healthy high protein diet, Head and Shoulders Shampoo, putting olive oil in my hair every other night, and of course quitting this medication. | F | 18 | 5 months | 8/7/2009 | 1 | Depression, anxiety, PTSD | Nausea - absolutely horrible - like chemo but without the hair loss. | I managed to stay on the stuff for two weeks, noticed absolutely NO change in my moods, but could not deal with the nausea, so I quit taking it. | F | 62 | 2 weeks | 7/19/2009 | 1 | depression | Death. Yes, I said death. Google this: " class action suit & lamictal internal combustion" Get off this drug!!! BUT DON"T DO IT NOW! or you will not sleep! You mind could start racing, and you may become manic. I have been taking this shit for 9 months - I thought it was the best thing known to man, it fixed my depression, but then gradually, I became more and more manic. I didn't sleep. I got in arguments with everyone cuz I was so irritable. I got called into my boss's office. Everyone was worried about me. I had neck pain, I slept all the time, I had no appetite, I didn't wanna do anything, I had no appetite, I was nauseated, then I started to lower my dose - then the real fun started - my thoughts were coming in so fast that I planned out the entire rest of my life detail by detail all night long - I cleaned out all my closets, I drove my friends nuts, I was a friggin' basket case. I didn't sleep AT ALL for 12 weeks. | feel free to email me at mecgdct@yahoo.com I sincerely am going to make this my life's work to help everyone I can by spreading the word. Pfeiffer Treatment Center and Nutritional Weitht and Wellness are THE best places to obtain treatment - and I've been in this boat (i.e., I've had depression) since 1985. | F | 56 | 9 months | 7/6/2009 | 1 | Partial Seizures | Burning in my hands, arms, back...rash. | Too bad - I thought it was going to be a great drug. All the doctors said it had few side effects and was kind of a mood stabilizer. Pay close attention to the burning sensations and rash. | M | 45 | 12 days | 7/3/2009 | 1 | bipolar | Flattening of emotions, fatigue, then terrible depression and suicidal ideation. | I went to a nurse practitioner for help with ADD and she diagnosed me with Bipolar II, and put me on Lamictal. At first it seemed to help a little with mood swings. Then my much-loved dog was killed and I spun into a terrible depression. I would have killed myself if I could have come up with a method where no one would have known it was suicide, or had to deal with the horror of finding my body. I kept pleading with the PNP to "let" me stop taking it. Finally after 4 months I convinced her and stopped. I guess it was a symptom that I couldn't advocate for myself better. It was a horrible time. She didn't tell me anything about the possible downsides to taking it. | F | 49 | 4 months | 6/18/2009 | 1 | bipolar | rash, sore throat, swollen lips, tongue, sore nostrils | PURE EVIL!!!!! IT CAUSED STEVEN JOHNSON SYNDROME, a seriously frightening illness. Luckily, mine was caught in time. | F | 34 | 3 weeks | 6/14/2009 | 1 | Seizures | 400 mg daily, Memory loss, unclear thinking, HAIR LOSS, breakage, texture change, thinning hair, brown spots "liver spots" all over face, arms and legs, insomnia, strange dreams, dizzy, nightsweats, jaw problems, I discontinued the lamictal due to all my hair loss and spots on my face. | I went on this medicine for my pregnancy. I was told by my neurologist this was a "safer" med to take during pregnancy. I have had 2 kids who are normal with no side effects from the medicine. They are 2 and 4 now. I did have 1 seizure with each pregnancy @ five months pregnant. I am trying other seizure meds, they all seem pretty bad. Anyone suggest any ??? | F | 39 | 5 years | 6/6/2009 | 1 | Severe Depression/Anxiety, Insomnia | Hallucinations, foggy memory, very vivid nightmares, detachement from myself, flu-like symptoms, fever | I wish I played the lottery because I'd have to be the guy that gets the allergic reaction. This was a hellish drug for me. I felt like I was on LSD. I saw things, I literally thought I had lost my mind. I became afraid to answer the phone from the anxiety it gave me. I felt like I was in some type of fugue state. I eventually went to the emergency room where they kept me overnight for allergic reactions. Later that week, I overdosed and was hospitalized for 8 days. Not fun. | M | 30 | 1 times | 5/10/2009 | 1 | Depression | Excessive weight gain - went from 190lbs to 250lbs. Zero sex drive. Excessive tiredness. Difficult to concentrate. Excess sweating. Irration, more depression. Can't sleep, when I do sleep I'm out for 12-15 hours. | For Depression I'm currently prescribed Cymbalta 60mg (daily)and Lamictal 100mg (daily). I also take Ambien 10mg (daily) - ambien no longer works for me...even at 20mg daily. I've been taking Lamictal for 18 months at different doses - max was 150mg daily. After doing my own research regarding this medication and other meds for depression, I've decided to ween myself off Lamictal (I started this four days ago reducing 100mg daily to 50mg daily). Also, based on my research, I'm requesting my psyc take me completely off Lamictal and add "Abilify" and "Topamax (may get the excess weight off me)." If my psyc doesn't agree, I'm going to fire her and find another psyc Who will agree with my analysis. I have a MBA degree and have taken my share of psyc courses. However, since my "depression", I've come to the conclusion that these psyc meds are basically prescribed by spinning the big drug wheel (done by the psyc) and then prescribing the selected med to the patient. | M | 49 | 18 months | 4/28/2009 | 1 | depression | worsening of depression, uncontrolled rage with amnesia | Very scary drug. Have tried many other anti depressants, generally the worst that would happen is nothing. This drug was prescribed for "bi-polar", which I'm not. Very frightening to hear from others how my personality changed while on this toxic drug. Total amnesia of behavior while on it. | F | 55 | 2 months | 4/20/2009 | 1 | BiPolar | I honestly don't have enough space to list them all. It would be unfair to leave something out. | I am not a fan and I gave it a good 6 months. Overrated drug. Way overrated. | M | 29 | 6 months | 4/1/2009 | 1 | Mood Swings- possible hypothymia | Migraine, sense of unreality, difficulty concentrating, blurred vision, lethargy, dizziness, nausea, panic attacks, irritability, erratic apetite. | I started Lamictal 3 days ago, and can't deal with the side effects. I don't know if they would go away for me but I have a job as a project manager and have to be very sharp, and I can't even spell properly right now. If I had time to take a month of and experiment with this I'd do it but I have to work and pay my rent. I've lived with mood swings, anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts for at least 20 years, I'm fine continuing on that way. I'm not taking any more Lamictal. | F | 37 | 3 days | 3/15/2009 | 1 | Bi-Polar | Extreme tiredness, headaches, itchy, dizzy | I can not even function on this medication. Maybe cause im also on Lexapro. | F | 23 | 4 days | 3/9/2009 | 1 | Mood Swings | Rashes constantly, headaches, slurred speech, sweating. | I guess if you have nothing to do but hang around your house all day it may be effective but I can't imagine anyone at an executive level taking this daily and it being effective. No way. | M | 41 | 2 months | 2/18/2009 | 1 | Bipolar Disorder | MAJOR RAPID CYCLING, head jerking, dry mouth, dizziness, bad memory, really bad rage, crying and outbursts, severe abdominal pain both cramps and stabbing pains, headaches. | Started on 25mgs every 2 days for a week than as soon as I changed to 25mgs every day the rapid cycling started. The moods were so bad I immediately ceased Lamictal. I was tkaing Provigil and Seroquel at the time. It's not known if the drug combination caused the bad result or I didn;t give the meds enough time to work. However the side effects were that serious that scared me and will not be taking it until i know more about this medication. please email if you have any information or queries as I would not like to rule this out if the side effects go away. | F | 29 | 1 weeks | 2/2/2009 | 1 | Bi Polar Disorder | Extreme hypersensitivity both emotional as well as physical. Cry at every Feed the Children commercial on TV, yelling at co-workers bright red cheeks on fire tender skin and hair follicles... | Built up to 300 over several months while decreased and eventually stopped taking 60 mg Cymbalta that I had been on for several years. | F | 38 | 6 months | 1/16/2009 | 1 | Bipolar I | Pretty much the same as the person below. Too many too list. | I am glad I found this sight. I agree with the 42 Y.O. F assesment below. I had to stop taking it because of the worst side effects in the world. I was lead to believ this would help me. Yea right. I am now back on Depakote ER with a low dose of Prozac and I have been doing fine. | M | 29 | 6 months | 1/10/2009 | 1 | Bipolar | Poor concentration, loss of coordination and balance, poor sleep with vivid frighening dreams, scalp itch with hair loss, cannot find the "right" word, slurred speach, intense hedache always upon waking and atleast once more during the day, unexplained dental problems, acne, weird brusing,unexplainned leg pain and vertigo. There maybe more, as I most likely have forgotten something. | Well, where to start. Can I concentrate enough to write this? Will I have to stop to look up the correct spelling of a word? Will I even remember the word I am looking up? Maybe I will fly into an unprovoked rage while trying to complete this. Perhaps I will have to leave the computer because I suddenly feel like I might vomit. Maybe my scalp will itch and I will have my hair fall out on my keyboard. These questions for now remain unanswered. The upside is that I won't fall down tripping on air since I am sitting nor slur my speach since I am not attempting the great feat of speaking. I cannot even put into words how angry I am right now. I have reported almost all of these thing to my shrink, except for the things that I thought couldn't even be remotely related. My very thorough family doctor was concerned but puzzled after many tests (CAT scan, blood work ups, referals) but felt like there was nothing left to explore. Last month I was accompanied by my long-suffering husban | F | 42 | 3 years | 1/3/2009 | 1 | bipolar | massive hair loss, memory loss, weight gain, depression | felt like I was in a fog, couldn't be happy | F | 33 | 3 months | 1/2/2009 | 1 | Bipolar Disorder | Lamictal made me so sick that after 4 years of suffering immense pain every hour every day at wanted to die. At that time neither my numerous doctors nor I had attributed the sudden onset of pain to Lamictal. | For 4 years I suffered everything from crushing constant headaches, general body aches, mustle pain, joint pain, face pain, partial jaw lock, fever, chills, nightmares, waking up at 3 am in the morning without feeling rested, nausea, gag-ing, neuralgia,fibromyalgia, gastritis, blurred vision, skin discolorations, extreme irritability, overly sensitive to loud noises, mental slow down, confusion, retarded speech, loss of words, mouth sores, undecisiveness, itchiness, a feeling of despair not to mention deep depression due to the pain. The Psychiatrist who initially gave me the prescription did not discuss these side effects with me and none of the many doctors, including so-called pain specialist thought of looking for the Lamictal for the possible culprit. Nobody I went to had a clue and many times they turned me away thinking I was a drug seeker. After trying yet another pain medication (lyrica) I decided to go off Lamictal just because all the medications were ripping my bowels apart | F | 44 | 4 years | 11/22/2008 | 1 | Clinical Depression/GAD | Debilitating fatigue, malaise, mild flu-like symptons, upset stomach and GI tract, TOTAL LOSS OF SHORT TERM MEMORY. | Side effects were so severe I had to stop taking it. When I first came off it I had SEVERE headaches, heart palpatations and periods of dizziness. This subsided after 7 to 10 days and all of the previously mentioned side effect symptons disappeared as well. I am happy for those for whom it works; I cannot personally recommend it. | M | 29 | 5 weeks | 11/8/2008 | 1 | epilepsy | painful blisters in mouth, swollen lips | call your doctor right away if this happens, they told me it could have been really dangerous | F | 45 | 3 days | 11/7/2008 | 1 | Unipolar Depression | HORRIBLE hair loss (50+%)-- even weeks after stopping the drug. After seeing multiple dr's to determine what's wrong with me, my latest bloodwork revealed a failed ANA(auto-immune) test. Before starting Lamictal, I had bloodwork, and all was fine. I'm convinced this drug -- even after taking it for only three months-- is the cause of some auto-immune issue.Off to see a Rheumotologist to get more answers... | Initially, Lamictal did work for me, yet PLEASE beware of things such as hair loss. It could be a sign that your body is unfavorably reacting to the drug. | F | 38 | 3 months | 10/10/2008 | 1 | Bipolar | Rashes (at any dose). It ended with me being on Medrol twice. Big time anxiety that would come out of nowhere for no reason. I took it for about 1 year and then said ENOUGH!! | The rashes were bad enough but I simply could NOT stand the anxiety/psychotic like states that were unpredictable. I went back to Depakote ER and that eliminates rashes and anxiety issues. Minor side effects from Depakote but every med has side effects. | M | 33 | 1 years | 9/26/2008 | 1 | bipolar | Threatened my family and don't remember doing so. Since off the drug things are normal. | DO NOT take this medicine if you are an alcoholic! Very dangerous drug. My therapist should have never prescribed this drug for my bipolar with my alcoholism. | M | 34 | 1 months | 9/25/2008 | 1 | epilepsy | dizziness, lack of coordination (broke glasses, spilled food, knocked things over, bruised self, afraid I would fall down stairs or while taking shower), insomnia, fatigue, nausea, itchy scalp and itchy arms and legs, sensitivity to sun, skin bumpy, slurred speech, "hot flashes" day and and night--stopped wearing makeup, changed stinky sheets often, washed clothes more often, showered more often,--dry mouth, frequent sinus headaches(try nose spray)and severe migraine headaches (try maxalt-MLT), easy bleeding (when washing my face) and easy bruising (on abdomen??), vaginitis, tremors, lips pursing, sores in my mouth, biting my tongue while eating, clenched jaw, new type of seizure with teeth clenched--WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED???? A dentist my find my teeth moved (absence--petit mal for 20 years after last tonic clonic), chest pain, impaired memory; difficulty spelling words correctly; emotional lability (very angry--throwing things vs. crying about nothing) | I HATE IT!!!! The main reason for taking it was to lose weight seeing as Depakote causes weight gain. My seizures were already under control. Not driving for over 6 months changed life style--no exercise so more weight. Migraines keep me from everything. And I'm afraid of these new seizures. I hope they disappear when I get back on Depakote. 6 mo. before tapering back to depakote | F | 63 | 6 months | 9/17/2008 | 1 | Epilepsy | My seizures are caused by a bicycle accident in 1993 and my seizures developed in 1998; (5 yrs later) I was 24; they are not hereditary. I am now 32 years old. Here is a list of the side effects and symptoms that I have experienced while using Lamictal and side effects that are ongoing since I discontinued using the drug. These side effects are only on a 200mg dosage... Loss of libido (sex drive) which wasn't noticed until 2006 when I got married, before that I was a virgin so I payed no attention to my hormones. Short and long term memory loss, grinding of teeth and biting of tongue and cheeks, vivid dreams, weight loss, acne problems, drulling of mouth while asleep and when speaking, anxiety, mood swings, impatience, fatigue, blurred of vision, hair loss, slower coordination and reaction, slow thinking, irregular sleeping patterns; sometimes I awaken early after going to bed late after just 4 hours sleep. Lamictal gave me more seizures; major ones and now silent ones. It has neve | It is one of the worse medicines I have been on in my life causing more problems than what I have started with. This product only added insult to injury. I highly recommend against its use. It caused a host of new symptoms that I never had before. | F | 32 | 4 years | 9/16/2008 | 1 | F | 27 | 1 years | 9/14/2008 | 1 | mood disorder | horrible nausea and heinous withdrawal effects | M | 43 | 8 years | 9/8/2008 | 1 | Bi-Polar | HAIR LOSS, WEIGHT GAIN, CONFUSSION, MEMORY LOSS,JOINT PAIN ALL OVER.VAGINAL DRYNESS, BREAK THROUGH BLEEDING. | This by far has to be the worst med i have ever taken. I took myself off cold turkey and delt with the withdrawl because of the side effects. My ob thought that I was menopausal because of the women issues I had, untill he found out that I was on this med. I am 36 and I felt as though I was 66. After being off med for two months now I have lost most of my weight, my hair dresser tells me that I have a whole new head of hair growing. | F | 36 | 1 years | 9/5/2008 | 1 | Mood Stabilizer | Wormhole to Alzeheimers | Can't remember faces, words, moments or anything else. Extreme awareness of lowered cognitive ability. While conversing with others, people seem to recognize I'm having trouble following their thoughts and logic. Easily distracted. | M | 4 months | 8/1/2008 | 1 | mood stable | dumbed down, no concentration, craved sweets, | M | 17 | 3 weeks | 7/31/2008 | 1 | BiPolar | This med made things happen to my body that were insane. Mouth sore, rashes, cognitive slowing, slurred speech, unable to put simple sentences together, fungal infection, random infections. | I HATED!! this med. My doc kept syaing, don't worry. In the mean time I was taking medrol for the sores. Needed a leave of ab from my job as an executive. Friends kept asking what's wrong and I sweated like a pig. I was a little tired on Depakote but that's it. I'm back to that now. Thank God!! | M | 33 | 9 months | 7/18/2008 | 1 | Bipolar | I have only been on it five days but I don't feel like myself. I feel like I am in a cloud, I am afraid to drive, I am itchy, I still have racing thoughts but I am so tired I can't do anything, I have been sleeping for 12-15 hours and still want to sleep, and my anxiety has hiked up. I just got back from wal-mart and thought that everyone was staring at me. It made me so freaked. My OCD has also been in high gear. | I am hoping to get off this next time I go see my doctor. | F | 21 | 5 days | 7/16/2008 | 1 | BiPOLAR | UUGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! Terri ble too many to mention | OVERRATED!!!!!!! | F | 18 | 6 months | 7/10/2008 | 1 | mood stabilizer w/celexa | Outragious vivid dreams, then coma-like sleep (I was upped to 200 mg daily). Dry itchy scalp that drives me crazy. Forgetfulness. Shaking not just in my hands, but all over and in my mind if that makes sense. I'm still on the crap 'cause my doctor hasn't called me back in SEVEN days. I'm gonna half my dose starting tomorrow. I hate all this. | To doctors: DON'T prescribe this as a mood stabilizer. I am NOT bipolar. I just need to get off this and talk to a therapist. | F | 51 | 3 months | 7/9/2008 | 1 | mood stabilizer | horrible nausea that never went away---I was on it for years | I've been withdrawing from Lamictal and it causes severe fatigue...I can barely get out of bed. | M | 43 | 8 years | 7/7/2008 | 1 | bipolar | Started with swollen eyes immediately upon starting drug, then itching eyes & scalp, then shooting pains in the eyes, then joint pain, especially painful knee joints, then got several very itchy welts on one leg accompanied by a burning sensation on palms of hands and then flu-like symptoms esp. nausea--pdoc said to stop the lamictal and start benadryl which helped the itchiness a lot but I still broke out in cold sores all over my mouth and had some mouth soreness. | The side effects occurred at a very low dose of lamictal and continued to worsen over time. | F | 55 | 2 weeks | 6/30/2008 | 1 | for trigeminal neuralgia | fever of 104.6, huge swollen neck, swollen lymphs,high blood pressure, hospitalized for a week, thought i was going to die | dont use it | F | 40 | 10 days | 6/18/2008 | 1 | depression | Couldn't think straight. Couldn't remember simple things or thoughts. A cognitive disaster. And, itchy all over. | Did improve depression but not worth losing my mind. | F | 56 | 2 weeks | 6/2/2008 | 1 | BiPolar II/Anxiety | This drug was horrible. I had constant rashes, not SJS, acne, and THE INABILITY TO STRING PROPER WORDS TOGETHER. Lack of Coordination, slurred speech and anxiety. | This drug to me stinks. I would rather take depakote with an ssri, both in low doses. This one size fits all is nonsense. Did nothing for anxiety and mood swings, marketing BS. Dopey drug. | F | 33 | 6 months | 5/8/2008 | 1 | Some sort of psychotic episode... | Inability to focus, short-term memory loss, bizarre dreams, sleep paralysis, diminished vocabulary, I can no longer drive because I zone out all the time, I've had to put this short story I'm writing on an indefinite pause because I just have no idea what's going on in it anymore . . . | I hit my head on a car door, didn't sleep for four days due to a perpetual headache, went a bit mad, and was misdiagnosed as bipolar and put on this. IT IS NOT WORTH IT. Unless you are TRULY bipolar, do not take this. Ever. It may stabilise you, but at the cost of taking every desirable personality trait you have and stamping upon it until it dies. Eleven days until I can go plead my case to the doctor...eleven days....I'm curious to see if I EVER get my creativity back if I manage to get off this filth... | F | 17 | 1 months | 5/3/2008 | 1 | depression | Severe shakiness, fainting, vomiting, dizziness, inability to swallow, suicidal thoughts, rage, severe insomnia (went 4 days without sleep once), uncontrollable crying, anxiety, irrational thoughts. | This drug was pure poison to me. I actually think I would've been bipolar if I'd kept on taking it. My doctor didn't want to take me off of it, so after alot of research my mother and I got me off of Lamictal and Cymbalta. It's the first time in 10 years that I haven't been taking some kind of antidepressant and I feel better than ever. I wouldn't recommend this drug to anyone. | F | 38 | 90 days | 4/29/2008 | 1 | epilepsy | I am actually taking tegretol retard and epilim chrono along with lamictal. i now have bad memory loss, slurred speech, loss of sexual desire compared to a few years ago, tiredness and very vivid intense dreams and also emotional but for no apparent reason which I find irritating and confusing. I HATE these side effects!!! | By the way, I was diagnosed epileptic at the age of 9. | F | 24 | 10 days | 4/19/2008 |