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 | unbearable headaches | I had heard miraculous things about lamictal, but after being on a low dose for a week and suffering from the most horrible headaches I've ever had in my life, I could not continue taking this medication. | F | 18 | 1 weeks | 5/22/2008 | 2 | Dissociative Disorder/ADD | Heightened sexual desire, combined with inability to have an orgasm. Absolutely horrid. I lowered the dose by a third and both went away. Thank you so much to the other lady who posted this, proving it was the drug and not just me. | I haven't seen it do anything yet, but the doctor wants to try it in combination with other drugs. | F | 43 | 3.5 months | 4/19/2008 | 2 | BiPolar 2 | Started out at 100 which seemed to help with severe depression after a total nervous breakdown in which I stayed in bed for a month, stopped eating, lost 25 lbs and would cry uncontrollably when I was awake. MD put me on 100 and I stopped crying constantly and having intense racing thoughts and started functioning fairly normally. Psychiatrist MD upped dosage to 300 and it totally increased my depression. I am able to function 8 hours a day (I work from home), but crying daily and hysterically for an hour. I told him that I sincerely felt his original diagnosis of BP was incorrect and that I suffer from severe depression without the mania associated with BP, so he reduced me to 100 and added Wellbutrin. With Lamictal, I would sleep well, but wake up every morning feeling totally groggy, not well-rested and would take at least an hour to be able to start functioning. Lamictal made me hyper-sensitive and hyper-emotional. | I think Lamictal is miraculous if you're diagnosed correctly with BP. I think my doctor made a quick diagnosis because of my complete breakdown, without inquiring about possible manic episodes, which I never experienced. | F | 61 | 3 months | 4/2/2008 | 2 | depression | None unless recent sleeplessness is due to lamictal | At first, I felt a difference and felt less moody, but after taking lamical for three years, I feel it is ceasing to work, or did some time ago, much the way prozac quit on me years ago. I am still taking 300mg, by the way. I am frightened of anti-depressants after reading the posts regarding them, particularly effexor. I think probably I will have to live with frequent to occasional periods of depression for the rest of my life. How unlucky can you get. | M | 64 | 3 years | 3/30/2008 | 2 | bi-polar | you know I have been taking Lamictal for about four years. my doctor has me on 400mg a day. I have been ttold that is very high dose . I have spoke with my doctor about that and the side affects that have been happening ( dizziness memory problems, rash and such, practicaly all the side affects that are listed) now she has told me that I need more. and perscribed 50mg more. i take my prescribe medicine as directed always, well because i believe I am not a doctor and they should know better. my side affects have come back with a vengence. I decided to wean off the lamital ( which has help with my bi-polar disorder) and yo and behold the side affects have subsided and my memory is coming back and well my bi-polar is still under control. has anyone else been presribed this amount?? | M | 47 | 4 years | 3/29/2008 | 2 | BiPolar II (severe PMS) | INSOMNIA & ANXIETY, sore throat/swollen glands, mouth sores, fatigue, inability to articulate, lack of motivation or direction, inability to preform simple daily tasks, bad taste in mouth and metalic odor (not sure if that's real or imagined), feeling of floating, blurred vision, dry puffy eyes (causing sinus presure & headaches), body aches, joint pain, tense muscles and cramping in back and shoulders, feeling like I've lost my mind! | The side effects are far too consuming and debilitating to describe any positive effects of this medication. I've tried Lexapro, Zoloft, Prozac, and now Lamictal, for my severe PMS. This has been (by far) the worst medicine, for me, followed by Lexapro. Without medication, I have two good weeks per month, followed by two bad weeks. The bad weeks include insomnia, headaches, mood swings, racing mind, fatigue and lack of motivation, all of which causes me to feel depressed during that time. I feel like I spend my 'two good weeks' constantly trying to make up for what I don't do in my 'two bad weeks'. Friends and family hate that I 'go into hiding' for ten days a month and have encouraged me to try medication. It's been an honest effort, but I choose to just have my 'bad weeks', knowing that they go away and there will be good times ahead. This medicine was really really scary for me, making me thankful for the life I had before taking it, and looking very forward to a time when i | F | 33 | 30 days | 3/18/2008 | 2 | bipolar disorder | abnormal dreams every night - headache every day - high blood pressure - cuts down on the manic episodes, but does nothing for the depression - low energy - muscle fatigue | M | 62 | 3 months | 3/17/2008 | 2 | Bipolar II more depression | Confusion, night sweats,short term memory loss, blurry vision, achy, headaches, cannot complete a senctence without putting two words together, so I remind myself of the way Scooby-Doo (cartoon dog) talks. | I started out at 150 mg was doing great, mild side effects and after almost two years, I am now down to 50 mg. | F | 40 | 2 years | 3/7/2008 | 2 | Bi-polar II major depression, moder | I seem to have a type of Bi-polar that doesn't really fit any catagory, closest to type two. It is hard to know how effective it is at times because I am 24 and believe the severity of the disease is increasing. At first, it was pretty good. Stabilised mood, decreased depression, decreased self-medication. didn't do much for anxiety so I take Klonopin at nite for that. I am starting to think that these positive effects are no longer really there. took it for a few months, then quit and restarted last March. I am on 250 mg a day and feel like my negative effects are worsening. I forget what I am saying mid-sentence and my concentration is poor, have started getting cyctic acne sporadically, and an inability to explain what I am feeling to my doctors. When I am in a major depressive state I believe I always feel that way. When I am feeling a little more normal, I don't think about the depression so I feel like I am not being taken seriously by them anymore. | I am also experiencing hair loss and increased libido which wouldn't be a bad thing except I have much less intense orgasms and cannot enjoy sex because of INCREDIBLY INTENSE headaches. My concentration is really bothering me because even though I also suffer from body image distortion severly(less so on the med) I have always had a good self esteem about my intellectual abilities. But now I have just dropped all my classes and don't have a job anymore. I have just stopped contacting some friends and want to be alone a lot. . I am so sick of this and am having suicidal thoughts almost daily. I am now thinking of methods and timing. This disease caused my personality to change and I am angrier, feel sometimes dull like I have no personality. I don't know how much of it is the disease and how much is the med. I don't think I can do this much longer. I went from having a 3.91 GPA three years ago to being a college drop-out. I have always had an extremely high IQ and excelled in most cl | F | 24 | 1 days | 3/6/2008 | 2 | bipolar II - Depression | Agitation, dizziness, low concentration....It is a relief to see I am not the only one. | I was titrated at a slow rate; when I got to 100mg I was OK; but my doctor felt we should increase to 150mg. I'm calling her tomorrow because I feel like I am going insane. I can't concentrate. I'll put a piece of paper down in front of me; then I'll spend 15/20 minutes looking for it, when it is actually right in front of me. Not only that I am so agitated, I feel like I just want to scream; it is very stressful and frustrating....I really want off of this drug. As far as controlling my mood swings I think that they have gotten worse...... | F | 50 | 4 months | 3/6/2008 | 2 | BP Depression | Took this for about 13 mos. Weight gain - I gained weight for sure. Eye pain - so bad I couldn't stand it.. went to eye Dr and he said I had very dry eyes and gave me expensive drops to use. That didn't help though. I stopped taking Lamictal about 3 weeks ago and the eye problems have almost gone away. Alcohol - I know they say you shouldn't drink w/ Lamical (and many drugs) but I do occassionally. Lamical makes seems to double the effects of alcohol and not in a good way. You feel 'out of it' and like crap if you drink and the next day is just aweful.. waking with cold sweats and feeling like you're going to die. I'm not talking binge drinking either... just one or two drinks with dinner. | M | 34 | 13 months | 3/3/2008 | 2 | bipolar II/mainly depression | I became increasingly angry an irrational. I thought about suicide constantly which was not a problem before the lamictal. One night I raged at my husband and threw things. Socially, I behaved as if I had Borderline Personality Disorder and was convinced for a while that I did have it. When I was eventually hospitalized for depression I was paranoid and confrontational until the Dr took me off of it. Memory loss was severe. | As with other meds, my doctors insisted that Lamictal could not cause these side effects. I was not taken off of it until a friend and my husband testified to my dramatic personality change. My friend even had it marked on his calendar. This was the worst summer I have ever had. It seems like medicines will sometimes make me worse and the doctor will decide that what I need is more of it. I am glad that it works for so many people, but be careful. | F | 35 | 2 months | 2/23/2008 | 2 | Bi Polar II | The biggest one is the memory loss and retention. This is a very difficult one for me. Cannot articulate, express myself. Loose track of tasks. In a fog all the time, someone could be talking to me and I cant retain what they've said. I'm so forgetful now it's scary. I'd loose my head if not attached to my body. Other is weight gain. I work out everyday, eat right and cannot loose one pound, very unusual for me. Dry mouth, aches, fatigue, sleep all the time, cannot get motivated. I have to drink 8 cups of coffee to even be able to concentrate slightly. | M | 41 | 1 days | 2/21/2008 | 2 | Bipolar type 2 | I just basically went insane... I don't know how else to put it! I became very tense and paranoid, and I would bite anyone's head off who said something towards me! I didn't even feel like I was the one saying what was coming out of my mouth. I had also become extremely emotional about little things... | I would try something different if you have type 2 . . . | F | 17 | 2 weeks | 1/17/2008 | 2 | Chronic migraine prevention | No significant side effects other than vivid dreams and drowsiness. Had an unsual episode of sleep walking, but no one else reports that as a side effect, so maybe it was something else. | Seems to have no benefit for migraine prevention for frequency or intensity. Seems to have no benefit at 200mg/day. | M | 46 | 4 weeks | 1/2/2008 | 2 | Bipolar 1 | WEIGHT GAIN!! 15lbs in a few months. Confusion, dizziness, uncoordinated, blurred vision, nausea, loss of words. | Went on this to get off Lithium. Lithium gave me Diabetes Insipidus. This is just as bad. I'm a professor and at this point I couldn't pass my own classes. I can't remember things, lost words mid-sentence, get dizzy spells day & in my sleep. Dr. made me stop driving, I'm getting lost and can't concentrate. I've started seeing a neurologist thinking something was WRONG with my brain! The weight gain is driving me nuts. I thought I was crazy when I read the drug company information, they insist weight gain is not a side effect. Now I know I'm not nuts after reading these reviews. I'm getting off the stuff as quick as I can. | F | 48 | 3 days | 12/29/2007 | 2 | Bipolar II | Acne. Flat affect. Itchy skins upon raising dose, but that went away. | After almost two months on the meds I have little side effects. The bad skin and flat affect have been what's remained. I do not feel like it is helping my mood enough to be worth taking. | F | 27 | 2 months | 12/25/2007 | 2 | Mood swings and anger problem | Itchiness | I've only been taking it for 3 days, so far all I have felt is itchiness all over my back and arms. I'm scared to continue taking it because of all the things I have read on it, especially since I have not been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. But I'm also scared to stop it because my mood swings and anger problem are affecting my relationship and work. Any advice that someone that has taken it can offer me would be greatly appreciated. | F | 26 | 3 days | 12/23/2007 | 2 | Acute Depression/PMS | I am so greatful for all your posts! I have been having a lot of the same side effects. I feel no motivation, tired all the time, loss of any personality, just really "Blah". | As others have stated, it did seem to work at first. Now i am up to 100mg and i am starting to feel like i am going backwards in my treatment. I am also on 150mg of Zoloft. We have tried several anti-depressents that seem to work at for awhile and then stops. I really think that i need to see my OB/GYN and look into the PMS more. Thanks again for all the comments - now i dont feel so crazy! | F | 33 | 2 months | 12/17/2007 | 2 | Bi polar / Depression | Extreme paronia and anxiety, I felt like I was being stared constantly, increased emotional sensitivity, more severe mood swings, rage. | I took this drug for mood swings, 25mg for 2 weeks, 50mg for 1 week; for the past year now I have had severe depression along with mood swings. All lamictal seemed to do is amplify all of my symptoms, my brain fog seemed to get worse, the only benefit I had was an increased energy level, but it didn't help b/c I ended up feeling so manic. It worked for a few days then the positive benefits seemed to fade away. | M | 18 | 21 days | 12/15/2007 |