LAMICTAL Reviews (LAMOTRIGINE)Average Rating: 3.4 (1917 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare LAMICTAL with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
|
Results are sorted by length of time drug was taken longest to shortest. 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 | bipolar II | Significant cognitive impairment that continues to increase throughout the years. This has caused me to become more reclusive and anti-social; I have a very hard time articulating my thoughts and "blank" out during conversations. My memory has decreased to the point that my teenagers take full advantage of me; they know I won't remember if I agreed to a 3 a.m. curfew. Thankfully, I still remember that this is absurd. Still, it exhausts everyone when I ask them 8 times if they did their homework even though I had checked it an hour earlier. My doctor said these side effects weren't a result of Lamictal. A second opinion agreed with him. Also, the higher the dosage the higher the anxiety. anything above 75 mg. pushed me over the edge. My appetite decreased significantly. I am 5'2 and down to 100 lbs. now which I HATE. I lost hair although vitamins helped it grow back. I am now going to try to go off of Lamictal to see if I can get my brain function back. | I think Lamictal is worth a try. It helped stabilize my moods enough so that I could process therapy sessions. After one year on Lamictal my dr. put me on depakote to offset the anxiety. The depakote boosted my mood and lessened the anxiety. Currently, I have had to make a med change. I am increasing the depakote and tapering off of Lamictal. Depakote makes me very tired but at least I can think clearly. I want to work and enjoy life without living with post-it's all over the house. I am ready to try something new (although I HATE med changes). | F | 37 | 4 years | 8/22/2008 | 3 | bipolar 1 | lack of coordination. Possible anxiety. | I have lot of anxiety, which may or may not be related to the meds. The only reason I think it may be is b/c as the dosage increased, so has my anxiety. | F | 29 | 4 years | 12/20/2007 | 3 | seizure | anxiety attack vertigo feeling and unable to think clearly. nevertheless seizure stop | have gradually reduced the portion of lamictal after hearing magnesium supplement can cure seizure.now after 1 wk w/o lamictal and on magnesim supplement alone I feel fine. the side effects are dissapearing | M | 44 | 4 years | 4/18/2008 | 3 | Mood Stabilizer/ Cognitive Loss | Felt like a fish was swimming on the sides of my head, doc's think that was a seizure, I don't, I first blamed it on Cymbalta which I quit, now I get these feeling's maybe 3X year but not as severe, Inital dose was 200 mg X day, I decrease to 125mg 2X day, I think this has helped. | I don't think this drug does much for me, when I quit it I got so edgy and mad I had to take one. As someone had mentioned the lumps, I have 2 behind my ears on my head, no explaination from drs.given, also I seen a person was precribed Folic Acid, I was not told Lamictal decrease Folic Acid, I was prescribed this also, the diag of BP was ruled out, as at 55 yrs of age, and this memory loss and inattention started when i was 47, I take Ritalin, Klonopin, Lamictal, Thryoid med, and 81mg of Lithium at bedtime to sleep, If I would be listening to the doctors I would be taking 400 mg of Lamictal aday and 650 mg of Lithium, +the other drugs, Lithium does not mix with the other drugs, so I only take it at bedtime, don't take the Lithium with the drugs I have mentioned or you may get a terrible feeling in your head and have to lay down, or sleep to get it too pass, I had to, I could not deal with that feeling and go on. | M | 55 | 4 years | 4/8/2008 | 3 | Partial Seizures | Short term memory loss, trouble sleeping, night sweats, I get aggitated very easily and I am very irritable and aggresive. I have also found that I have trouble reading. I have to re-read things up to 4 times. Hair loss. | When I have the night sweats and heat up, I generally have a partial seizure. The memory loss is extremely annoying along with the trouble of reading, as I am currently studying. I am on 200mg morning and night. I have been on Lamictal for about 4 years. I still have a partial seziure about once every 3 weeks. When I first started Lamictal, my sex drive decreased. The Dr recently tried to add in Topamax but that didn’t work. I am thinking of trying Keppra. Has anyone tried Keppra and what did you think of it?? | F | 28 | 4 years | 9/21/2006 | 3 | bipolar symptoms | Extreme memory loss, confusion...scatter brain actions unforgiving dry mouth | It's the only bipolar drug so far that I can take w/o getting very sick, falling asleep, flu like symptoms (badly), or psychotic feelings-like I'm drugged w/ an illegal drug. Hair loss. I still feel like I'm in a mind fog most of the time. I really don't know if this is a bipolar thing or it's the drug. | F | 62 | 4 years 400 mil 2X day | 1/5/2011 | 3 | Epilepsy | Hair Loss, Memory Loss, Constantly being nervous, speech problems | still deciding if it's really worth it??? | M | 21 | 4 years | 2/15/2005 | 3 | Epilepsy (Grand Mal Seizures) | Hair Loss, Memory Loss, Constantly being nervous, speech problems | still deciding if it's really worth it??? | M | 21 | 4 years | 2/15/2005 | 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 | Bi-polar | It did work in the beginning and yes it treats bi-polar but the side effects are not worth it. Lathargic, itchy dry skin yellowing of the eyes. Bruise easy, could not wake up in the mornings felt like a hang over. Very stiff joints and stiff neck.Gave me bad pms sometimes felt like I was on my period even when i wasnt due for two weeks. Strange behavior that was not of my character, like sitting in one area for long periods of time. I would be very carefull of this drug, symptoms creep up on you. | F | 37 | 4 years 100 MG | 5/23/2014 | 2 | Personality disorder. Bi polar, co | It's hard to say that I can describe anything as being the fault of Lamictal. I also take Seroquel , propranolol, and 8 other meds for myriad of problems. Sex drive is there but no desire to pursue it. Fatigued, spaced out, thoughts scattered and unfocused. Hard to stay awake and have "blackouts". My memory was good but not now. It is non existent. | F | 60 | 4 years 100 mg×3 | 3/22/2020 | 1 | For depression and mood | I have bad memory and it's been getting worse to the point that I am done with my life. My memories declined after taking only for 4 weeks. I told my doctor, she dismissed my concerns. My memories got so bad and it's getting worse. I can't even remember names of people that I even grew up with them. I cannot remember where I put my keys, my eye glasses, I cannot remember days of the week or what I did 2 days ago. I cannot have a normal conversation because It's hard for me to find the right words. I love to read, but I had to give up because it frustrates me that I cannot remember what I just read. I am not myself anymore. I get angry and upset because of my memory loss. My concentration is so bad and it's getting worse. I cannot concentrate when someone is speaking with me. I get so confused as well. I mentioned all this side effects to my doctors, they dismissed it. Sometimes I stop taking it because of memory problems I up and down my doses. I know that this medication can cause steven Johnson syndrome, but I don't care anymore, since my health care providers does not care about my side effects. They even told me to take 200mg a day. My intrusive thoughts are so bad that I cannot think about anything else. I get brusis really easy. I been having dry mouth that causes a bad breath. I brush and floss my teeth and drink plenty of water it doesn't work. | F | 34 | 4 years 100 1X day | 12/24/2022 | 1 | For depression and mood | I have bad memory and it's been getting worse to the point that I am done with my life. My memories declined after taking only for 4 weeks. I told my doctor, she dismissed my concerns. My memories got so bad and it's getting worse. I can't even remember names of people that I even grew up with them. I cannot remember where I put my keys, my eye glasses, I cannot remember days of the week or what I did 2 days ago. I cannot have a normal conversation because It's hard for me to find the right words. I love to read, but I had to give up because it frustrates me that I cannot remember what I just read. I am not myself anymore. I get angry and upset because of my memory loss. My concentration is so bad and it's getting worse. I cannot concentrate when someone is speaking with me. I get so confused as well. I mentioned all this side effects to my doctors, they dismissed it. Sometimes I stop taking it because of memory problems I up and down my doses. I know that this medication can cause steven Johnson syndrome, but I don't care anymore, since my health care providers does not care about my side effects. They even told me to take 200mg a day. My intrusive thoughts are so bad that I cannot think about anything else. I get brusis really easy. I been having dry mouth that causes a bad breath. I brush and floss my teeth and drink plenty of water it doesn't work. | F | 34 | 4 years 100 1X day | 12/24/2022 | 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 | 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 | 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 | seizures | memory loss, joint pain, spelling, cognitive impairment, can't articulate, find word, flip letters, spacey, depressed, anxiety attacks, sound & light sensitivity, hair loss, dry skin, joint swelling, horrible morning headaches, night sweats, flat, stabbing pains, twitching, focal stares where one eye rolls inward, frontal lobe feels fat & dumb, sores in mouth/nose, invisible itching, hands/feet ice cold, drunk feeling... | I brought 'my list' with me to neuro, GP, Rheumi, only to be treated like I was nuts. No one would even discuss side effects. When a minor collision landed me in a jail cell because of my sound sensitivity/reaction to the sound of sirens & then an anxiety/panic attack when cops assumed I was under the influence, none of my doctors supported me. I'd only had 1day of seizures 4yrs after a TBI, yet I'd been on seizure drugs for 18yrs. I have NO MEMORY at all from all these drugs. I took myself off lamictal & never felt better, had no seizures(1yr). Bit my tongue in my sleep in Oct. & ER doc reported me to DMV because I wasn't taking meds. Now, I am forced to take this drug for life if I want to drive. If I switch, I will have to wait another yr before it's 'established to control my 'nonexisitant' seizures'. I hate this drug. I hate a country where I am forced to take a drug that makes me feel horrible everyday, have no memory of my life, and all I did was bite my tongue. | F | 51 | 4 years 100mg 2X day | 4/2/2012 | 5 | bipolar disorder | I take 100 mg. at night, which was increased six months ago to 150 mg. to improve my sleep even more. I may go back to 100 mg. My psychiatrist works with me to adjust my medication. I view medication like clothes and assume it has to be fiddled with and I have to be patient. My sleep is pretty good but short now. My dreams are the best they have been in my life. I have no nightmares, no night terrors, and don't sleepwalk anymore! No kidding! All three "run in my family." We are an eccentric group. My side effects: Night sweats, some cognition problems, weight gain, and most recently a sodium deficiency, which my internist said might be a side effect. As I read through the comments, I didn't see any reference to sodium deficiency, so it may not be a side effect. The night sweats are a real pain. And I struggle to keep my weight down--sometimes I have to starve myself to keep the weight where I want it. I thought the problems with using the wrong word was due to approachi | Lamictal has been a life saver. I am very grateful. The two antipressants could not take care of the mood swings (they aren't supposed to do that), but it is terrific not to have those mood swings! My periods of mania were never that extreme, but boy could I get really nasty, blaming others for no reason at all. I have encouraged my father and son, both of whom have bipolar disorder, to take it, but my father doesn't like to lose the mania. My son won't admit he has bipolar--he is 46. I also take provigil for daytime fatigue. This is a real drug cocktail; but for the first time in my life I am not at the mercy of my unpredictable moods. I am a writer and have accomplished quite a bit academically, but it was at great physical cost--I thought I would never find out what was causing my black moods, but I have now with the the aid of some intellectual clarity and some sobering realizations. | F | 65 | 3.5 years | 6/20/2007 | 5 | Bipolar | In the first month of taking this medication I experienced even more mood swings than before, which i never thought to be possible, and the swings were more severe. This went away after the first month/month and a half. I was at the doctor's office recently and they noted a 20lb weight gain in 2 years. My first year taking it I did not experience a great amount of weight gain, only about 5lbs. In the past year or so, I have experienced hair loss, and I still am now. When I first began taking Lamictal I was feeling more anxious and paranoid than I had been in the past, but like my other side effects, these side effects subsided. | I am very pleased with my results from taking Lamictal. I am taking 300mg a day-150 in the morning and 150 at night. I had suffered from bipolar from the age of about 12, but it was thought to be hormones. When I was diagnosed bipolar and began taking this medication at 15 years old, my life turned around. Grades started improving greatly, I got into a great college and program, my social life improved, my relationship with my family went back to the way it was, I stopped snapping at every little thing, etc. Before Lamictal, I would literally have 8-11 severe mood swings an hour. I was even at the point of attempting suicide three times and just hated life in general. After starting Lamictal, these swings have stopped. I am living a happy life which I am very grateful for. If I miss either my morning or night dose, I have these swings again, but they are not as severe or often (goes down to about 2-4 swings an hour). Lamictal is a life changer and I would recommend this drug to anyone in a heartbeat. You just have to make it past the first month or two and be willing to deal with the side effects, because other than that, this drug is amazing. | F | 18 | 3.5 years | 12/8/2009 | 4 | Bi-Polar I | Nearly eliminates my Tinnitus on a daily basis. If I miss a dose my tinnitus comes on really strong. Twice when I missed it, within 2 hours or so my tinnitus was extra loud, nausea, and dizziness hit. Went home took it and w/in an hour or so everything calmed down. | I'll probably never stop taking it. Tinnitus (especially when it's really loud), makes me want to tear my head off. I believe if more people with Tinnitus tried this drug and found that it worked for them, they too would never stop taking it. I believe it has to do with the anti-convulsion treatment. | F | 60 | 3.5 years 200 1X day | 10/21/2012 |