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 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 | epilepsy | Difficulty in word finding- articulating, and I sometimes stumble quite a bit in speech, mental fogginess, and some memory difficulties. | I can't tell you how happy I am to find this site. I've been telling my neurologist about my increasing problems with words for years, and he says "Hmm..." I've never seen or heard of this problem being attributed to lamictal. I found this site looking for anyone with memory or concentration problems. All these are listed several times here. I will soon be off this med. | M | 36 | 3 years | 9/19/2007 | 3 | epilepsy and manic depression | At present--feeling suddenly stupid because I can't figure things out and I'm losing things all the time. I naturally have word- finding problems so I can't attribut that to Lamictal. | Started Lamictal years ago for epilepsy and took Depakote at the same time because it controlled my moods better. The Depakote had it's own side effects that were bothersome and so I was switched to 100% Lamictal for both problems. Then I went back to the Depakote- Lamictal combination for best mood control. Recently, my neuro. raised my dose of Lamicatal from 150mg to 100mg morning and night. That is when my present symptoms began. Oddly, I had been on this dosage before and did not have these problems. | F | 47 | 3 years | 3/31/2007 | 3 | bipolar2 rapid cycling | extreme dizziness and vertigo eyes twitching back and forth | this worked great for my depression while allowing me to enjoy the mild manias and kept me stable for 3 years. unfortunatly I had to get off it because the vertigo and dizziness became too severe. In fact, not long after getting off the drug, the vertigo and dizziness completly disappeared. I don't miss it for that reason. | F | 31 | 3 years | 5/31/2006 | 3 | Epilepsy | Extreme Headaches, Severe Acne on face, stomach & back. Memory Loss, Clumsiness, Slurred speech, Racing thoughts & Insomnia, Unable to think clearly or finish sentences. | The headaches and acne were worse in the first few months. The acne was so bad I actually went to the ER thinking it could've been the rash. Still having problems with the memory(I have to write everything down now). It's hard to put thoughts into words, and I end up stuttering or slurring my words. And as soon as I close my eyes to sleep, a million things fly through my head. I can't relax. I feel as if I'm losing my mind sometimes. | F | 22 | 3 years | 6/2/2009 | 3 | epilepsy | The worst side effects are cognitive. I can't concentrate, my writing skills have declined dramatically, and I often can't find the words I'm looking for. I also sometimes have trouble speaking the words I want (about once a day--especially when I'm tired. It feels like I've developed an extreme case of ADD. I spend most of my time trying to remember what I was doing. | My biggest problem is that my neurologist refuses to believe that lamictal has anything to do with my cognitive problems and attributes them to anxiety--even though testing shows that I've had a 30 point in IQ. I've always had anxiety but it never intefered with my work. I've had to leave my job as a professor. When I try to find the side effects of lamictal I can't find actual medical studies about cognitive effects although many people report them. | F | 58 | 3 years | 6/23/2008 | 3 | bipolar | trouble finding right words, memory probs, maybe too activating, lost my sense of humor, blah. | i don't know. i think it's causing me to have weird rage episodes. i feel like i have a really short fuse for no reason. it's probably time to talk to dr. about trying something else. | F | 38 | 3 years | 6/6/2008 | 3 | epilepsy | Anxiety--I've always been somewhat anxious but it has increased four fold. I've worked on managing it and trying to remember that it is the medication which helps. The anxiety was much worse however with Topamax which I discontinued. Cognitive--I had to leave my profession as a college professor because I would get confused in front of my classes, and couldn't even calculate grades. My measured IQ dropped from 130+ to 108 (I know because I had a neuropsychological work-up.) I forget what I'm doing, lose everything, can't remember what I just read, get easily distracted and can only stay organized by using lists and writing everything down. And that doesn't always work. On the plus side I don't have to worry about weight gain anymore. | I can make it day to day, but it has dramatically changed my life. It's immensely reassuring to see that others have the same problems. It helps keep me from feeling so weak and neurotic. Despite everything, I would rather cope with the side effects than have seizures. I just try to keep a sense of humor about the whole thing. | F | 58 | 3 years | 1/11/2008 | 3 | bipolar II rapid cycling | dry mouth, severe hand tremers, loss of memory (could be associated partially with progression of disease but getting worse as time goes by | I am also taking effexor XR. | F | 30 | 3 years | 2/7/2008 | 3 | Anxiety Disorder | No significant side effects | This is the only medication I've taken that hasn't presented any noticeable side effects. It felt genuinely effective for about the first ten months of taking it, but I noticed the dosage gradually increase without any improvement in my mood swings. It was moderately helpful short-term and gentle on the body. | F | 16 | 3 years 150 MG 1X day | 5/26/2020 | 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 | 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 | 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 | Bipolar 1 | Initially, dizziness. That's it. | Anything I ever read about this drug is positive. Most of tthe posts on this site are positive. When I was diagnosed, Lamictal was (and still is?) considered the best drug out there for b/d. So I took it. Nothing happened. Three months went by. Still, nothing, even after increasing to the max dose. So my doc put me on Topamax (miracle drug for me, none of the bad side effects that most people report), but kept me on Lamictal "in case" it was doing something. So I'm still on Lamictal, but my doc and I joke about whether it's really doing anything. It was so difficult to get me stable, she just doesn't want to mess with anything. The point of my post is this: if you don't respond to Lamictal, don't worry. You're not the only one. Our bodies are all different. | F | 27 | 3 years | 5/4/2006 | 2 | Epilepsy | Short and long term memory loss, decreased libido, stupidity | Lack of control at most vulnerable times. still have seizures if I'm a)hung over, b)on marijuana or cocaine,(had no problems when I was younger)c)am extremely tired. Since being on lamictal, my brain function has become worse and worse to the point of close friends acknowleding it. Memory is embarrasingly bad, which is an enormous problem being in college. Less horny than I was before use. Planning on discontinuing use soon. | M | 24 | 3 years | 9/25/2006 | 2 | Epilepsy (Partial Complex) | Loss of libido - this was a gradual thing that happened over about 3 years until it completely disappeared - have since changed to Keppra but libido still hasn't come back. Also taking Neurontin which has made me lose the ability to orgasm. Other bad things: loss of personality & creativity, tiredness, memory loss. | These drugs have ruined my sex-life and I'm only 25! I am so depressed. I feel like a total alien. It's really annoying that I have to keep taking epilepsy meds even though I only had 1 seizure...4 years ago! I have MS too. My only advice to epilepsy sufferers taking Lamictal is to be aware that if it starts reducing your drive (even slightly) then change meds straight away cos you don't want this to happen to you! I would do anything to get mine back! | F | 25 | 3 years | 10/14/2008 | 2 | Bipolar II | Increased moods, stayed irritated, higher dose gives me irregular heartbeats. | After being on this drug for 3 years I decided to stop taken them, I was not getting any better, seems over the years I was getting much worst. Now that I've been off for a month now, I feel great, mood and irrtibility is fine, the chronic pain I live with just makes my mood bad, a mood stablizer can't change what pain does to our body, I also became a Diabetic unaware of it and went into a Coma for a week and hospitalized for a month, loss majority of my vision, kidney problems and now living with nerve damage. I do not recomend anyone to stop taking there meds without your doctors recomendation, I did because I was tired of my Psy taking me around in circles. Had to be in charge of my own body and how I felt. | F | 46 | 3 years 150 2X day | 5/16/2011 | 2 | bipolar disorder | I developed severe acne, out of nowhere. Whereas I used to be highly motivated, I became very lazy feeling and began wanting to sleep and lay around a lot more. Gained 20 to 25 pounds, weighing the heaviest in my life. Often felt stupid, as everything in my mind was foggy. It sucked. It sometimes helped with my mood swings, but still was often depressed and would still get manic highs. My sex drive decreased slightly (as i used to be hypersexual). I'm now off of it and feel much better cognitively. Emotionally, I am more out-of-whack, having difficulty if I do not cry everyday and I still need to have sex. It's much more difficult for me to achieve orgasm, though it was very easy for me to prior to taking Lamictal :( | don't take it! unless you would like to even out your mood swings in exchange for weight gain, acne and constantly being aloof. | F | 20 | 3 years 400 mg 1X day | 3/22/2011 | 2 | Bipolar 2 | Do not take this stuff unless you want to feel like an emotionless zombie floating thru life and never really enjoying it. I'm trying to convince my psychiatrist to take me off of this medication cause I really want to feel like 'myself' again. My outgoing personality has vanished and I have no motivation or anything that makes me feel 'truly' happy anymore. Even sex has lost my excitement. I can't wait to get off this stuff and get my personality back!!! | F | 19 | 3 years 300MG 1X day | 7/6/2012 | 1 | bipolar/depression/ocd/postpartum | i gained weight. i cannot concentrate. i cannot focus. words are hard to communicate. extremely forgetful! weight gain! depression. EXTREME mood swings! feelings of rage | i feel i am in a "hole" with the world functioning around me and i am not a participant. | F | 33 | 3 years | 5/4/2007 | 1 | Bipolar, fibromyalgia | I could no longer hack the Lamictal because I could no longer hold conversations -- I simply could not remember events or experiences in my life enough to talk about them. I had intense itching all over my head, neck and ears. It was severe and affected my work. After going off of Lamictal, I felt normal again. However, I have fibromyalgia and the pain started coming back so it was suggested by my pdoc that I go back on the Lamictal. Not trusting in my own experiences and thinking perhaps it had been something else that caused my past suffering, I started it again. And guess what? All of the symptoms returned. Sure doctors are educated but there's a lot they don't know. The long term affects of these drugs aren't known. Many drugs have helped me -- I couldn't hold a normal life without them. But be aware. You are the best expert for what goes into your body and what you feel as a result. | F | 52 | 3 years 100 mg 1X day | 5/30/2014 |