LAMICTAL Reviews (LAMOTRIGINE)

Average Rating: 3.4 (1917 Ratings)

Filter Results

Compare LAMICTAL with similar:
 ANTICONVULSANTS

 Type: Rx Drug

  

LAMICTAL  (LAMOTRIGINE):  Lamotrigine is used alone or with other medications to prevent and control seizures. It may also be used to help prevent the extreme mood swings of bipolar disorder in adults. Lamotrigine is known as an anticonvulsant or antiepileptic drug. It is thought to work by restoring the balance of certain natural substances in the brain. This drug is not approved for use in children younger than 2 years due to an increased risk of side effects (such as infections).   FDA Approval Date: 1994-12-27 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

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.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR LAMICTALCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 4  Depression 400 mg/day. Anxiety, impatience, irritability, sleeplessness, acute awareness accompanied by grandiose hopes and a feeling that I'm experiencing everything for the first time. I've cycled through all the common SSRI's for years. I'm currently on Celexa (80 mg/day). We are using Lamictal as a "floor" to keep the Celexa effective, as I seem to build up a tolerance to SSRI's. I am submitting this post because of this bizarre side effect I'm experiencing. It's a kind of euphoria, a sense of seeing everything as it "is." I also feel grandiose and hypo-manic. I'll contact people I haven't seen in years, make big plans. I'm not much fun to be around, though, because I get impatient with conversation. I would prefer to stare at a pencil and wonder at the phenomenon of its invention. Anyway, I just thought I'd post this in case anyone else is experiencing something similar. Lamictal has helped me, however. I haven't changed meds in over 2 years. M 40 2 years
10/3/2007
 4  Seizure Most prevalent side effect has been vivid dreams that seem to occur every night. I was diagnosed 2 years ago as having had a seizure, which I had never experienced before. I have been taking 200mg per day since that time with no recurrence of seizure symptoms until about a month ago. This occured immediately after a week-long vacation during which I missed about 3-4 doses. The missed doses were only my evening dose. Since I take Lamictal twice/day, I always took my morning dose. Around that time I had been experiencing very vivid dreams that occur nghtly. They started before the last seizure; however, their prevalence and intensity has increased over the last month or so. Since I have had only one additional seizure since being diagnosed over 2 years ago, I am assuming the drug is working. But the dreams are driving me nuts. M 61 2 years
12/29/2005
Email
 4  Major Depression / Bipolar II Some loss of short-term memory. The the generic manufactured by Cadista (white round pill) was horrible. I was taking the brandname 200mg Lamictal and it was working very well for me, after about a year the pharmacy switched me to the generic made by Teva (it was a blue diamond shape). I had no noticeable difference with the Teva generic. About 6 months later the pharmacy switched to a different generic manufacturer, Cadista (It is round white with the imprint 'J 248' on it). After about a week I noticed a huge drop in mood and was feeling very depressed and emotional out of nowhere. Initially I hadn't made the connection that my problem started happening right after I switched to the Cadista generic. Then I switched to the brandname Lamictal and the problem went away. Insurance wouldn't pay for the brandname, so I had to pay a huge amount out of pocket. A few months later I asked my doctor to prescribe me brandname 'XR' version. Since there isn't a generic of the 'XR' version, my insurance pays a higher percentage than they will for the original immediate release Lamictal brandname (since there is a generic for the immediate release). This makes it much cheaper than the immediate release brandname Lamictal. For me it's worth paying more for the brandname and not having to worry about the pharmacy switching between generic manufacturers whenever they want. I hope my 'XR' tip for insurance coverage will be helpful to someone. It turns out I think the XR version is better for me anyway. M 30 2 years
200 MG 1X day
8/18/2010
Email
 4  BPll none M 70 2 years
200 1X day
7/29/2010
 4  major depression, maybe Bipolar II Short term memory loss and poor word recall. Lethargic. Flat mood (zombie ish compared to previously). Difficulty getting enough energy to do things It was the only medication (among many SSRIs tried) that made a positive difference. I take Abilify and Nuvigil and Clonazepam as well. The Nuvigil has helped immensely regarding the lethargy and revs me up to feel good and get things done. Lifts mood from lethargic to animated! Major problem is expense of meds; even with insurance , copay is $100/per three of the meds; Lamictal included. F 59 2 years
200 MG 1X day
9/22/2010
Email
 4  mood stabilizer not any that I can remember Has made a major change in my life. F 45 2 years
150 MG 1X day
5/20/2010
 4  mood stablizer No significant side effects. Major consideration for me is weight gain. I have had NO significant weight gain on Lamictal. Works good. F 33 2 years
200 1X day
7/3/2010
 4  depression/mood disorder I really don't remember having any side effects at all actually.. I think it did help me I'm actually still on it I would definitely say lamictal is worth trying side effects for me at least were minimal-none. And I've heard from friends who got off it there was no withdrawal. I give it a thumbs up F 18 2 years
150 2X day
1/9/2011
 4  depression Poor balance/coordination, severe short term memory loss to the point I felt like I had alzheimers, insomnia. Very jittery/anxious and tearful whenever I missed a dose. Did help the depression and these symptoms only showed up in last 6 months Possible weight gain or is it because I was no longer depressed? F 53 2 years
100 1X day
1/13/2011
 4  bipolar 2, anxiety fuzzy memory, dizzy spells, hair loss lamictal helped me feel calmer, respond more rationally and in that regard, think more clearly because i was less reactive. my husband noted "you aren't acting as crazy" ha! during those two plus years, i went to therapy 3x a week to address my underlying childhood trauma responses. bipolar runs in my family, but i felt if i could get all of my ducks in a row, maybe i could be off this medication. i am also on 300mg of wellbutrin and have been for 10 years as it is the most effective medication for my adhd. i decided to go off of the lamictal, tired of thinning hair, tired of not feeling mentally sharp. and i have a lot of other healthy habits in place now that by being on lamictal i was able to implement, like better diet, regular exercise, better friends, better use of my time pursuing my interests, awareness of triggers, good preventative behaviors in place etc. I've been on medications that had stronger withdrawal symptoms in the first week (zoloft and abilify to name a few), but lamictal just won't seem to get out of my system. i went down by 50 for two weeks, then two weeks of 50 every other day, now nothing for two weeks, and I'm still having the spins when I lie down, my thoughts are even foggier than before, major difficulty concentrating. Tingly, itchy head is gone. It feels like a mild vertigo that won't go away. i haven't had any of the reactive behaviors return. i feel a bit more wired with vivid dreams, headaches off and on. it's a lot to manage! F 42 2 years
100mg 1X day
5/8/2016
Email
 4  Epilepsy Lamictal has helped with the seizures but it sucks I have to be on it the rest of my life. It interferes with my sex drive, I'm always tired and now I've started having constant headaches. I'm not sure if the constant headache is due to the medicine but I'm not feeling it. Nothing really helps with the headache, I've had it a week now. I must find me a new neurologist bc this one don't care. I've been seizure free though, only had a few while I was pregnant. F 29 2 years
100x2
8/29/2015
Email
 4  Bipolar 1 Memory loss, cognitive deficiency, hair loss Saved my life during a manic episode and stabilized my mood for 18 months. Eventually, effectiveness wore off. **Only use name brand F 2 years
1/12/2016
 4  bipolar disorder/mixed episode Only recently I have had any problems with Lamictal. Stabilizing my blood sugar is very difficult if I take my dose on an empty stomach. I've taken Lamictal for two years and this problem has only just started. I have been taking a dose of 400 mg daily for almost a year. I also take an adaptogen supplement. It seems that the two have a synergistic affect for me. My psychiatrist and I have made this decision together. At the end of the summer, I developed severe hypoglycemia. It took several frustrating months (eating 6-8 times/day or risk passing out)before the correlation between Lamictal & blood sugar became apparent. My typical routine was to take 400mg & my supplement every morning when I awoke. I discovered that if I had not eaten before taking my med, that with in 20 minutes, I would begin to have dizziness, confusion, & tingling of the lips & tongue- classic hypoglycemia symptoms. Changing the dose of both the Lamictal & the adaptogen to twice a day has greatly helped. I have found, however, that the best dosing times for me have been at 10am & 8pm. A 12 hr. dosing schedule was not working very well to stabilize my condition. F 36 2 years
11/27/2008
 4  Bipolar confusion,memory loss, hair loss, body temp.rising,insomnia.Skin itches unmercifully at times,dry too. I also think it is responsible for what was thought to be premenopause. I didn't realize that I was having that many side effects. This medication was at the time a miracle for me. I have been on some type of antidepressent for 23 yrs. Some worked for awhile, then they stopped. That is when I was diagnosed bipolar.That was 2yrs. ago. I went to my Dr. today. I told him it wasn't working.I needed a change. I am tapering off starting tonight.He said we would discuss another drug in 2 weeks when this was out of my system. To those of you looking for the right one or combo..don't give up! F 49 2 years
12/18/2008
 4  seizure disorder Initially, insomnia. Went away after a while. This drug saved me. Prior to it my neuro was treating me with ZONEGRAN which talk about feeling stupid? Holy Moly, I was a drooling, mumbling dummy on the stuff. Also, caused anorexia, lost 10# in 4 weeks. We tried Dilantin but I was allergic, so my MD started Lamictal incrementally increasing it while decreasing the ZON I was at my current dose of 500mg daily. My seizures are well controlled and the drug has minimal side effects. F 41 2 years
3/29/2008
 4  Depression/Severe Anxiety Initially: Dry Mouth, Nausea, Loss of appetite, tremors, insomnia Long term: Memory loss/word confusion, WEIRD dreams...every night. Lamictal has been extremely helpful in treating my anxiety and depression. I'm on a pretty high dose (350mg) because I kept developing a tolerance for the amount I was on. But the worst part about this medicine is that it gives me that "foggy" feeling...like my memeory isn't wired correctly. Sometimes I can't find words I want to use. It's such a weird feeling. I also have incredibly scary dreams. I dislike sleeping now. I'm still an insomniac. Doctor wanted to prescribe seroquil to help with the insomnia, but it made me too hungry. F 18 2 years
4/3/2008
 4  BiPolar I have had no side effects since I started taking it,at least not until now. I have been taking it for 2 years and now I am having surgery to remove enlatged lymph nodes. I just happened to stumble upon today that Lamictal can cause enlarged lymph nodes. I thought I didn't have any side effects from this medicine until i saw the lymph node stuff today, I am not sure if that is what is causing it or not, but I guess I will have to find out. After reading thorugh the posts on here today for Lamictal I do have some of the other systems people have posted such as being agitated. I am angry all the time and biting peoples heads off for no reason. I think I am going to switch to something else F 32 2 years
3/13/2008
 4  Bi-Polar Moderate Rapid Cycling Lethargy, Trouble Concentrating, INSOMNIA and or trouble falling asleep, Headaches, Vivid Dreams--dark in nature, The sleep deprevation is certainly contributing to my trouble concentrating. When I get a good nights sleep, I feel really good--take on the world feeling--and motivated to get things done. After taking at least 10 different SSRI and Tricyclic drugs, Lamictal was the first drug that made me feel completely different. I didn't even know if I was feeling better because the titration was long and produced subtle results in regard to diminshing depressive or bi-polar episodes. I did get the most common symptoms--dizzy, body felt like concrete, itchy, etc. but they mostly subsided once I reached 100mg/day. I AM feeling better although my emotions are just under the surface but I can get through the week without crying at commercials (so stupid!) or feeling withdrawn. Right now the insomnia is completely debilitating and if I don't solve this then I don't know what I am going to do. It is affecting my job and my life and I feel like crap all the time which is "depressing"! F 38 2 years
4/22/2008
Email
 4  neuropathic pain from MS easy bruising, insomnia, some weight gain, safer for pregnancy/breastfeeding Because I had stop Neurontin since I became pregnant, I was fortunate to have the option of Lamictal. I have fierce, burning pain in my legs so bad that I couldn't function. Lamictal does a decent job relieving this pain. I had to add a couple more meds in combination with it, but overall, very good. F 39 2 years
9/27/2007
 4  bi polar and anger issues i dont remember i stopped tAKING IT BECAUSE I CAN CONTROL MYSELF NOW F 23 2 years
1/20/2008

Previous Page       Next Page

BACK TO TOP