LAMICTAL Reviews (LAMOTRIGINE)

Average Rating: 3.4 (1917 Ratings)

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 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.)

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More on LAMICTAL: Reviews Summary  |  Drug Safety Information

RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR LAMICTALCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 4  Bipolar II At this point, I can't be sure if these problems I've had for several years are a result of the drug or not, I was not aware they were side effects when I started taking lamictal so I haven't kept good track of when they started but I'm concerned that my moderate acne, slight weight gain and frequent (very frequent) urination are to blame on lamictal. I was very satisfied in the beginning because the drug really did even out my moods. It dulled everything though, so I went on wellbutrin as well. But after 5 years of weight fluctuation, not in my favor, and increasingly worse acne (which the topical prescriptions including retinol no longer help) as well as being constantly aware that whatever activity I'm planning should take place near a bathroom, I've had it. I'm currently weening off my 200 mg dose right now. I'm honestly scared about what will happen but I've had it with these other aspects to the point that I am at least willing to try and see if this helps my other problems. I wish I had the advice of someone who understands. I don't know anyone else in my position. F 25 5 years
2/6/2009
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 4  Epilepsy-Nocturnal Grand Mal I had trouble sleeping when I first began taking Lamictal. My Doctor recommended taking my medication earlier in the evening and that seemed to help. My worst side effects are short and long term memory loss, blurred vision, "zoning" out, and I still have trouble sleeping. The worst is "zoning" out - sometimes my friends or family will be talking with me and they will ask me several times why I am not responding, etc. I usually snap out of it in a few seconds, but I have no idea what they said and can't recall the experience. As a musician it has been very annoying as I have experienced difficulty memorizing melodies and texts. I take 150mg AM and PM. I have been siezure free for 5 years, although I have thankfully only had 4 siezures in my life (that I know of). I am glad I found this forum - I didn't know anyone else was experiencing my same side effects. M 35 5 years
11/24/2008
 4  "bi polar" Overtime had to increase dose for any relief of depression - finally pulled the plug on the med at 5 years when my dose had reached 600 mg daily - the zombie was in control. I took Lamictal for over 5 years. I even took lamictal 300mg daily through pregnancy and have a healthy 4 year old. F 35 5 years
11/27/2007
 4  Epilepsy Hair loss, trouble finding words, confusion or difficulty with short term memory, redish rash on face, not really noticable unless you are looking close up, increased insomnia. On the positive it has helped me with my mood swings and my menstrual cramps About F 40 5 years
2/10/2008
 4  Epilepsy Short term memory problems--someone will give me directions to follow and as soon as I walk away, I have to go get the directions again. Increased sweating at night. Migraines (at a lower level 75mg, doctor put me on 4 different migraine medicines and they messed me up bad, so I self medicated and bumped the dose up to 150mg and have been migraine free). Constant need to shake my leg when sitting down. Frequent ear problems (same thing other poster posted about it feeling almost like swimmer's ear where you can hear your voice in your head before your ears pop). Every day about 4:30 for some reason I start getting really shaky--not sure if this is blood sugar or what. This medicine has pretty much cleared up my seizures. I do have memory problems, but from what I was told by the doctor, this medicine causes the least memory problems of all seizure meds. The other side effects are minimal and hardly noticed. I love this medicine and would recommend it to anyone. Also, I was on the pregnancy registry cause I've had two babies, and recently it was reported in their findings that this drug is safe to take during pregnancy. I had no complications with my babies because of this medicine. I know not many people on here say that they would continue this medicine, but you just have to keep in mind that every medicine--no matter what it is--some people are going to tolerate it well, and some people are not. You just have to find what works for you. Don't take this website as all negative, because people who are not having problems with this medicine generally are not going to be getting on a site like this. Only those individuals who are having prob F 26 5 years
3/13/2009
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 4  epilepsy well many of you have experienced memory loss for sure.ill be going to do something and forget what i was doing.ill be talking to someone and completely forget what we're talking about.iam also very clutzy.its refered to as a burnout,someone who smoked alot of pot.im an advid supporter of cannibis..and i jokingly blamed my ways on it.but now i have a legit reason as to why i cannot remember things..lamictal.i do get dizzingness everynow and then.sometimes moody.loss of concentration/inspiration...pot helps me get that back.hey im an artist.it helps me with my schoolwork..3.0 at oregon college of art and craft all in all lamictal has been great.i used to take depokote when i was younger...bad news.dpression,hair loss,loss of appetite.now i eat alot.i have great metabolism so dont have to worry bout crazy weight gain. M 25 5 years
8/1/2008
 4  bipolar 2 Makes me kind of stupid sometimes, stuttering, forgetful. Inability to get up in the morning. Luckily I work for myself so not an issue. This medicine changed my life. Before I was completely obsessive and could stay awake for days, then would go into a state where I couldn't move for days. always had a sense of anxiety and foreboding. After years on 100mg I am generally used to the side effects, some days I feel none. My excersie regimen helps (I am an avid distance runner) with the lethargy. I can function and I would say that it makes me a more effective person. If I forgert to take it boy you feel it. Makes me feel like I am made of rubber. M 40 5 years
12/17/2009
 4  Bi-polar depression I never really had any until the past year. I've begun to feel really blunted as if my brain were in a box. Creatively I have zero ambition, but perhaps this is middle age? Now that I am tapering off I am gaining weight! It was very helpful as well as one of the only medications I've taken that have had very few noticeable side effects. F 45 5 years
200
1/3/2017
 3  depression Headaches, initial euphoria, lethargy F 31 5 years
200 mg 1X day
1/30/2020
 3  Epilepsy Very restless sleep, struggle getting to sleep, lack of motivation, depression, anxiety. Dosage has just been increased so all of the above has just gotten worse!! Particularly my dreams. Wake up feeling like I have studied all night. Like others- after waking at times not sure if it was just a dream or it actually happened F 45 5 years
40mg 2X day
3/24/2021
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 3  Bipolar/Mood stabilizer Seemed to have some benefit with little noticeable side effects EXCEPT that i have recently been increased from 200 to 400mg/day. At this dose I've noticed hair loss/thinning (alopecia) occurring about 2 weeks after increase. Significant+++. Dry skin, itchy scalp and lower legs++, hair loss particularly scalp and legs. Also have recently developed patchy epidermal skin flaking on fingers (mild) but no rash except for excoriated skin from itching++ M 55 5 years
200 mg 2X day
6/8/2014
 3  bipolar depression light headed, anxiety, hunger F 3 5 years
9/22/2009
 3  Bipolar Disorder II hallucinations, tremors, hostility, random twitches, a need to KEEP MOVING, indescribable feeling of being "not right", feeling faint, CONFUSION, MEMORY LOSS, racing thoughts, tinnitus, sensetivity to sunlight When I started taking Lamictal by itself I started having hallucinations. They told me that it was the Bipolar Disorder, but I never had them before I took Lamictal, and they went away after adding other medications. When the Dr. increased my dosage recently, I noticed a big increase in irritability. I also was completely unable to sit still, which made sleeping next to impossible. F 19 5 years
10/30/2008
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 3  Bipolar Hairloss. If you are conscious about your hair, then I would not recommend it. Noticed hair thinning significantly. 100mg M 26 5 years
11/19/2008
 3  Bi Polar, Depression Dry mouth and constant thirst, extreme insomnia, blurred vision, constant nigh time urination, Zombie-ism caused by fatigue! I've taken Lamictal for 5 years with a 1 year break, trying it with several different medications. I'm now on it alone as a mood stabilizer (given up on the depression, nothing works for me so far) and the side effects have become much worse. People tell me that I don't get angry so easily so I've stayed on it... the one bit of advice I can give is that in the beginning, for the first 2 years or so, I couldn't be creative, which is what I do for a living, I struggled to write and find the right words - that has gotten better over time and I would say that I'm back to normal in that department after 5 years. Of course lethargy and fatigue are still problems, but once I get started I find that my creativity is there. My major problems now with the drug are the insomnia (and the Zombie-like fatigue it causes), dry mouth and thirst. 3 hours is the average and I'm constantly peeing... every 30 minutes. If the insomnia continues and the fatigue gets worse, I may have to go off of it. I must M 43 5 years
5/14/2007
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 3  Severe Panic Lethargy, inability to concentrate for long periods of time and social carelessness. I have been taking 900mg (2x200mg in morning and 2.5x200mg at bedtime) for about 2 years. I was on a lesser dose the years before. I have had a rough time but not sure if it is Lamictal or the other drugs. I have used topomax and lyrica. Both had side effects that were awful. Topomax - could not sweat and no libido. Lyrica - weight gain like mad and it simply did not work weel. Plus it made me really sleepy. I guess Lamictal is ok..but it alone was useless. M 40 5 years
4/27/2007
 3  depression I have some of the memory loss and trouble w/ word usage, poor concentration, night images, vivid dreams, misplacing things, etc. side effects from taking lamictal. Can anyone comment on whether the side effects went away once you stopped taking lamictal and how long it took? F 47 5 years
3/16/2007
 1  Bi Polar Type 2 NEUROLOGICAL: 1) decrease in ability to think clearly, analytically, 2) forgetfulness, 3) slurred speech; 4) inability to remember words or use a word in its correct context; 5) increased neuropathy of left arm and hand and extremities. METABOLIC 1) increase in appetite and alarming weight re-distribution -- particularly higher stomach with pressure on diaphragm; 2) chronic leg pain and increased inability or extreme discomfort in walking -- gait compromised 3) even considering my weight gain (11 pounds) disproportionatly marked shortness of breath and extreme lack of endurance - while conducting even the simplest of tasks: tying my shoes - picking up plates. 4) increased arthritis/bursitis ... can't even snap my fingers. 5) back pain 6) increased insomnia (a chronic problem for me, however) 7) excessive perspiration even after doing simplest of activities I'm extremely sensative to chemical changes in my body. Because of this I seldom drink and take medications as infrequently as possible. I've been on various cocktails over the course of the last 4 years -- each with various degrees of success and each eventually "toxifying" in my system (my term) wherein I need to adjust/end meds. Most recently, for over one year, I've taken Welbutrin XL 300 mg, 10 mg of Imipramine and Lamactal, only once a day. About 3 months ago I was instructed to take only Lamictal -- started with 1/4 tablet ..now up to 1/2 tablet per day. Over the last few weeks I've experienced an alarming increase in neurological, motor and respiratory problems. I finally decided to look up some of the possible side effects today and am now convinced my symptoms are in large part attributable to the drug: Some of the above ARE a result of increasing middle-age and my weight gain. Yet, I've been my current weight quite a number of times over the last few year M 51 5 years
5/31/2006
 1  bi- polar Frequent depression, headaches, nausea, and an overall feeling of anxiety and sadness. I became preoccupied with how I was feeling . I believe that I felt better only when I was able to overcome the drug's effects through my own determination. Sometimes though I just crashed into a tearful, despairing individual. It was awful. Doc's solution, raise dosage. This went on for several years. This is a very toxic drug. On two occasions I took 2 in the am (200mg) by mistake and became severely ill. Tried to crawl into bed, vomited all over, and could not pick up the phone to call for help. Finally was able to stand and hoist myself into bed. I remained until I could function enough to clean up. This was just 100 mg extra in the am. If I became so sick from just that, what was the drug doing to my body on a day to day basis? I weaned myself off of it finally and am starting to feel human. Still taking zoloft 100 mg. Would not recommend this. I am disappointed that the doctors didn't go along with me on this. After a couple of years I did it slowly. F 67 5 years
100 3X day
5/23/2010
 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
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