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 Date added. 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 |
| 4 | Bi-Polar | I have a severe short term memory loss to the point I felt like I had alzheimers, and some longer term memory problems as well. My husband has noticed it considerably and so have my children. Since taking Lamictal, I have also had increased vision problems. I never used to wear any sort of glasses for anything. Now I have to always wear glasses to read or I can't see anything. | While I can say that I feel that it has helped my mood and the up's and down's I used to experience, the last couple months the memory loss and the vision has become a big problem for me. I have an appt. in a couple weeks and plan on asking the Dr. about it. I'm afraid to switch to something else, because I have tried everything, so I'm not sure what else my options would be. | F | 46 | 6 months 100 mg 1X day | 1/25/2011 | 4 | Cyclotimia | Terrible "garlic or union-like) body odor specially when I exercise and sweat(in the last 6 months, and getting worse, after 2.5 years of no odor, sporadic incontinence (only lately and about 5 or 6 times, and even being into sports and dancing at least twice/week) change in taste in foods!, sensitivity to light and noise, permanent tiredness, difficulty getting up in the mornings (very physical, not due to depression)insomnia, slight and sporadic hand tremmors, sporadic nausea and dizziness, short memory and sporadic medium term memory problems, cognitive problems and fuzzy feeling, need to urinate too frequently and then little quantity... | Even I have become much more stable than before taking Lamictal, and being conscious that I might have to take it indefinately, I have lately developed many more side effects than in the beginning. I would like to reduce the dose slowly and try to live without it, but I am also scared, as many of the people that wrote here, that it might bring me back to my previous mood changes. I have a mild cyclotimia, but nothing had worked before I took Lamictal. Prozac really made me ill and fluvoxamine didn't do much... I also took Vandral which didn't work either. Until I read the comments here (and I have read many) I hadn't realised I had as many side effects as I do. I would really appreciate if anyone could write to share anything about body odour as a side effect. It is important for me as I go salsa dancing weekly and this is a problem as it really puts people off. It took me a few weeks of asking the male friends I dance with until I finally got them to confess! I started with 25mg, then increased to 200 (100mg am, 100 mg evening. I take it with Citalopran 10 mg (started with 20 mg) but couldn't sleep well so Citalopran was halved and Lamictal taken only in the morning (200)for 2 years. I know take 150mg only in the morning and it seems to work well. | F | 40 | 3 years 150 mg 1X day | 1/19/2011 | 1 | bipolar | It made me feel great, but then I broke out in a rash, mild case of Stevens Johnsons. My whole system has never been the same. 6 months later and I still get a rash around my mouth and on my hands every month or so. I had to get a picc line for intravenous medication and doctors thought to be SJS your skin had to be falling off... not true, it can be mild, it attacked my glands skin and breathing. Too bad, I liked the med but NOT worth the risk. | F | 30 | 3 months 125 1X day | 1/19/2011 | 3 | Bipolar | I've noticed most medication prescribed for bipolar to have the same 'basic' side-effects, which, for me, includes: dizziness when standing up, followed by blurred vision & ringing in the ears -I usually just sit/lie down on the spot and it goes away- to avoid fainting. Stiff muscles, especially in my legs when e.g. climbing stairs, stiff neck, frequent headaches (usual I don't require pain pills), heart palpitations & hot flushes (usually at night). After adding Lamictal to my pill cocktail (Concerta; Edronax; Seroquel; Serlife & Diane) I haven't noticed much change in my usual side-effects (permanent) -however, increased night sweats (wake up soaked) & still the occasional moodswing (from neutral to crying in a matter of seconds -this usually occurred late afternoon, so I decided to take my night dose of Lamictam earlier -this works for me) -note,I find all these side effects to be minor in the long run, although you need to adapt your lifestyle somewhat, these sy | My weight has remained constant -I lost my appetite once I started bipolar medication 2 years ago (originally lost 14kg's less than two months), so I haven't experienced Lamictal to affect weight. Lamictal related: I've become increasingly anti-social and rarely leave the house, however, being 21 years old, I guess this keeps me out of trouble. Positive: I've become increasingly interested in and focussed when studying, it seems I've gained some drive and determination. As for fatique, I've always been tired, and my dreams have always been vivid. All in all, I honestly don't know whether or not Lamictal has influenced me, either positively, or negatively. I noticed that my skin scars easily which sucks, and have to avoid picking(have always had problem skin)and shave extra carefully. Even scratching a mosquito bite leaves a scar. I have recently been developing a rather odd symtom, which is most probably Lamictal-related, so it's off to the doctor tomorrow -started as a stinging-feeling in my feet if I walk on uneven surfaces (most noticeable on rough carpet) has become worse, almost permanent, increasingly painful tingling (like pins and needles) in both feet, as well as bumps (feels like the swollen lymph nodes in your neck) appearing on my feet. I'm hoping it's nothing serious, since stopping Lamictal, from experience, physically makes you so sick that you feel like you're dying a slow, painful death. Lamicatal is for life. | F | 21 | 8 months 150 mg 2X day | 1/16/2011 | 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 | 5 | Bipolar 2 | Bad headache each time I had to titrate the dosage up. Other than that none. Maybe some fatigue, but I have been tired my whole life. | I was diagnosed with bipolar at age 48, after years of being misdiagnosed by tons of shrinks with "just" depression. The diagnosis was discovered when I was put on Wellbutrin during a severe depression. Without a mood stabilizer in place the Wellbutrin put me into a severe manic episode in which I was having both auditory and visual hallucinations and racing thoughts so powerful that I could not sleep- making it even worse. I agreed to take lamictal as my last resort to killing myself because with the other meds I tried I felt so drugged and zombie-like.Thank God I did not let the "deadly rash" scare me away from this drug! All I had for side effects were moderate headaches for 2-3 days every time the dosage was upped. NO OTHER SIDE EFFECTS! I stayed at 250 mgs for a long time. Then in Dec. 2010 I had breakthrough mania and mixed episodes with ultra-rapid cycling. All caused by being place on a beta-blocker for high blood pressure that gave me insomnia and anxiety so bad I hardly slept for 3 weeks. No sleep is a disaster for bipolars! So I just got upped today to 300 mgs (Jan. 2011). I will write later to say how the 300 mgs is working to control this terrible disorder that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. PLEASE e-mail if you have questions! Update 1.15: Been upped to 300 mgs and all hell is breaking loose! Can't sleep, totally manic, spent a ton of dough in last 2 days, | F | 54 | 5 years 300 mg 1X day | 1/11/2011 | 4 | Bipolar/Depression/Anxiety | None when taken as prescribed. However, if I miss a dose, in about 4 hours I feel incredibly lightheaded, weak, jittery, foggy, "dumb", etc. Really disconnected from the world, almost like it doesn't exist. | This drug has worked wonders for me. I haven't had a panic attack in a couple years, whereas I used to have them every other day. My mood is much more stable. I still experience depression and anxiety, but most of that can be attributed to life being life...not a chemical imbalance. | M | 23 | 3 years 300mg 1X day | 1/11/2011 | 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 | 1 | Bipolar I | weight gain( 20 lbs)... constipation......, helped with moods, but the fact of the weight gain made me terribly frustrated... i had previously been on lamictal 4 years ago and experienced the same symptoms... i thought maybe it was all in my head, so i decided to give it another try.... i recently stopped the lamictal and went back on my 40 mgs of prozac and kept on with my 100 mgs of topomax.... i have already dropped 11 lbs... in two short weeks... without chagning my diet... i felt bloated with lamictal... mostly water retention..... | F | 40 | 10 months 150 mgs 1X day | 1/8/2011 | 4 | Depression and headaches | I have had Hair Loss, itchy symtoms, forgetfulness, and dreams but it out weighs the severe depression and headches before taking this medicine. | For the Hair Loss since on Lamictal it seems to help with Hot Oil treatments and I now use a leave in conditioner. I have itchy symtoms, forgetfulness, and dreams but it out weighs the severe depression and headches before taking this medicine. Now my headaches and deep depression is much better. | F | 46 | 16 days 100 MG 1X day | 1/7/2011 | 3 | Mood swings/slight bi-polar | I'm not quite sure if the Lamictal has been helping.I still have horrible mood swings.Side effects I noticed.I have lost 30 pounds(i'm not complaining about)but from reading the side effects weight loss is rare,weight gain is actually more common.Although I was on lexpro previously,which i think made me gain weight.I also have a hard time getting to sleep,i wake up several times in the night.I get night sweats.I get a sharp pressure pain behind my left ear about once or twice a week for about 2 hours.. | F | 25 | 5 months 100 1X day | 1/7/2011 | 2 | bipolar type 2 | can't focus, don't want to do anything, sex drive increased exponentially to the point in which it actually interferes with my work and life. Excessive hair throughout my body, ACNE as in a bad case of, can't sleep, I think it took my soul away. | This drug did not work for me, I'm considering going off of meds altogether. The one thing it has helped me with is to control anger, I don't snap at my children like I used to and I'm not as suicidal as before. The improvements I've experienced do not compensate for the side effects. | F | 35 | 10 months 200 mg 1X day | 1/6/2011 | 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 | Sore stomach, insomnia, double vision and dizziness. | The spells of double vision and dizziness have been really disorientating and my stomach seems really sore to any kind of touch but I don't think it's too bad. Hasn't really made any impact on my seizures yet but I'm moving up to 50 mg next and then 100 mg I think so hopefully something will improve. | F | 16 | 2 weeks 25 MG 1X day | 1/1/2011 | 4 | Epilepsy | At first I had the headaches and nausea while increasing my dosage. My appetite is still definitely decreased- I've lost close to 20 lbs, which almost makes up for the 30 I gained on keppra last year. Lamictal made me hyper and unable to sleep, although before keppra I was always an insomniac. I'm sure being in college doesn't hurt either. Also EXTREMELY increased sex drive, with everything also more enjoyable! A slight increase in acne, but not bad. | It's been a great drug- finally seizure free! | 20 | 7 months 200 mg 1X day | 12/25/2010 | 3 | Bipolar II | memory problems; tiredness | F | 41 | 45 days 100 mg 1X day | 12/23/2010 | 5 | Bipolar Type I | None that I can pinpoint specifically to the Lamictal, already had headache, memory loss, insomnia, and bruised easily before taking this - no change there. I did feel a bit shaky for the first little while I was on it, maybe a week or two, but I was in hospital and coming off Depakote due to a bad reaction. | This has been a VERY good medication for me, I take this in combination with lithium. If I miss a couple doses I start getting irritable and I know that will just spiral, so for me it is best to stay on it. I have taken many other types of meds to treat the bipolar and this combo has been the best by far. It doesn't zombify me at all, and as long as I stay on it I hardly ever get manic episodes. Feeling way more in control of my life, I have been in some very high-stress situations since I started taking it and have dealt with them like a "normal" person would! If I feel blue, it's for an external reason now (eg. death in the family) as opposed to it being the disorder. Even if Lamictal doesn't work for you, please keep trying others, it took me over 10 years of living hell to find the right mix but I damn well did it and can feel GOOD now! Hopefully it won't take you as long! Punch bipolar in the neck! | F | 27 | 3 years 25mg 2X day | 12/22/2010 | 1 | Depression/Anxiety/PTSD | side effects: memory loss, word recall, confusion, HAIR LOSS | I was diagnosed with Depression/GAD and PTSD 17 yrs ago. 3 yrs ago I had a re-surgence of PTSD because I was in an abusive job and was sexually harrased in the workplace. In this resurgence of PTSD episode I had feelings of anger, irritability, anxiety and depression and even acted out a couple times with rage. So my doctor decided to put me on Lamictal for the mood and anxiety along with 300 mg of Wellbutrin. This drug did not work for me. I lost 2/3 of my hair and have never in my whole recovery felt so not like myself. I became suicidal and was still depressed and anxious. the worst I have felt - even months after having gotten out of the job. I am now getting off and am down to 100 mg. I started Cymbalta a couple monts ago and am starting to feel like my old self again. I am not a doctor and can't tell people what to do but from my own experience this was the WORST drug I have taken in my whole recovery process. It made things worse. I feel like i have lost the last 2 yrs of my life since I have been on it. Procced with caution. | F | 39 | 2 years 200 1X day | 12/21/2010 | 5 | Mood Stabilizer | Vivid dreams -I stopped taking it at night and this went away. Mild acne increase. The worst thing has been the verbal issues that others describe. I will lose track of a conversation in mid-sentence or not be able to come up with a common word/phrase or even use a completely wrong name/word without realizing it until someone points it out. I find it interesting that so many of us complain about this, yet it is not an "official" side effect. | I find the side effects very meaningless compared to how much this drug has improved my life. I now react appropriately to stress. I think I've found "normal"! I would rather stumble with words and have acne than to go back to the rage filled, angry person that I was. This medicine saved my relationships with my husband and kids. | F | 40 | 1.5 years 150 MG 1X day | 12/15/2010 | 5 | Memory loss and confusion. My super short term memory is gone. I forget everything I did about a minute ago. Pour a cup of coffee or even pick up something I forget it. I have learned to slow down to compensate. | I went off this drug briefly for an unrelated illness and it was hell. I was suicidal and crying all the time. I would never do it again alone. Its a big commitment but well worth it but effects are different for everyone. I am happy and productive for the first time in my life. Personally I would never go off it. | M | 41 | 8 months 200mg 1X day | 12/12/2010 |