LAMICTAL Reviews (LAMOTRIGINE)Average Rating: 3.4 (1917 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare LAMICTAL with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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More on LAMICTAL: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR LAMICTAL | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 2 | BP II | short term memory loss, loss of words and thought, sense of humor gone, fogginess/numbed out, joint aches and complete loss of labido. | I have been on 200mg for 9 months and have begun titrating off. I don't find any value in the drug that makes it worth living with the side effects. At this moment, I am struggling to form coherent sentences. This has been typical for the 9 months that I've been on the drug but atypical prior to that. The only other drug I take is 50mg of Pristiq. I am currently down to 125mg; tritating down by 25mg every 7 days. Going from 200mg to 150mg was very easy. My last reduction to 125mg has been rough. I have felt car sick every day, been catatonic and have had a mild headache. I take the drug at night and notice that I wake up ok but then the symptoms start around 10am and last until night time. I am counting the days until I am off of Lamictal. | M | 47 | 9 months | 7/31/2009 | 5 | JME (juvenile myoclonic epilepsy) | light sensitivity w/ headaches, night sweats and vivid dreams, feeling jittery if I'm late taking it (even by a couple of hours), somewhat slower cognitive and motor skills | This drug has kept me seizure free and I can function again without fear of having a seizure. Side effects increase if I'm sleep deprived or stressed out but are manageable. My neurologist said I may be able to try going off of it next year, but I'm not sure I will as the benefits outweigh the side effects by a long shot | F | 24 | 3 years | 7/23/2009 | 3 | Trying to get off Lithium | Just stopped it after 4 days. It gave me a boost of energy and kept me from Binge eating. But I was saying things at work that I normally wouldn't say (negative) and I started to seem more irritable to my wife. THese are too very bad side effects that I cant have. I told my Dr. and he instructed me to stop it for 1 week to see if it was the Lamictal or other triggers. Does anyone have any advice on how I should handle the irritability? Lithobid sucks and I need something to replace it. | M | 42 | 4 days | 7/22/2009 | 3 | Epilepsy | Headaches, vivid dreams, loss of appetite, insomnia, irritability, memory loss, mental fog. | This medication helped control my seizures somewhat, however it takes nearly five months to safely titrate to a therapeutic dosage. The side effects that I experienced were minimal compared to those experienced on Topamax or Keppra. My new neurologist took me off the lamictal because she thought Depakote was more suitible for my type of epilepsy. I start depakote next week, I really hope it works. | M | 21 | 30 days | 7/22/2009 | 1 | Depression, anxiety, PTSD | Nausea - absolutely horrible - like chemo but without the hair loss. | I managed to stay on the stuff for two weeks, noticed absolutely NO change in my moods, but could not deal with the nausea, so I quit taking it. | F | 62 | 2 weeks | 7/19/2009 | 2 | Biopolar I | Weight gain, inablity to lose weight, depression, flat-lined emotions, stuffiness | I have been taking 200mg of Lamictal for almost 5 months and I recently began to wonder if the medication was responsible for my emotional pain and loss rather than my illness. After reading this site, which has been really helpful, I am pretty sure the drug is the cause of my problems. It has been terrible, I take no joy in anything and it takes a great effort to do anything. I gained weight taking Zyprexa, which I have been off for a couple months, but even with a greatly decreased diet and lots of exercise I can't lose any of it. I am going to ask my doctor if there is something else I can take to control my symptoms because this drug is making me miserable. | F | 38 | 5 months | 7/18/2009 | 5 | Dysthymia, Depression, Mood Swings | No side effects. None. | I have tried 15 or 20 different antidepressants over 20 years. None helped. Now I feel better. Mood crashes are less frequent and not so deep. Recovery is quite fast. I feel better, happier, easier, "more like myself." FINALLY. I have been taking 200 mgs per day, and am now starting to take 250 mgs per day, to see if I can squeeze out a bit more benefit. | M | 52 | 4 months | 7/7/2009 | 3 | Severe depression/ Anxiety | muscle stiffness,blurred vision,weight loss according to my doctor although I don't feel I've lost anything, I'm not a person who weighs themselves regulary. At first my appetite decreased a bit but after a few months back to normal. No Sex drive whatsoever! | Lamictal has made me feel good again, my horrible thoughts have gone away. But my vision is not as good, I'm going to see an eye doctor to find out what he thinks about this medication. My psch said the blurred vision is really rare hmmmm. And she weighs me everytime I go to see her. I have lost some weight. but from other patients comments I have seen that Lamictal also causes weight gain. My psch says that as for sex drive this drug is not likely to cause a decrease, but from what I can tell they all do. Is there anyone out there who has found a drug for depression that allows you to still enjoy a good sex life? I've been on Celexa,Paxil, Effexor and Abilify. Pleas help! | F | 44 | 4 months | 7/6/2009 | 1 | depression | Death. Yes, I said death. Google this: " class action suit & lamictal internal combustion" Get off this drug!!! BUT DON"T DO IT NOW! or you will not sleep! You mind could start racing, and you may become manic. I have been taking this shit for 9 months - I thought it was the best thing known to man, it fixed my depression, but then gradually, I became more and more manic. I didn't sleep. I got in arguments with everyone cuz I was so irritable. I got called into my boss's office. Everyone was worried about me. I had neck pain, I slept all the time, I had no appetite, I didn't wanna do anything, I had no appetite, I was nauseated, then I started to lower my dose - then the real fun started - my thoughts were coming in so fast that I planned out the entire rest of my life detail by detail all night long - I cleaned out all my closets, I drove my friends nuts, I was a friggin' basket case. I didn't sleep AT ALL for 12 weeks. | feel free to email me at [email protected] I sincerely am going to make this my life's work to help everyone I can by spreading the word. Pfeiffer Treatment Center and Nutritional Weitht and Wellness are THE best places to obtain treatment - and I've been in this boat (i.e., I've had depression) since 1985. | F | 56 | 9 months | 7/6/2009 | 4 | Bipolar I | Anything over 200 mgs causes serious cognitive side effects for me. Higher analytical powers are intact but short term memory and basic common sense and comprehension go down the drain. | Excellent for me as a mood stabilizer. The best one. I give it a four- and not a five-star rating because over 200mgs daily caused me such cognitive distress that I failed a very important exam and lost a job partly because of it. I am still picking up the pieces. My psych. wouldn't believe me when I reported this side effect at 400 mgs/day. It is rare, but there. MORAL OF THE STORY: NEVER second-guess your own feelings about how your body is reacting to a drug simply because your doctor says a given side effect doesn't usually happen. I won't let anyone put me on more than 200 mgs of Lamictal again. Still have those bad memories. | F | 41 | 6 years | 7/3/2009 | 1 | Partial Seizures | Burning in my hands, arms, back...rash. | Too bad - I thought it was going to be a great drug. All the doctors said it had few side effects and was kind of a mood stabilizer. Pay close attention to the burning sensations and rash. | M | 45 | 12 days | 7/3/2009 | 4 | mood stablizer | seems to help more effectively against depressin than other mood stabilizers | M | 66 | 2 years | 6/30/2009 | 3 | Bipolar II | Fatigue, nausea, periodic vomiting, abdominal cramping, diarrhea weekly, dry itchy skin with bumpy red rash, fatigued or insomiac, lack of concentration and short term memory, irritable with a depression that spirals into hopelessness, acid reflux developed leading to Barrett's Esophagus now on a regimen of Nexium and periodic endoscopies. And, last, but not least, extreme weight gain 30-40 lbs. since I began Lamictal 2.5 years ago. Very frustrated. | The psychiatrist who prescribed Lamictal in 2006, along with my present physician, disregard the side effects I am experiencing. They've even increased the drug dosage when I'm experiencing increased depression/hopelessness without regard for my continuing side effects. Since taking this drug, I have been unable to continue my career as a college English professor, been deemed total/permanently disabled by Social Security and financially challenged. Very frustrated! | F | 62 | 2 years | 6/26/2009 | 4 | Bi-Polar | Sleepiness/insomia, varies day-to-day, itchy, burning skin, some feelings of being anxious, rage. | I have only been on it two months, up to 100 mg, seems to be keeping me steadier with my emotions/thoughts. Some lack of appetite, nausea, some insomnia/sleepiness, varies, no weight gain yet, very concerned on weight gain, anyone have issues with gaining or losing on Lamictal? Weight gain scares me more than any other potential side effect? Thank you | M | 43 | 2 months | 6/24/2009 | 3 | Mood stabilizer | light headedness, stiffness in joints , body aches and excessive sleepines | i was prescribed 100 mg for the past 6 months , initially i felt that it changed my life , i was a new person .. but it gradualy caught up with side effects like excessive sleepines , not able to conenctarte and deliver at my work , In fact i was fired due to my inefficieny , i tried my best to manage the side effects , Recently ,my doc want to increased the dose to 200 and was asked to wait and see for a couple of weeks , i am in the waiting course now , hoping that i will give good results , I am too early to recommend this , but it seems to be working , i am taking 200 mg at night to manage my sleepines side effects , Let me wait and see .. Thanks for everyone who is posting thier experience | M | 37 | 6 months | 6/19/2009 | 1 | bipolar | Flattening of emotions, fatigue, then terrible depression and suicidal ideation. | I went to a nurse practitioner for help with ADD and she diagnosed me with Bipolar II, and put me on Lamictal. At first it seemed to help a little with mood swings. Then my much-loved dog was killed and I spun into a terrible depression. I would have killed myself if I could have come up with a method where no one would have known it was suicide, or had to deal with the horror of finding my body. I kept pleading with the PNP to "let" me stop taking it. Finally after 4 months I convinced her and stopped. I guess it was a symptom that I couldn't advocate for myself better. It was a horrible time. She didn't tell me anything about the possible downsides to taking it. | F | 49 | 4 months | 6/18/2009 | 5 | Mood swings,PTSD,ADHA | Terrible Headaches and slight vertigo the first month. No other physical or emotional side effects. | This drug really changed my life!I had tried so many things with little success and I was so tired of everyone saying that I wasn't myself or I seemed so different. I knew they were right but didn't know what to do!I have taken Paxil (evil Drug),zoloft,wellbutrin XL & Lexapro. All made me functional but not level. After a month on Lamictal, the fog lifted and I was pretty angry about the haze I had been living in for 6 yrs! For the first time, It was a GOOD angry! Family and friends were amazed. 100mg Lamictal with 20mg Adderall XR was my magic cocktail! I am focused,level and still have a very normal range of emotion. No more zombie! The first month I had Terrible headaches but they subsided after I started taking the pill in the morning.I also consumed as much Gatorade as I could hold and the headaches stopped. Hormone flux still triggers the headaches from time to time but very rarely. My doc and I worked hard to find this mix and I couldn't be more happy. Seriously,I'm happy, for the first time in a long time! No more freaking out,crying for no reason,hopelessness or dread about the future. This medicine gave me my life back where the others made it barely tolerable. I know my side effects were mild but if you have tried the "basics" and mood swings are your trouble, this might be worth a try. Good luck! | F | 35 | 2 years | 6/16/2009 | 2 | mood stabilizer | Insomnia, increased appetite, slightly itchy skin, cry easily and anger easily. I am very annoyed with everything, depression seems to have worsened. | I am on the starter pack and just went up from 25mg to 50mg today. I will give this drug some time but it is sure hard with these side effects. I really hope my husband will be patient with me as all my anger and hostility seems to be directed towards him. | F | 42 | 14 days | 6/14/2009 | 1 | bipolar | rash, sore throat, swollen lips, tongue, sore nostrils | PURE EVIL!!!!! IT CAUSED STEVEN JOHNSON SYNDROME, a seriously frightening illness. Luckily, mine was caught in time. | F | 34 | 3 weeks | 6/14/2009 | 5 | bipolar II | weight loss, nausea, fogetfulness, tremors | Lamictal truly has done wonders for me; it brought me out of a terrible depression about two years ago, and since then has completely stabilized all of my mood swings. I liked the weight loss side effect; not so much the tremors, which have not stopped. I seriously was worried that I could have early-onset Parkinson's for a while - has anyone else had that side effect? | F | 19 | 2 years | 6/12/2009 |