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 |
| 4 | Type 1 Bipolar Disorder | Around the same time I started taking Lamictal I developed an eye tick- excessive blinking and squinting of my left eye. It wasent really a twitch, because it was a voluntery movement. I have had some problems with stumbling occasionally and getting "tongue twisted".. I didnt realize it was a side effect untill I looked into it. That's about it. If anyone has expirenced any weird "ticks" with taking lamictal, please get ahold of me! | Lamictal has helped me alot. I take 100mg daily. It has helped stabilize my mood and control certain behaviors of mine that used to interfere with everyday life. I'm finally holding down a job, I got wonderful grades in my first semester of college, and relationships with my friends and family have improved. Before I started taking Lamictal, I was taking different anti-depressents, and Ive taken an anti-psychotic. None of which helped me much, if at all because I never really mentioned to my doctor about my "manic" behavior. I thought "why should feeling this good be a problem, something to discuss??" Well I was wrong. When I was depressed I would sleep all day, feel suicidal, cutting. My depression would be horrible and last for weeks. When I was manic I would fly off the handle making all of these wonderful plans for the future, life was wonderful! I was so impulsive that one day I withdrew all of my money from the bank and decided I driving to california. | F | 19 | 4 months | 1/17/2007 | 2 | mood stabilization | Constant thirst--I was drinking several gallons of water a day, and would wake up in the night due to thirst. | I didn't take it long enough to experience any of its intended effects. | F | 25 | 1 weeks | 1/15/2007 | 5 | med-resistant depression | insomnia, agitation, rash? | After taking almost every antidepressant under the sun over the last 14 years, Lamictal has worked a miracle for me. It actually stopped my latest depression without the months of slow recovery. I take 450mg of Lamictal daily, all at night (which I think might be part of the insomnia problem). I also take 1350mg of Lithium and 300mg of Welbutrin. My agitation feels like a twitch, but I'm not actually twitching. Although I'm sleeping several hours less a night than I do normally, I don't feel tired during the day. ABOUT THE RASH: After taking Lamictal for about three months I developed tiny pink blisters around my neck. My psych., primary care, and a dermatologist disagreed about the rash's cause so I stopped taking Lamictal just in case. Six weeks later I started again, twice as slowly, and have had no more problems. | F | 34 | 2 years | 1/12/2007 | 5 | Bipolar II | Some facial numbness- may be the Wellbutrin I'm taking. Loss of word recall sometimes. It's more of a momentary annoyance than a major problem. | I have been taking Lamictal for several months now- and on the full dose (200mg) for about a month and a half. Not too long after I was on the full dose, my depression started to go away and I started having good days- now I am feeling back to normal for the most part. I am so grateful for Lamictal. | F | 34 | 4 months | 1/10/2007 | 5 | Depression | Vivid dreams - nightmares. Blurred vision, dizziness after alcohol. Memory/spelling issues. Getting better with time. | Have tried almost every anti -d with limited sucess. Ones that work caused major sexual side - effects. VERY satisfied with lamictal so far. it's early and just up to 50mg so far. Interested from hearing from other people taking this med for depression, as that is not so common. | M | 39 | 24 days | 1/9/2007 | 4 | Bipolar II | tiny burn marks on my arms and legs (looks like someone bumped me lightly with a cigerette); itcy dry skin; bad acne; - most happened when doc told me to increase from 50mg to 100mg in one day!! Still these things happen, but not as often or as bad. | It gave me my life back. It saved me from loosing my business due to sleeping 15 hours a day when on depakote. I feel pretty darn normal. Having some type of rash/reactions at times, but this stuff is just worth the risks. I think I'd rather die that go back to the depression and feeling like a zombie like I did before. | F | 34 | 1 months | 1/9/2007 | 3 | Depression | Disturbing/Vivid Dreams, Night Sweats, and Incontinence. My does recently went up 50mg and my eyes are killing me. I had to buy eye drops, but they wear off quickly. I don't know if I can handle the dry eye. | I haven't seen any large change. I also take effexor xr and seroquel, so it's difficult sometimes to decide which side effect comes from what, but I'm sure of the link, especially with the dry eye. | F | 19 | 13 months | 1/9/2007 | 5 | Bipolar II | I am able to concentrat better...since before my thoughts were rapid. I have been infromed by my wife that I grind my teeth more. WHen I first take the med I am "zoned out". | as others have stated this is a "GREAT" med. I am able to concentrate better, where before I had a hard time sitting still enough to finish a task. Lost 25 poounds on the med... feel much better about myself. I take the med in the morning and drink coffee to get myself going. I am a litle "zoned" when I take the med in the morning, so everyone thinks that I am just tired...great way to hide it... but it only lasts for a short time period. I write down thing that I feel I may forget...this is a way to cope with the possible "MEMORY LOSS", which I am sure I had before. I was never one who could remember names. My relationship with my wife is better and overall I think this med is a wonder!!!!! | M | 30 | 1.5 years | 1/8/2007 | 5 | cyclothymia | None, I love this med! Have not had any itching or rashes. Sometimes I sweat at night, but I just shower more often now, and use perfumes. The dreams I have at night are better than pleasant, always about love and feeling good. I get headaches but not any more than I had before I started taking this. I am finally able to concentrate on a regular basis, so I went back to college and am getting all A's and B's - never could do that before. | I have had cyclothymia for 20 years and was never able to find a medication that worked. This is the first that has actually worked. My moods are very tolerable now. I am as creative as ever, and am finally able to keep a job, be consistant with my projects and meet deadlines. I have not had any mood swings in the past year. I take 400 mg a day. Also, eating healthy and drinking lots of water really helps contribute to feeling good. I also drink detox tea occasionally to keep it from building up in my liver - its good to do that even if your not on any meds. | F | 35 | 1 years | 1/6/2007 | 5 | Seizures from Brain Tumor | I've been taking it so long I don't know what's a side effect of the medicine, and what's a side effect of getting older. But these are some of the negative symptoms I feel are caused from Lamictal: -Horrible nightmares (about 5 per week) -Frequent muscle cramps and backache -Poor short term memory | I take 400mg oer day to prevent seizures caused by a brain tumor which was removed about 12 years ago. After a few years of taking the medicine I went to the doctor to try and see if I could stop taking it. I started to taper off the dosage and all of the sudden I would get these periods of about a minute where I couldn't talk. I would be find otherwise but just could not get any words out. It was very akward, especially at work, or mid conversation with someone. Anyway we upped the dosage and I have been fine ever since. The nightmares I get are horrible though, and I think it's from the medicine. | M | 31 | 10 years | 1/5/2007 | 5 | Bipolar Type II | Difficulty finding the right word, articulation issues (losing the thread in the middle of speaking, etc.). Short term memory loss, blurred vision (at times), more frequent urination. | Tremendously helpful controlling frequency and severity of mood swings, especially depression. I was misdiagnosed with depression for twenty years because I did not have classic mania. Lamictal has allowed me to have a better relationship with my wife and children, as I no longer have the explosive rages and uncontrollable anger and irritation I had with severe mood swings. The suicidal thoughts and self loathing I have experienced all my life are now less frequent and of shorter duration. To help yourself keep a daily mood log--this will help you rate the effects of the drug over the long term--mine is in horizontal bar graph form, with normal in the middle, ranging from severely depressed to severely elevated on each end. This gives me an instant visual baseline for comparison over time. The degree and severity of your cycling are immediately apparent at just a glance, as is your progress over time. | M | 49 | 2 years | 1/5/2007 | 2 | Replace Lithium, Keppra, Klonopin | Cannot take more than 200 mg. without fluid retention and pain in wrists. Experiencing headaches. | My psychiatrist, a good one, was under the impression that this drug was the answer to everyone on multiple medications for depression, unstable moods, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping, after 6 months of treatment. We found out that removing Lithium from my treatment after the 6 months put me right back to severe mood problems. Not sure I see any benefit from this drug. | F | 53 | 7 months | 1/5/2007 | 5 | Grand Mal/Petit Mal Seizures | blurred vision, memory issues, nausea, dizziness | Lamictal has helped tremendously! i've had seizures since 14 yrs and have "made the rounds" from phenobarbital, dilantin, tegretol, zarontin, clonopin, etc etc etc. Although the transition from the tegretol/zarontin to Lamictal was very difficult (it took 6 months to finally be on only Lamictal) it was definitely worth it. Only problems that remain are the constant blurred vision where I have to really try to focus to see well, very poor peripheral vision and memory issues (although my kids tell me i'm just old) | F | 49 | 4 years | 1/4/2007 | 3 | Bipolar Disorder | extreme short term memory loss (especially when upping the dosage), bouts of extreme fatigue | I was put on Lamictal after a suicide attempt/major depressive episode. The memory issues came about immediately, and got worse with each increase in dosage. After I was on 300mg a day, the fatigue got really bad and all I would want to do some days is sleep, even after a full night's sleep before. I am currently off of the Lamictal due to insurance problems, and I actually feel better at the moment unmedicated. Initially it did seem to help with the depressive end of my disorder, but the fatigue at higher doses made me feel more flat and depressed. I am going to speak to my psychiatrist at length about all of the side effects I have experienced with it and see if they can try me on something else. | F | 35 | 720 days | 1/4/2007 | 5 | bipolar/depression | vivid dreams, some disturbing/difficulty coming up with the right words, also on topamax major tingling/ some fatigue. Mostly I can laugh at myself at some of the effects but the joint pain and tingling is a bit much. Breathing heavy is also a new one. After reading some of the other comments I'm hoping to skip some of the other effects. Libido is fine. No hair loss. | If I don't take my meds I notice I am very manic. I had no idea I was so manic until finally after a breakdown in my dr. office did they offer to try lamictal and topamax. For the first time in my LIFE I feel level and can deal so much better with my kids and husband. I actually can get out of bed in the morning wanting to get out of bed. I might be tired, but nothing my 7,5 and 2 year old jumping on the bed won't cure at 7 am. | F | 35 | 60 days | 12/31/2006 | 1 | Myoclonic Epilepsy | Acne - Insomnia - Bruising easily - lots of hiccups Weird noises (half hiccup - burp)loud & uncontrollable Mouth twitches - cognitive skills & clear thinking are a thing of the past | Diagnosed in Feb 06. Have been on Keppra, Depakote, Topamax & now Lamictal. Keppra made me sleep 12-14 hours a day. So confused I didn't know whether I was coming or going. Depakote made me so depressed. I have been on Topamax the longest & on Nov. 2,06 started on Lamictal. I started the weird little noise on the 7th. Haven't had any seizures but I hate Lamictal. I am now weaning off of it. I will continue with the Topamax and the Clonipin to cut my brain off in order to sleep. Hopefully it will work. This has been the longest 10 months of my life and I would rather have a seizure that to take Depakote or Lamictal. Maybe my new case of acne will clear up when I am off of it. I continued to have seizures on all the meds. I have not had one since Nov. 2,06. | F | 18 | 2 months | 12/31/2006 | 5 | Bipolar II rapid cycling | Clumsiness, difficulty focusing, difficulty with word retrieval at times, lose my balance on occasion or randomly drop things, developed purpura on legs after a year(but maybe unrelated), vivid dreams and intrusive images in head when overtired at night. No more headaches after a year but continued body aches and fatigue at times. | I think this medicine saved my life. I've struggled with episodes of major depression and hypomania since 14 years old. Since that time, I experienced "anxiety attacks" that caused depersonalization and dissociation. The lamictal has had no affect on the dissociation and depers., unfortunately, but within a month I found myself crying at feeling happy. I still do on occasion very unexpectedly. I have never felt this way before in my life. Maybe at moments but not like this. I feel like I connect with other people now; I'm able to think more clearly and my thoughts feel "cohesive." I still get depressed and slightly "up," but it's amazing how the highs and lows seem to stay in a more normal range relative to most people around me. It's like I now have a ground to stand on and a roof over my head. | F | 24 | 10 months | 12/29/2006 | 1 | Bipolar Disorder | Vivid disturbing images, uncontrolable fearsome thoughts | I have been taking this medication for four weeks but can not take the violent images. | M | 36 | 4 weeks | 12/29/2006 | 2 | depression, mood swings | For most folks, this is a miracle drug. For me, it seemed to not be doing much of anything. Seemed, I say, because I began having frequent blackouts, periods of intensely violent and evil feelings that I can only describe as psychopathic... utter indifference to my surroundings and the people therein. If combined with alcohol... ANY alcohol... the symptoms were much much worse. Christmas this year was passed with a psychotically violent and abusive episode that has hurt my family tremendously and that I cannot in any way recall. | For most folks, the drug works miracles. I am guessing that I've been hastily diagnosed and don't really need medication at all, which is why this stuff has had such adverse effect on me. | M | 41 | 8 weeks | 12/28/2006 | 3 | seizure disorder and bipolar disord | constipation. good seizure control but faster and more severe mood swings, especially "bottoming out" depression. | oddly, an increased dose actually improved word-finding problems that some attribute to the med, others attribute to seizures. I now take it in combination with depakote. | F | 46 | 3 years | 12/26/2006 |