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 | 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 | 4 | bipolar | restlessness at night...not sure it was the lamictal, wild dreams, taken in the morning, seems to have me crash around 5 to 6pm...gonna start takin it at night. slow start to get on. | I must say, I was highly suicidal and recently started having anxiety attacks. I almost killed myself cause I was on nothing, and finally my girlfiend dragged me to the doctor. Lamictal was the choice, and I living to tell this story. The suicidal thoughts have receeded and I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. My ups and downs from being bipolar are less dramatic and I feel like this is working...just got up to 100mg a day....so we shall see, but for anyone who is struggling to hang in there, be patient...try it out. It saved my life. | M | 25 | 60 days | 12/29/2005 | 3 | mood stabilizer for depression | None - until about a week after 150 mg. I'm starting to get itchy. I get herpes on my chest - but very rarely these days unless I'm in the tanning booth and forget to put on sun block. I have it in 4 spots on my chest and am constantly putting powder on it. Yesterday and today I am not depressed but certainly lethargic, tired, unmotivated to do my sales calls - this is very unusual for me. On the other hand - it could be left over from the holidays! I now have some itching in my vaginal area with a bump - herpes? which I don't get there, lamictal reaction?, inflamed hair follical? I dropped to 100 this morning as my dr is on vacation til next week. Until I began to experience these side effects I was really happy with it. I hope the itchiness and the blisters on my chest subside having dropped the dosage. Otherwise, adios lamictal | I take it with 100 mg effexor, which has been great. I was also on wellbutrin, but she took me off that because it was causing me to get agitated and reactive. Effexor has always been fine alone, but I hit a real hard spot in my life that necessitated increasing the dosage and it still wasn't enough. I'm not going up higher on it though because it kills your sex drive and makes me really YAWN. | F | 46 | 2 months | 12/29/2005 | 3 | Bipolar | Muscle loss/fat gain, never ending fatigue, extreme cravings for sweets/carbohydrates, and bad mixed episodes | I take I as monotherapy. It was great at 100 mg but once my Dr. increased to 150 mg I went into a manic state. She told me to increase to 200 mg because it was a mood stabilizer but I have read it is not very effective for Mania. I refused and went down to 100 mg and it got a little better. What I cannot deal with is the constant sugar cravings and fatigue. I'm trying to go off if it but the withdrawl is awful and I feel that I am hooked. | F | 23 | 6 months | 12/26/2005 | 5 | Bipolar Disorder | Initial 2 weeks had vivid dreams, don't drink alcohol or take cough syrup-your head will be spinning and you won't be able to walk, no side effects with responsible use | I was lucky that this drug came out in full force right around the time I was first diagnosed. I take 100 mg once a day (always at night)along with 100 mg of Trazondone (don't see anyone else who takes this combination but works like a dream for me!)No problems with sleeping because this stuff knocks you out in about 5 minutes and, for me, ensures a great night of sleep. Taking Trazodone might help some of the people who have the insomnia as it is FOR sleep. This stuff works like a dream. Instead of always wondering what does so and so think about me? or reacting negatively (if not always visibly) to every difficult situation? this drug makes me slow down and think normally like "other" people. I love it. Hopefully you will too. | F | 28 | 2.5 years | 12/24/2005 | 3 | BDP | MOUTH WATERING CONSTANTLY, TOUNGE FEELS SWOLLEN AND MY DREAMS ARE SO REAL AND AWFUL! | BUT IM STILL GOING TO GIVE IT A SHOT CUZ I HAVENT HAD A RASH AND THATS A GOOD THING FROM WHAT I HEAR. CAN ANYONE TELL ME IF THE DREAMS STOP AFTER A WHILE IM SCARED THEY WILL STICK AROUND AND DISCOURAGE ME . | F | 28 | 1 months | 12/22/2005 | 3 | Yes | I have been on this medication for several years now. Dry mouth, insomnia, memory loss, some kinds of cognitive loss, reduced sense of smell & overall sensory perception. All these go away within 2 days if I stop the medication so I doubt I am imagining it. There IS withdrawal if I miss a dose for more than a few days and for me, it consists of acute anxiety accompanied by some confusion and irritability. | So, with all of this, why the heck would I continue with it? Because it has not caused any sexual side effects (important for me) and keeps my mood relatively stable without causing me to become completely numb and disconnected to the world as other medications have. However, withdrawal symptons are a MAJOR problem if I miss a few doses and this potential scares me if I were to lose the bottle during a nice vacation. | M | 41 | 3 years | 12/22/2005 | 5 | Bipolar NOS ( | Occasional joint pain and headaches, significant and disturbing memory loss, increased agitation, teeth grinding, eye irritation (can no longer wear contact lenses), perhaps some hair loss. | This drug is MAGICAL. Side effects are inconsequential compared to the dramatic difference Lamictal has made in my life! Horrible years-long depression has been completely zapped without diminishing my ability to feel emotion or be creative. Tried zoloft and lexapro for depression, and they were both useless. Lamictal kicked in in a couple of days, and I felt immediately better, though I had to keep increasing to stay happy. Am at 200 mg twice a day and plan to slowly decrease levels to see if side effects diminish. (Have tried Neurontin and Seroquel for remaining agitation/irritability, but they were disastrous.) | F | 43 | 9 months | 12/21/2005 | 5 | Bipolar II - mixed/rapid cycling | I had to go up very slowly on lamictal, and it produced feelings of euphoria for the first few months. I also had to deal with fainting spells for a few months, generally after I had not had a good nights sleep. As a side effect of lamictal, I have very mild acne, and am more likely to develop cysts. I had some problems with very vivid dreams, which went away once I decreased the dose from 175 to 100 sucessfully. The tremor which I developed when going on lithobid also subsided after decreasing the lamictal. | Lamictal has been part of a really functional coctail for me: Lamictal: 100 mg, Lithobid: 600 mg, Zonegran: 50 mg, and Concerta 36 mg for ADD/depression. I am emotionally stable, but I don't think I'm an emotional drone. It's help eased some of my anxiety; and I'm no longer labile like I used to be. It took a long time for my body to adjust to it, though. I'm actually surprised I stuck in there so long. | F | 17 | 2 years | 12/12/2005 | 4 | bipolar II mixed | mild nausea, some confusion | just upped dose to 50 mg and have experienced fairly rapid results with calming negative racing thoughts...am taking with 90mg cymbalta (doc's idea)... was taking cymbalta alone but descended into an anxious depressive state with much agitation...so far minimal side effects with grateful improvement...also use 100mg seroquel for sleep...will continue to update in two weeks | M | 50 | 10 days | 12/9/2005 | 3 | Bipolar II | slight acne, sleeplessnes, tremors, easy bruising and trouble with my balance. | not sure if it's working. no depression, but a few hypomanic episodes (which i kind of like sometimes) i was on risperal, but it ruined my memory. this seems to bring it back. | F | 3 | 3 months | 12/9/2005 | 3 | bi polar II | I,m feeling a little nervous and I dont know if its from lamictal. | I,ve only been on it for 2 weeks now at a dose of 25 mg. I have been tanning for a long time in a tanning salon and was wondering if I can still tan? Does anybody know? I also take wellbutrin and zoloft. Hoping to get off these. I hope this medication works. | F | 43 | 1 weeks | 12/5/2005 | 4 | BiPolar 2 | Nauseous, exhaustion, strange dreams | Taking 200mg. Did not experience any side effects until 200mg, and now they have subsuded somewhat. I take it at night and read until I get kind of nauseous, lay my head down and sleep. I sleep through the whole night, which is great, but remember vivid dreams in the morning. Difficulty waking up, but when i do I am ok....until about 5pm, then I feel like I need a nap. I take it with wellbutrin xl, 300mg, and i think it is a good combo for the most part. i am very satisfied, but eager to talk to my doctor about minor changes to get it all just right. | F | 22 | 3 months | 12/4/2005 | 5 | Bipolar Depression | None | Lamictal saved my life. Period! It took me 2 years to find something that would stabilize my moods. Lamictal did the trick. I take 200 mg twice daily and have been doing so for the last 2.5 years now. I did need something for a good night's sleep though. After 2 years, Zopiclone and Temazepam no longer worked. Now I'll be trying small doses of Seroquel at bedtime for a good night's sleep. | M | 42 | 2.5 years | 12/2/2005 | 5 | Seizures | Headache, cognitive effect | I had uncontrollable seizures for one month after my first seizure. The doctor put me on dilantin in the hospital and that was the worst experience of my life. When I started taking Lamictal the seizures stopped. I have not had a seizure since (knock on wood). I do have headaches at times (never used to) and I do find it more difficult to find the right words to express myself and put together sentences. But Lamictal gave me back my independence and allows me to have a normal life, such as having a job, relationships, etc. I am extremely satisfied. | F | 30 | 19 months | 11/26/2005 | 5 | type 2 rapid cycling bipolar | Whenever the dosage was increased i had incredibly vivid dreams, this has now levelled off. some muscular effects, need to "stretch" a lot. | Lamictal has worked very well for me. I have maintained a low dose of 150mg per day, so im still a little up and down, so i have a chance to learn to control myself. my depression is so much better and my thoughts less racy. | F | 29 | 3 months | 11/23/2005 | 5 | seizure | My son has had no side effects at all taking Lamictal. This is the first drug prescribed to him by his doctor, and he doesn't take any other medications. | He had a seizure in May of 2005. He had an MRI and was diagnoised with Grey Matter Displacia. The doctor said this was probably the cause of the seizure and this was a condition he probably had since birth. He started out on a dose of 25 mg. and is now taking 100mg. twice a day. We have not noticed any changes in his learning, sleeping, or memory. He is an A student and also participates in Marching Band. His doctor said there is a good chance he will outgrow the seizures and could be off the Lamictal by the time he is in his early 20's. He has had no reoccurring seizures since the orignial one in May. | M | 16 | 6 months | 11/21/2005 | 1 | BiPolar | Rash, covered all of body | Discontinued use, no effect on issue | F | 1.5 weeks | 11/20/2005 | 3 | Anxiety control | Zoloft - ON ITS OWN - fatigue. Combined with Strattera: MASSIVE HEART RATE (110 standing, 160 with very mild exertion). Massive sweating, even when sitting at the computer terminal. Incredible fatigue. Fluid leaking... | Zoloft, on its own, works great. Apart from some serious fatigue. The Doctor, when telling me to go off, gave nothing to compensate for the withdrawl effects... Several months later, I tried it again but I had started Strattera for my ADD. Do not mix Zoloft with Strattera EVER - it might kill you and I do not exaggerate. See the side-effects above. But I noticed, with the other side-effects, semen leakage after urinating. I told the shrink who summarily thought it was an STD; 4 humiliating hours at the clinic plus 2 weeks' waiting, the tests came back negative and nobody bothered to follow up or continue to ask questions. When using Zoloft on its own: 2 months. When I tried it with Strattera, 1 week - the side effects started 2 days after taking it, but I kept getting told "keep taking the medicine, it will get better after a month or so." (sorry, thanks to prior usage I know enough the drug was killing me. It's like they don't listen...) | M | 33 | 60 days | 11/17/2005 | 2 | possible Bipolar 1 | EXTREME AGITATION - ANGER, increased anxiety w/physical symptoms, increased suicidal thoughts, memory loss, I have trouble reasoning and comprehension, have to read things over finding that I've read them without paying attention, increased dehydration, severe mood swings (crying so much!), word retrieval issues, headache, sleepy a lot, decreased appetite-yet craving chocolate, sugars, carbs, alcohol (I'm a non-drinker) | I am hoping for things to get better. I've read a lot of positive things on this site, so I'll hope for that for myself. I'm going to stick it out through the 4 week time to see if I will work. I haven't noticed any positive effects. I was prescribed Lorazapam .5mg at the same time, and I had to start taking it 3 days ago. I'm needing more of it each day to combat the severe anger and crying bouts. I'm so scared. I just want to be better. Life really shouldn't be like this! | F | 26 | 8 days | 11/15/2005 |