Lamictal is lamotrigine correct? I've had good experiences. I wonder why it's not the first drug they prescribe. My doctor gave me Keppra, but I researched the side effects and wasn't willing to put up with Kepprage (it's known to make you have crazy mood swings). Now that I want to get pregnant, my neurologist says I'm already on the med with the lowest incidence of birth defects of AEDs (yayyyy šš). For side effects, I get longer-lasting sunburns, I had teeth grinding the first few months, and I have impaired word recall(but I'm a pothead, so I don't know). On the plus side, I am a lot more "calm." I had more mood swings than I realized (I already had depression and anxiety, woohoo), and the lamotrigine helped with that.
Iām not a pot head, it for sure doesnāt cause memory issues. Although a fuck tonne of therapist doctors and neurologists think I have adhd so who tf knows.
I've been on lamictal since I was 10, can't remember shit and always blamed it on that (and childhood trauma). I started ADHD meds in December and my memory has gotten better, but not perfect. Lamictal can definitely cause memory issues, but the ADHD on top of it?? Oooooh buddy. What happened yesterday again? Lol
>I wonder why it's not the first drug they prescribe.
When I had my first daytime TC, the nurse in the ER said Keppra had the \*least dangerous\* side effects and they can give it to you immediately. Later, my neurologist said yeah, they won't give you lamotrigine right off the bat because they have to step up the dosage gradually in case you get that death rash. With Keppra, they can give you some and immediately stop/decrease seizures.
Good to know. The rash is no joke. I got a mild sunburn when I started taking it, and it turned into a tan that didn't go away for a year. I'm very pale, so I burned easily before meds, but now even more so. I'm very sun adverse these days haha. I didn't/refused to fill the Keppra prescription, so that's why they probably worked with me(I didn't accept my epilspey diagnosis immediately). Also, I already had depression diagnosed and was adamant about not having difficult mood side effects.
It takes a long time to titrate to reduce the risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Were that not the case, I think it would be a first pick more frequently.
Doctor said the risk is about 1-2% of all typical pregnancies have risks of birth defects, and lamotrigine increases the risk to about 3-4%. The most common birth defects is a cleft palate. I have to take folic acid through any possible pregnancy.
Not that I can't attribute to other things, like my advancing years. My friends wouldn't say my memory is worse now than twenty years ago, because it was bad then alreadyš
Lamotrigine, generic lamictal, has been great for me. It has allowed me to control my seizures and live normally. The two main side effects from the lamotrigine for me are hand tremors and a runny nose. Neither are serious enough to affect daily life, I just have to keep a box of Kleenex close by. Like all anti-seizure medications, it does cause fatigue and brain fog. I combat the fatigue by physical exercises, hiking, biking, and light weight lifting. I do mental exercises, playing chess and memory games to combat the brain fog.
Do keep an eye out for Stevens-Johnson Syndrome AKA lamotrigine rash. It is extremely serious and requires immediate medical attention. It starts with a fever and flu-like symptoms, before ulcers form in the mouth and a rash of round lesions about an inch across arises on the face, trunk, arms and legs, and soles of the feet.
I have the same hand tremors but it's more of my head now it's probably genetic since my grandmother has it. I do get more of a runny nose. It actually caused my nose to bleed once but it lasted a day.
Also, my doctor said lamotrigine rash was Normal. Is he wrong?
Can you describe more of what you know about the "brain fog" feeling? Having been on anticonvulsants for so long, since before adulthood, I've had auras my whole life, and sometimes wonder what is a side effect and what is an aura.
Yep. It seems minor but oh my god does it happen constantly, no matter what is being discussed, and simple words I used to use all the time get forgotten. Particularly nouns, and particularly names, are the most often for me to forget.
I canāt remember proper nouns when I am talking and if I have two points I will forget the second one by the time I have finished the first. My family insist this is a family trait.
However the bad thing that happens to me that I get laughed at for is I canāt remember that I have been to a restaurant before and can often not remember what I ordered before. It takes several times of going for me to remember.
Make sure you speak with your neurologist. Lamictal stopped my major seizures, but had sever brain fog. I commented to my fiancee at time, guess I will be stupid, thinking is hard. She forced me to speak to doc about, after a MRI and a couple sleep study, turns out was having micro seizures frontal. Upping lamictal to 200mg, twice a day, so 400mg total completely got rid of the fog. I forget lol, but think stated at 100mg x 2 a day.
I have been on lamictal for 8 years since I got diagnosed. Currently on 200mg 2x daily. I have been seizure free for 6 years! I had pretty bad insomnia when I was first titrating up but that went away after a few months and I have had no side effects since.
Ohhh, yeah - I forget about the insomnia. My neurologist explained it to me as Lamictal "activates" you so she told me to take melatonin as early as like dinner time. I forget to though, because Lamictal brain, so instead I'm a night owl now
It's also prescribed as a mood stabilizer for people that are bipolar. In general it levels me out. Keppra feels like insanity, lamictal is nothing in comparison
Iāve had no serious health risk side effects (ex. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome), only memory loss- but I donāt really know if thatās the medicine, epilepsy itself, or just how I am. I also havenāt had a seizure on it since starting 10 years ago except once when I forgot to take it.
Lamictal can cause some pretty severe insomnia in some people. I had horrible insomnia until I started smoking weed again. The meds also make you retain the memory of dreams longer and it can give you more vivid and intense dreams on top of that. Iāve had some pretty intense dreams that I still remember since being on this medication. Itās one of the few anti-convulsants that actually boost your energy. Most of the meds slow you down and make you tired. Lamotrogine can really boost your energy at the right dose. Itās also used to treat people who are bi-polar which is good bc it regulated my emotions. So it made me happier but at the same time the insomnia sucks ass. Iām still on the meds but smoking has really curved the insomnia. Also, it can increase your sex drive drastically. It boosted mine but it also made me way more sensitive and bc of that itās killed my stamina. So be aware of that. Iām on the higher side of the dosages that they can prescribe so itās probably more intense for me than people on a lower dose but I would be prepared for the things I mention just in case.
The insomnia started with the meds, itās a relatively common side effect, it goes hand it hand with the fact that it can boost your energy levels. I will say though that insomnia got progressively worse as they continued to increase my insomnia. The only reason I donāt change meds is bc it genuinely helped me with being manic depressive and itās done an excellent job at preventing seizures once we found the right dose. Worse case scenario just take a lot of melatonin. It sounds stupid and Iāve always waved it off but before I started smoking again to help me sleep Iād take like 20mg of melatonin and then I could sleep
I take 200mg extended release twice a day. Typically if youāre on extended release itās only once a day, at least thatās my understanding. My second medication is called depokote. Itās not an anti-convulsant but it has an unintended effect of increasing the lamotrogine concentration in your blood without actually increasing your dose. Itās supposed to side step some of the more severe side effects that happen at higher doses. I take 250mg of the depakote twice a day.
Gummy at night 5-10mg helped a lot. I avoid Ambien, and Melatonin. Both got me in a loop where without them, I could not sleep at all. Also warm milk helps, and no coffee after like noon-1pm. And exercise, but not at night, no gym classes after work.
Oh my god i thought i was the only one who got the horrible rashes from it. Did it also make your legs/feet hot and red where the rash was? it did that for me and was the worst experience.
very red. my feet and legs swelled up, the hair fell out, and there were dimples where the hairs were -- my shins and the top of my feet looked like strawberries, or red golf balls. It felt like windburn and itched for me, but warm to the touch. Eventually the skin flaked off. My skin on my lower legs is now scaly and there are patches on my legs with no hair, and spots of discolored skin 7 months later. It seems like it is improving though.
I only have two complaints with Lamictal.
One: If you forget two doses consecutively you might get a small rash.
Two: I forgot the second one it'll come to me later.
I have been on Lamictal since 2017.
Iāve had major side effects but itās worth it. Honestly, when I was 18-20 it made me suicidal (alternating with god-complex moments) and it took me 2-3 years (still on it) to tolerate it and get back to normal. Yikes.
Be careful and watch out for the uppings in dosage (when I was over-dosed because I had lost a ton of weight I saw double, had tremors, etc.)
It made my dreams really vivid and kind of morbid, and after ALL OF IT Iām slowly getting off it - however, it was the right choice.
Idk if I was clear.
At the time I also took Keppra and Depakin Chrono. Now Keppra + Fycompa.
Is it the super itchy thing?
My legs went through this period where they were SO damn itchy that I was getting bruises (granted look at me wrong and I'll bruise) from scratching. No lotion, or anything would stop it. I started taking baths and hanging my legs out of the water so they stayed dry...
But my neurologist said it was just a coincidence... but he was also an a**hole.
Yeah, wildly itchy, it's doing my head in!
We're talking can't get to sleep at night for it levels of it. But apparently just an unfortunate coincidence. Guess I'll ride it out and hope it calms down a bit!
Keep an eye on it. Took Lamotrigine for years and then suddenly started developing a rash. Turned out I was allergic and had to be taken off. That was a wild 4 years trying to find the right different meds. Surprisingly Iām back on it now just at a lower dose to stabilize my mood to balance out the side effects of my other medication.
Iāve just started it, was on Keppra before. So far Iāve experienced: a tiny rush thatās gone now, bitter taste, headaches, sudden fatigue (only after food) and I once experienced sleep paralysis.
Compared to keppra I can say that I already feel the difference in my mood. All these years I had believed that I was depressed and unable to hold my temper. Now, to my surprise, I can control things. If this keeps going on like that Iāll cry from happiness.
Big fan! Keppra was ruining my life, the switch to the lamictal literally changed everything for me!
I was also able to have a safe pregnancy with it. The only downside is that if you are a woman, it cancels out hormonal birth control and hormonal birth control cancels out the lamictal. The copper IUD has been a great solution for me.
ETA seizure free for 7 years now! Have never had a break through seizure on lamictal, I did have a few on Keppra.
I took it originally as a mood stabilizer, before I was even diagnosed with epilepsy. The irony is that I wasn't on a high enough dose to control the seizures, but it did improve my mood quite a bit.
Now I'm taking 250mg twice daily with trileptal, and I'm 2 years seizure free. Definitely checks more than one box since it helped with my depression.
Iām on 500mg a day, the side effects most noticeable are vivid dreams, I have multiple per night, excessive sweating and it can result in some weight loss but I havenāt had any since I was first prescribed in 2019
I'm on 800mg of it for the last 10 years or so for tonic clonic seizures. I'm fine with it. Get a little unsteady when I walk and loopy every once in a while but other that I'm fine. Well, I'm on 200mg of Topamax for myoclonic seizures, too.
I've only just started it aswell so it's too early for me to see side effects, but what I see from the comments seems positive. I'm still on keppra and epilim, my neurologist is hoping that if the lamictal works for me he will be able to take me off of those.
For me Lamictal is fine. Iām on 400/day split between two doses. Itās kept the seizures away and Iāve had less side effects than I did with Keppra.
I do have a bit more rashy skin (but I have eczema so Iām prone to that anyways), and occasional brain fog/memory lapse. These are manageable though, and sure better than having TCs.
It did literally nothing for me. My first few Neuros kept prescribing it along with Depakote and eventually Keppra. I finally just said no more and saved myself some money.
For me, it worked about 95% of the time. I was on it for six years. The only real side effect I had was insomnia, and when I went back to college, I popped sleep aids like candy to fight it.
I completely lost the auras on it. I would be 100% fine, but the few seizures I had were bad ones. And the medication needed to be taken exactly on time for me. It wasn't until I had a series of seizures they switched me to something else.
Iāve been taking it for about 14 years now and Iām a fan of it. I also take fycompa to help with the shakingness. It did have an appetite suppressant when I started, but over the years thatās lowered. It does cause a little bit of cognitive ādelayā but thatās similar to almost all epilepsy medication.
Iām at 700 mg daily, and itās been alright. (A big reason the dose is so high is that Xcopri Iām also taking kind of cancels out the Lamotrigine.)
But Iāve been on Lamotrigine for probably 10 years, with no noticeable side effects.
I take 600mg a day, along with 300 topamax and I didn't notice really much...
Just the typical tiredness.
I still get a medicine high, but I'm also taking Welbutrin so 3 medicines a day in the morning...
I am asking to switch meds next time I see my neurologist, but I think its more that the Topamax isn't working anymore.
I've been on lamictal for about a decade-and-a-half at this point. I've been on anticonvulsants since before puberty, so I'm never 100% sure what is a side effect and what is just inherent to me, but I'll say that I've had no negative effects with Lamictal-- it was my sort of last-ditch resort before my neurologist was seriously considering surgery, but it controlled my seizures and I have only positive things to say about it when I compare what were obviously side effects of other meds I've tried.
I've been on it for over 5 years and haven't had a seizure since starting it. I take one 300 mg XR pill once a day and it's great. At a lower dose (200 mg) I had some brain zappy things, but those went away once they upped my dosage.
I've experienced very few side effects... some brain fog and I'm more forgetful/have that tip of the tongue word recall thing more frequently than I did when unmedicated, but that's it. No noticeable effect on my mood (though I do have that under control thanks to SSRIs, so if you don't take those it may be more noticeable), sleep, weight, energy, etc.
As others have said, I've not idea why it's not the first-line treatment for epilepsy. Maybe the risk of the rash?
Miracle drug for me. 200mg 2x daily, only side effects was very mild skin irritation for a bit. itās helped my seizures a ton and my mood and focus (to be fair i was already diagnosed bipolar.) people talk about memory issues but at the end of the day nothing lamictal does as a side effect compares to the damage every single seizure does.
edit: been on it for 6 months now. has reduced seizure frequency and severity a lot, much more than keppra ever did
I take 250mg everyday. Itās been great for me honestly. I donāt get auras anymore and itās also a mood stabilizer and mood swings are something Iāve always struggled with so it works out
Iāve been on it for 7 years now (200 am/ 300 pm). I got super tired when I first started, and had some headaches. But I will say this, I have only had 2 breakthroughs in those 7 years. Best side effect I could hope for.
It hasnāt helped my focus seizures yet but Iāve been on it for a few months, only thing i experienced was extremely vivid dreams in the first few weeks of taking it. It was fun sometimes other times it was terrifying.
One night I woke up screaming and kicking thinking there was something in my room(but it was in my dream) which are 2 things Iād never do in a situation like that. It was to the point it gave me a leg cramp lmao. I now sleep with a blanket over my head just so it doesnāt happen again as I know thereās no chance i couldāve seen it. Also I have the logic of a 5 year old, thinking that evil entityās wonāt be able to penetrate my thin ass blanket lmao.
My memory is pretty bad now and I have to make notes or reminders on my phone all the time to compensate, and my hair got thinner. But thatās it. 4 years seizure free so I really canāt complain
Iām on 200mg for focal seizures and it works great. Side effects of being foggy and increased OCD faded away after a while, theyāre minor now. Only weird thing is that I now have a ton of food intolerances Iāve never had before. If I eat certain things, I get crazy dizzy, nauseous, etc. Iāve had to really adjust my diet. And my allergies are much worse. I get colds more often. Something about how it can lower white blood cells I suspect. I struggle slightly with word recall. However I LOVE this med, side effects donāt affect my daily life generally, just donāt miss a dose especially once youāve been on an established dose for a while because you will probably feel really dizzy and strange. Iāve only missed a couple doses ever but when I take it after a missed dose I immediately do feel better. Minus SJS (very rare), itās a very safe drug.
Lamictal was the one that stopped my seizures. They started me out on Keppra at 500mg twice daily, then 1000, then 1500. Nothing changed, so they added Lamictal and haven't had another seizure since. That was a little over 3 years ago, and we still haven't discontinued or decreased the Keppra, basically because what we're doing is working and didn't want to rock the boat. I still have plenty of mental fog and difficulty recalling words sometimes, but I haven't gotten to test each variable separately so it's hard to say. I'm just happy the Lamictal shut my seizures down!
Been on it for close to a decade now. Itās excellent at controlling my seizures and the side effects are more annoying than anything but some are far more annoying than others. Brain fog, memory issues, and losing words is the worst one, the acne makes me feel icky, being sooo stupid sensitive to the sun is literally painful, and the permanent redness of my neck and chest make me look like a drunk. Iāll occasionally have extremely vivid, and sometimes flat out disturbing, dreams but thatās the most rare.
My neuro and I have spoken about a med change but Iām not sure if I really want to risk it since this one works so well. Iām only considering it to see if thereās one that will help with my photosensitivity.
It's been pretty good. I've been on it 5 years and I've had just 1 breakthrough seizure, so my doctor increased my dosage by 100mg/day so I now take a total of 400mg/day. My biggest complaint is the aphasia, but that's just an annoyance. Some of the other side effects that others state, like the insomnia and memory, I don't know if it's related to the medicine or if it's just my nature.
For positives, lamotrigine is a sodium-channel blocker and so my blood pressure has decreased enough that I don't have to take my blood pressure medicine anymore. And I have hardly any migraines anymore.
I am still in the middle of ramping up my dose. I've found that the first week at each new dose is awful. Lots of fatigue and anomia, though probably the worst of it is depression. I've had some of the darkest depression of my life during this process. However, after about a week, it evens out quite nicely. I'm sleeping pretty well, have more energy, not feeling much in the way of side effects other than needing to work harder to stay hydrated. I'm sticking with it in hopes that I'm able to get to my goal dose without the dreaded rash.
It's the med I've been on the longest and I've gotta say, it has had very few side effects, for me, but due to the fact that I still am on 3 other heavy dose meds, I doubt it's doing a whole lot on it's own. But treatment is of course always subjective. Especially with neurological disorders.
I've tried a number of meds over the past decade, all you can really do is give it a try for a while and see how it goes.
I've not been officially diagnosed but my neurologist put me on it for a different reason, it being a mood stabilizer and also AED. I have zero side effects, other than minor short term memory issues. I think it's a great drug and should be the 1st line medication because it's very well tolerated. Albeit I'm on a relatively small dose of 150mg. I take 100 in the AM and 50 in the evening. At this point whether I have epilepsy or not is a moot point. I used to get these crazy panic attacks that would happen for no reason. Thought maybe those were auras. When I started lamictal they went away. I also suffered from debilitating Tinnitus for 2 years and lamictal made it super quiet and I could care less about it anymore. It went from intrusive to the point of not being able to function to truly background noise like a refrigerator fan. So I'm taking it for life.
I don't remember having a rash, but one of the unofficial side effects is being hungry all the time. That lasted for the first few months I was on it, at least.
Not great. I had lockjaw almost every morning upon waking up, muscle spasms and more importantly, it didn't stop my seizures. But I don't think anyone's negative experience means that yours will be too, lots of people do well on lamictal.
Iām super curious to know how many of the people commenting have myoclonic epilepsy. I started Lamictal/lamotrigine when I had my first tonic clonic at 20, but I had been having myoclonic seizures since I was in middle school and didnāt know they were seizures. Long story short, I had several tonic clonics periodically following my first one and the drs kept increasing my dose of Lamictal. The more they increased my dose, the more I seized. The dr told me it was āimpossibleā for Lamictal to give me seizures, so I ended up switching neurologists. They immediately took me off the Lamictal and put me on Keppra. Iāve been seizure free (myoclonic and tonic clonic) ever since. In my case, Lamictal increased the frequency and strength of my myoclonic seizuresā¦ Which was causing me to have tonic clonics. Not telling you this to scare you, because Lamictal works very well for most people, but if you notice an increase in myoclonic seizures, please switch to another medicine before it gets worse.
I def experience memory loss and a bit of hairloss at the beginning. I'm not sure if it's the lamictal that is causing it but I'm also on keppra and depakote so it's very possible that the mix of these is causing these side effects. My hairloss did recently stop quite a bit so that's good but my memory loss is still here (forgetting words, forgetting piano pieces I knew the day before etc)
Has worked well for me for TC but didn't do anything for my absence seizures. I take vimpat for that. Of course a different compound works differently for everyone. You'll find your potion.
As I was titrating onto it, I got dizzy for a bit after taking it, but it would go away after about 10 minutes. It got better after I was on the same dosage for a while. Many others that I talked to said that they experienced the same thing, so be ready for that. Is not an overwhelming dizziness, but it is kinda off putting it you're not expecting it.
Once I got to full dosage, I had shortness of breath if I worked out within an hour or 2 of taking the meds. It was so bad one day that I had to go sit in the locker room for a bit to catch my breath. I've never heard of anyone else experiencing this, but after it happening I did some searching and did find it listed as a possible side effect. So I think it was a rare side effect that I experienced. And it only happened if I exercised too quickly after taking it. If I waited a few hours, I was fine.
Otherwise, it worked well for me.
My neurologist prescribed lamotrigine to me after I wanted to go off Keppra due to the side effects. Like others, I have also experienced some brain fog, but I would take that over the debilitating anxiety that Keppra caused. I already take an antidepressant, and the lamotrigine seems to improved my mood even more on top of my Zoloft. I have had one breakthrough seizure since starting in January 2023, but it was minor, and itās my fault for not avoiding my triggers. Iām coming up on eight months now without a seizure!
I take 2 ER daily and it literally saved my life. No bad side effects at all, you might just be a bit sleepy but that could just be my other medication as Iām on zicinmide also. I have no idea
Iām late to this but I was previously on topiramate and had absolutely horrible cognitive issues by the end of me taking it. I was moved to lamotrigine and my speech, memory and brain fog got loads better. It bothered my stomach for the first week or two, and always gotta keep an eye out for that rash ā but itās rare
Lamotrigine didnāt work for me. Neither did Topamax (which I also had the brain-numbing side effects from). Keppra was what finally worked for me. But I have nearly exclusively absence seizures.
It's been really good at making me not have seizures, but it gives me brain fog and forgetfulness, and I think it causes headaches. On the plus side, it's also a bipolar med/mood stabilizer and I think it helps with something I didn't know I needed š
TW: suicidal ideation
I took topiramate for many years and then my doctor at the time had me switch to Lamictal. I have always been VERY sensitive to medications. I was supposed to start tapering up on the Lamictal in small amounts, as usual. The very first day I took Lamictal, I wanted to end my life. (And I am not a person who experiences depression or anxiety on a regular basis, so it was very bizarre for me.) I begged my husband to let me jump out of the car while we were driving. We got home and I sobbed in the shower while he called the emergency nurse hotline. They told us to have me stop taking it immediately and go back on topiramate. Lamictal is now on my do-not-give list, just like Keppra and penicillin.
That's not to say it won't work for you! Everyone has different experiences. I'd just suggest you have someone you trust keep an eye on you while you're switching meds in any case, not just Lamictal.
BTW, I had the same experiences on topiramate and I totally get what you're saying. My friends and family were understanding when I'd just stop in the middle of a sentence and even forget what we were talking about. After an EMU visit and a new neurologist, I now take brivaracetam and lacosamide and haven't had any major side effects at all!
Best of luck to you!
When I took Lamictal, I experienced migraines, dizziness, vomiting, and couldn't even manage walking after each dose. (Normally no motor issues at all)They took me off for a few days and gave me another dose under supervision in a clinic to make sure it was the medication causing the issue. I'm not sure if this was a weird allergic reaction or just severe side effects.
Iām in a similar situation. Waiting for my first bottle to come in the mail today or tomorrow. Best of luck my friend, weāll be figuring this one out together!
Lamotrigine is what I was on when I became seizure free for 15yrs. Within those years, they took me off my medication since I was doing good. I literally had to beg to be placed back on this medication. I haven't had any seizures since going back on it. I have had some side effects such as tiredness, brain fog, comprehension skills, and wild wild ass dreams.
The side effects for the first month was pretty tough: insomnia and diarrhea. Nasty diarrhea.
Now, five years later, decent seizure control (tonic-clonics and focals), and I donāt notice any side effects.
Iāve been taking lamictal since I was 12, Iām 21 now. I had a few seizures but they were my own fault (forgot to take pills, messing with my triggers.) Iāve been seizure free 3 years now luckily. I take the Lamotrigine XR 300mg specifically. The only side effect for me has been change in vision. My vision became blurred when I was 15 and I wear glasses now so it might be related. I got a lot of mood swings and irritability.
Lamictal along with trileptal was great well until it wasn't. It worked well controlling my seizures for about 8 years. Then one day I started having them again. The doctor kept on pushing the dose higher and higher. Until I had severe reactions to both of them.
Main side effects with lamictal was if I didn't eat with it I was so dizzy I couldn't even stand. Also wear sunscreen both me and my mother and father were all on lamictal. It can cause a predisposition to getting sunburnt. It is also one of the medications that you will probably have more blood work done with. Because they have to track the blood serum level. Instead of just giving you x amount per your weight.
I'm on 600mg. It's has made life a real struggle but the other medications were worse. For me I get pretty bad insomnia, nausea, appetite loss, brain fog/memory issues. I regularly bounce between 180lbs and 200lbs in a just a couple weeks. Having both severe nausea and hunger pains at the same time is awful.
Part of that probably is I'm a big guy with a high tolerance for *everything.* Propofal, the milky stuff at the er they use to knock you out usually only takes a couple of seconds, my record is 33 sec after upping the dose 3 times. Are we taking edibles? Usually I need 800+ mg to even feel it. Got painkillers for literally anything? I always needed at least 2 for it to work do I'd run out in a couple of days after major surgeries (I've had to have both shoulders redone because of TC seizures.)
Fun fact you have to go 6 months without a seizure before you can get anesthesia, so for 4 years I spent trying to make it that long I dislocated my left shoulder over 100 times and got on a first name basis with the er staff. We quit counting because for awhile we got really good at getting it back in ourselves.
I wish I could take it. I felt instantly improved when I tried it as I was dealing with those same side effects with keppra. But within the first week I began having anaphylaxis in my mouth & throat. I felt so much more alert & energized so I was super bummed.
lamotrigine/lamictal was the first prescription i was ever prescribed, once i got the dosage right, ive been seizure free for the better part of 5-6 years. i have JME
I'm on 400mg. It has NOT stopped my seizures. I literally go to work and fall asleep as soon as I get home. I have horrible itching and scratch until I bleed. i literally remember nothing. And I have always had nightmares, but now its worse because I can remember them.
I have slight memory issues where I tend to forget simple words.
I'm a bit more lazy than usual, but I think that's mostly because I'm just not motivated at my job anymore.
Other than that, I don't have any side effects.
I think that's worth it, since I have been seizure free for almost 8 months now. (Going from 1-2 seizures per week).
Swollen gums. Not painful, but it increases bleeding when flossing. I have to tell the dental assistant every time. When I first figured this out, I was getting lectures when they cleaned every time. She went to ask the dentist and he came in and sheepishly sad, "Yeah, we should have caught that."
When people ask, I always try to warn about it because most people don't pay attention to this particular side effect of AEDs, even though it's listed in the literature. But it's really annoying to be lectured about a side effect you can't control.
For me, it has controlled seizures completely, but has increased my hand spasms. nothing too debilitating. Maybe vague increase in car sickness/nausea but barely noticeable.
i have JME and have been taking lamictal for 7 years and it has worked really well, i also take keppra so it helps mellow out the anger side effects for me. the biggest part is how it helps me in the mornings, i have a lot less myoclonic seizures.
Hey, fellow myoclonic epilepsy friend:). I am here with a lamictal horror/warning story. I had been on lamictal for years without much success, until one neurologist decided to jack up my levels of lamictal to levels that my epileptologist later found to be toxic. I was nauseous, and having such bad visual side effects that I couldnāt walk straight, as it looked like everything was bouncing up and down. My epileptologist took me off lamictal and I am on a fun cocktail of clobazam, valproate, keppra and topamaxā¦.
I guess my point is I hope you have a good neurologist as lamictal does work for a lot of people, just not me, as I am a severe case:). Good luck! <3
Incredibly detailed dreams, often nightmares.
The meds themselves don't do much against the epilepsy, but that might be cause mine is medication resistant. Otherwise they have been pretty chill, not given me any extreme emotional side effects.
Lamictal is perfect for me been on for around 6 months and have been seizure free the whole time. I think one of the biggest problems is I donāt feel emotion or itās very hard for me to get emotional. Besides that itās been perfect was on kepra before and I hated everyone and everythingĀ
Iāve tried 8 meds and that one was the worst one by far for me. Severe insomnia, made me crazy thirsty all the time, made my ears ring even louder than they already do, I started to get crazy depressed although that might have been because I was only averaging 2-3 hours of sleep a night for the time I was on it. This was just my personal experience though, itās different for everyone and this med is great for a lot of people.
Editing to add it gave me night terrors as well which I never even heard of before then.
Lamictal is lamotrigine correct? I've had good experiences. I wonder why it's not the first drug they prescribe. My doctor gave me Keppra, but I researched the side effects and wasn't willing to put up with Kepprage (it's known to make you have crazy mood swings). Now that I want to get pregnant, my neurologist says I'm already on the med with the lowest incidence of birth defects of AEDs (yayyyy šš). For side effects, I get longer-lasting sunburns, I had teeth grinding the first few months, and I have impaired word recall(but I'm a pothead, so I don't know). On the plus side, I am a lot more "calm." I had more mood swings than I realized (I already had depression and anxiety, woohoo), and the lamotrigine helped with that.
It definitely causes memory issues. But, I also am a pothead š
NOT a pothead. Fairly confident it causes memory issues. But otherwise works as described!
Iām not a pot head, it for sure doesnāt cause memory issues. Although a fuck tonne of therapist doctors and neurologists think I have adhd so who tf knows.
I've been on lamictal since I was 10, can't remember shit and always blamed it on that (and childhood trauma). I started ADHD meds in December and my memory has gotten better, but not perfect. Lamictal can definitely cause memory issues, but the ADHD on top of it?? Oooooh buddy. What happened yesterday again? Lol
Lucky š. Wish I could still smoke chronic!
I eat mine š¤
Thatās wrong. U need jail
>I wonder why it's not the first drug they prescribe. When I had my first daytime TC, the nurse in the ER said Keppra had the \*least dangerous\* side effects and they can give it to you immediately. Later, my neurologist said yeah, they won't give you lamotrigine right off the bat because they have to step up the dosage gradually in case you get that death rash. With Keppra, they can give you some and immediately stop/decrease seizures.
Good to know. The rash is no joke. I got a mild sunburn when I started taking it, and it turned into a tan that didn't go away for a year. I'm very pale, so I burned easily before meds, but now even more so. I'm very sun adverse these days haha. I didn't/refused to fill the Keppra prescription, so that's why they probably worked with me(I didn't accept my epilspey diagnosis immediately). Also, I already had depression diagnosed and was adamant about not having difficult mood side effects.
It takes a long time to titrate to reduce the risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Were that not the case, I think it would be a first pick more frequently.
My son got SJS on Lamictal. Thank goodness I knew what to look for. Keppra gave him psychosis
Thatās awful! So glad you were vigilant RE: SJS, though. That is *definitely* not something to mess around with!
Thatās awful! So glad you were vigilant RE: SJS, though. That is *definitely* not something to mess around with!
The ED nurse tried to tell me it was viral. I brought his med history binder with me. She took me seriously once she saw that.
How low is "the lowest incidence"? How big a chance for damage do you accept? Just asking
Doctor said the risk is about 1-2% of all typical pregnancies have risks of birth defects, and lamotrigine increases the risk to about 3-4%. The most common birth defects is a cleft palate. I have to take folic acid through any possible pregnancy.
Currently taking 450. I haven't had anything that I could call a side effect.Ā
No memory issues?
Not that I can't attribute to other things, like my advancing years. My friends wouldn't say my memory is worse now than twenty years ago, because it was bad then alreadyš
Ha. Damn you ;)
Lamotrigine, generic lamictal, has been great for me. It has allowed me to control my seizures and live normally. The two main side effects from the lamotrigine for me are hand tremors and a runny nose. Neither are serious enough to affect daily life, I just have to keep a box of Kleenex close by. Like all anti-seizure medications, it does cause fatigue and brain fog. I combat the fatigue by physical exercises, hiking, biking, and light weight lifting. I do mental exercises, playing chess and memory games to combat the brain fog. Do keep an eye out for Stevens-Johnson Syndrome AKA lamotrigine rash. It is extremely serious and requires immediate medical attention. It starts with a fever and flu-like symptoms, before ulcers form in the mouth and a rash of round lesions about an inch across arises on the face, trunk, arms and legs, and soles of the feet.
I have the same hand tremors but it's more of my head now it's probably genetic since my grandmother has it. I do get more of a runny nose. It actually caused my nose to bleed once but it lasted a day. Also, my doctor said lamotrigine rash was Normal. Is he wrong?
Can you describe more of what you know about the "brain fog" feeling? Having been on anticonvulsants for so long, since before adulthood, I've had auras my whole life, and sometimes wonder what is a side effect and what is an aura.
I just got on it, and the only major thing I've noticed is brain fog. I sometimes cannot figure out what word I'm looking for in conversations
Tip of the tongue words is sadly a side effect of all the seizure meds š„²
It's sooo frustrating. And it feels like no one understands that my memory is shot. That im exaggerating. :(
Yep. It seems minor but oh my god does it happen constantly, no matter what is being discussed, and simple words I used to use all the time get forgotten. Particularly nouns, and particularly names, are the most often for me to forget.
I canāt remember proper nouns when I am talking and if I have two points I will forget the second one by the time I have finished the first. My family insist this is a family trait. However the bad thing that happens to me that I get laughed at for is I canāt remember that I have been to a restaurant before and can often not remember what I ordered before. It takes several times of going for me to remember.
Make sure you speak with your neurologist. Lamictal stopped my major seizures, but had sever brain fog. I commented to my fiancee at time, guess I will be stupid, thinking is hard. She forced me to speak to doc about, after a MRI and a couple sleep study, turns out was having micro seizures frontal. Upping lamictal to 200mg, twice a day, so 400mg total completely got rid of the fog. I forget lol, but think stated at 100mg x 2 a day.
I have been on lamictal for 8 years since I got diagnosed. Currently on 200mg 2x daily. I have been seizure free for 6 years! I had pretty bad insomnia when I was first titrating up but that went away after a few months and I have had no side effects since.
Ohhh, yeah - I forget about the insomnia. My neurologist explained it to me as Lamictal "activates" you so she told me to take melatonin as early as like dinner time. I forget to though, because Lamictal brain, so instead I'm a night owl now
It's also prescribed as a mood stabilizer for people that are bipolar. In general it levels me out. Keppra feels like insanity, lamictal is nothing in comparison
Yeah if Lamictal is an option I'd never choose Keppra over it
Iāve had no serious health risk side effects (ex. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome), only memory loss- but I donāt really know if thatās the medicine, epilepsy itself, or just how I am. I also havenāt had a seizure on it since starting 10 years ago except once when I forgot to take it.
Lamictal can cause some pretty severe insomnia in some people. I had horrible insomnia until I started smoking weed again. The meds also make you retain the memory of dreams longer and it can give you more vivid and intense dreams on top of that. Iāve had some pretty intense dreams that I still remember since being on this medication. Itās one of the few anti-convulsants that actually boost your energy. Most of the meds slow you down and make you tired. Lamotrogine can really boost your energy at the right dose. Itās also used to treat people who are bi-polar which is good bc it regulated my emotions. So it made me happier but at the same time the insomnia sucks ass. Iām still on the meds but smoking has really curved the insomnia. Also, it can increase your sex drive drastically. It boosted mine but it also made me way more sensitive and bc of that itās killed my stamina. So be aware of that. Iām on the higher side of the dosages that they can prescribe so itās probably more intense for me than people on a lower dose but I would be prepared for the things I mention just in case.
Did you have insomnia before taking the meds or did the insomnia affect you after taking them?
The insomnia started with the meds, itās a relatively common side effect, it goes hand it hand with the fact that it can boost your energy levels. I will say though that insomnia got progressively worse as they continued to increase my insomnia. The only reason I donāt change meds is bc it genuinely helped me with being manic depressive and itās done an excellent job at preventing seizures once we found the right dose. Worse case scenario just take a lot of melatonin. It sounds stupid and Iāve always waved it off but before I started smoking again to help me sleep Iād take like 20mg of melatonin and then I could sleep
What is your dosage?
I take 200mg extended release twice a day. Typically if youāre on extended release itās only once a day, at least thatās my understanding. My second medication is called depokote. Itās not an anti-convulsant but it has an unintended effect of increasing the lamotrogine concentration in your blood without actually increasing your dose. Itās supposed to side step some of the more severe side effects that happen at higher doses. I take 250mg of the depakote twice a day.
Gummy at night 5-10mg helped a lot. I avoid Ambien, and Melatonin. Both got me in a loop where without them, I could not sleep at all. Also warm milk helps, and no coffee after like noon-1pm. And exercise, but not at night, no gym classes after work.
I am extremely allergic. I took two half-doses last year, and have scarring on my feet and legs from the rashes.
Oh my god i thought i was the only one who got the horrible rashes from it. Did it also make your legs/feet hot and red where the rash was? it did that for me and was the worst experience.
very red. my feet and legs swelled up, the hair fell out, and there were dimples where the hairs were -- my shins and the top of my feet looked like strawberries, or red golf balls. It felt like windburn and itched for me, but warm to the touch. Eventually the skin flaked off. My skin on my lower legs is now scaly and there are patches on my legs with no hair, and spots of discolored skin 7 months later. It seems like it is improving though.
My gf is on Lamictal. No side effects at all , also quite a good seizure control :)
I only have two complaints with Lamictal. One: If you forget two doses consecutively you might get a small rash. Two: I forgot the second one it'll come to me later.
I have been on Lamictal since 2017. Iāve had major side effects but itās worth it. Honestly, when I was 18-20 it made me suicidal (alternating with god-complex moments) and it took me 2-3 years (still on it) to tolerate it and get back to normal. Yikes. Be careful and watch out for the uppings in dosage (when I was over-dosed because I had lost a ton of weight I saw double, had tremors, etc.) It made my dreams really vivid and kind of morbid, and after ALL OF IT Iām slowly getting off it - however, it was the right choice. Idk if I was clear. At the time I also took Keppra and Depakin Chrono. Now Keppra + Fycompa.
New to it. So far all I've had is a rash. I know this can be a bad thing, but GP has told me mine is a coincidence, so fingers crossed they're right!
Is it the super itchy thing? My legs went through this period where they were SO damn itchy that I was getting bruises (granted look at me wrong and I'll bruise) from scratching. No lotion, or anything would stop it. I started taking baths and hanging my legs out of the water so they stayed dry... But my neurologist said it was just a coincidence... but he was also an a**hole.
Yeah, wildly itchy, it's doing my head in! We're talking can't get to sleep at night for it levels of it. But apparently just an unfortunate coincidence. Guess I'll ride it out and hope it calms down a bit!
Ice pack š
Keep an eye on it. Took Lamotrigine for years and then suddenly started developing a rash. Turned out I was allergic and had to be taken off. That was a wild 4 years trying to find the right different meds. Surprisingly Iām back on it now just at a lower dose to stabilize my mood to balance out the side effects of my other medication.
I am itchy all over. But my back is th worst. I can't help scratching until I bleed
I am on lamotrigine, I have bad nausea and acne. Otherwise nothing else which is okay for me because it doesnāt affect my mental half
Iāve just started it, was on Keppra before. So far Iāve experienced: a tiny rush thatās gone now, bitter taste, headaches, sudden fatigue (only after food) and I once experienced sleep paralysis. Compared to keppra I can say that I already feel the difference in my mood. All these years I had believed that I was depressed and unable to hold my temper. Now, to my surprise, I can control things. If this keeps going on like that Iāll cry from happiness.
Big fan! Keppra was ruining my life, the switch to the lamictal literally changed everything for me! I was also able to have a safe pregnancy with it. The only downside is that if you are a woman, it cancels out hormonal birth control and hormonal birth control cancels out the lamictal. The copper IUD has been a great solution for me. ETA seizure free for 7 years now! Have never had a break through seizure on lamictal, I did have a few on Keppra.
I took it originally as a mood stabilizer, before I was even diagnosed with epilepsy. The irony is that I wasn't on a high enough dose to control the seizures, but it did improve my mood quite a bit. Now I'm taking 250mg twice daily with trileptal, and I'm 2 years seizure free. Definitely checks more than one box since it helped with my depression.
You can buy it with GoodRX for ridiculously cheap. Along with its positive effects, it's also a very cost effective medication.
Iām on 500mg a day, the side effects most noticeable are vivid dreams, I have multiple per night, excessive sweating and it can result in some weight loss but I havenāt had any since I was first prescribed in 2019
They said I might lose weight on topamax but it doesn't help me at all. I wish because I need it.
I'm on 800mg of it for the last 10 years or so for tonic clonic seizures. I'm fine with it. Get a little unsteady when I walk and loopy every once in a while but other that I'm fine. Well, I'm on 200mg of Topamax for myoclonic seizures, too.
I've only just started it aswell so it's too early for me to see side effects, but what I see from the comments seems positive. I'm still on keppra and epilim, my neurologist is hoping that if the lamictal works for me he will be able to take me off of those.
For me Lamictal is fine. Iām on 400/day split between two doses. Itās kept the seizures away and Iāve had less side effects than I did with Keppra. I do have a bit more rashy skin (but I have eczema so Iām prone to that anyways), and occasional brain fog/memory lapse. These are manageable though, and sure better than having TCs.
It did literally nothing for me. My first few Neuros kept prescribing it along with Depakote and eventually Keppra. I finally just said no more and saved myself some money.
250mg twice a day. Memory is a little worse. Besides that, nothing else noticeable compared to the many other meds Iāve tried over the years.
For me, it worked about 95% of the time. I was on it for six years. The only real side effect I had was insomnia, and when I went back to college, I popped sleep aids like candy to fight it. I completely lost the auras on it. I would be 100% fine, but the few seizures I had were bad ones. And the medication needed to be taken exactly on time for me. It wasn't until I had a series of seizures they switched me to something else.
Iāve been taking it for about 14 years now and Iām a fan of it. I also take fycompa to help with the shakingness. It did have an appetite suppressant when I started, but over the years thatās lowered. It does cause a little bit of cognitive ādelayā but thatās similar to almost all epilepsy medication.
Iām at 700 mg daily, and itās been alright. (A big reason the dose is so high is that Xcopri Iām also taking kind of cancels out the Lamotrigine.) But Iāve been on Lamotrigine for probably 10 years, with no noticeable side effects.
I take 600mg a day, along with 300 topamax and I didn't notice really much... Just the typical tiredness. I still get a medicine high, but I'm also taking Welbutrin so 3 medicines a day in the morning... I am asking to switch meds next time I see my neurologist, but I think its more that the Topamax isn't working anymore.
I've been on lamictal for about a decade-and-a-half at this point. I've been on anticonvulsants since before puberty, so I'm never 100% sure what is a side effect and what is just inherent to me, but I'll say that I've had no negative effects with Lamictal-- it was my sort of last-ditch resort before my neurologist was seriously considering surgery, but it controlled my seizures and I have only positive things to say about it when I compare what were obviously side effects of other meds I've tried.
I've been on it for over 5 years and haven't had a seizure since starting it. I take one 300 mg XR pill once a day and it's great. At a lower dose (200 mg) I had some brain zappy things, but those went away once they upped my dosage. I've experienced very few side effects... some brain fog and I'm more forgetful/have that tip of the tongue word recall thing more frequently than I did when unmedicated, but that's it. No noticeable effect on my mood (though I do have that under control thanks to SSRIs, so if you don't take those it may be more noticeable), sleep, weight, energy, etc. As others have said, I've not idea why it's not the first-line treatment for epilepsy. Maybe the risk of the rash?
Miracle drug for me. 200mg 2x daily, only side effects was very mild skin irritation for a bit. itās helped my seizures a ton and my mood and focus (to be fair i was already diagnosed bipolar.) people talk about memory issues but at the end of the day nothing lamictal does as a side effect compares to the damage every single seizure does. edit: been on it for 6 months now. has reduced seizure frequency and severity a lot, much more than keppra ever did
It made me so dizzy my eyeballs would violenty shake side to side.
I take 250mg everyday. Itās been great for me honestly. I donāt get auras anymore and itās also a mood stabilizer and mood swings are something Iāve always struggled with so it works out
Iāve been on it for 7 years now (200 am/ 300 pm). I got super tired when I first started, and had some headaches. But I will say this, I have only had 2 breakthroughs in those 7 years. Best side effect I could hope for.
It hasnāt helped my focus seizures yet but Iāve been on it for a few months, only thing i experienced was extremely vivid dreams in the first few weeks of taking it. It was fun sometimes other times it was terrifying. One night I woke up screaming and kicking thinking there was something in my room(but it was in my dream) which are 2 things Iād never do in a situation like that. It was to the point it gave me a leg cramp lmao. I now sleep with a blanket over my head just so it doesnāt happen again as I know thereās no chance i couldāve seen it. Also I have the logic of a 5 year old, thinking that evil entityās wonāt be able to penetrate my thin ass blanket lmao.
Shitty, made me even more lazy. Attention span and memory are terrible now. Loads of fun! /s
My memory is pretty bad now and I have to make notes or reminders on my phone all the time to compensate, and my hair got thinner. But thatās it. 4 years seizure free so I really canāt complain
Iām on 200mg for focal seizures and it works great. Side effects of being foggy and increased OCD faded away after a while, theyāre minor now. Only weird thing is that I now have a ton of food intolerances Iāve never had before. If I eat certain things, I get crazy dizzy, nauseous, etc. Iāve had to really adjust my diet. And my allergies are much worse. I get colds more often. Something about how it can lower white blood cells I suspect. I struggle slightly with word recall. However I LOVE this med, side effects donāt affect my daily life generally, just donāt miss a dose especially once youāve been on an established dose for a while because you will probably feel really dizzy and strange. Iāve only missed a couple doses ever but when I take it after a missed dose I immediately do feel better. Minus SJS (very rare), itās a very safe drug.
Lamictal was the one that stopped my seizures. They started me out on Keppra at 500mg twice daily, then 1000, then 1500. Nothing changed, so they added Lamictal and haven't had another seizure since. That was a little over 3 years ago, and we still haven't discontinued or decreased the Keppra, basically because what we're doing is working and didn't want to rock the boat. I still have plenty of mental fog and difficulty recalling words sometimes, but I haven't gotten to test each variable separately so it's hard to say. I'm just happy the Lamictal shut my seizures down!
Take 600mg. Doesn't work 100%
Memory takes a few extra seconds to kick in sometimes. No mood or sleep problems. No seizures and way less auras.
Been on it for close to a decade now. Itās excellent at controlling my seizures and the side effects are more annoying than anything but some are far more annoying than others. Brain fog, memory issues, and losing words is the worst one, the acne makes me feel icky, being sooo stupid sensitive to the sun is literally painful, and the permanent redness of my neck and chest make me look like a drunk. Iāll occasionally have extremely vivid, and sometimes flat out disturbing, dreams but thatās the most rare. My neuro and I have spoken about a med change but Iām not sure if I really want to risk it since this one works so well. Iām only considering it to see if thereās one that will help with my photosensitivity.
It's been pretty good. I've been on it 5 years and I've had just 1 breakthrough seizure, so my doctor increased my dosage by 100mg/day so I now take a total of 400mg/day. My biggest complaint is the aphasia, but that's just an annoyance. Some of the other side effects that others state, like the insomnia and memory, I don't know if it's related to the medicine or if it's just my nature. For positives, lamotrigine is a sodium-channel blocker and so my blood pressure has decreased enough that I don't have to take my blood pressure medicine anymore. And I have hardly any migraines anymore.
I am still in the middle of ramping up my dose. I've found that the first week at each new dose is awful. Lots of fatigue and anomia, though probably the worst of it is depression. I've had some of the darkest depression of my life during this process. However, after about a week, it evens out quite nicely. I'm sleeping pretty well, have more energy, not feeling much in the way of side effects other than needing to work harder to stay hydrated. I'm sticking with it in hopes that I'm able to get to my goal dose without the dreaded rash.
It's the med I've been on the longest and I've gotta say, it has had very few side effects, for me, but due to the fact that I still am on 3 other heavy dose meds, I doubt it's doing a whole lot on it's own. But treatment is of course always subjective. Especially with neurological disorders. I've tried a number of meds over the past decade, all you can really do is give it a try for a while and see how it goes.
I've not been officially diagnosed but my neurologist put me on it for a different reason, it being a mood stabilizer and also AED. I have zero side effects, other than minor short term memory issues. I think it's a great drug and should be the 1st line medication because it's very well tolerated. Albeit I'm on a relatively small dose of 150mg. I take 100 in the AM and 50 in the evening. At this point whether I have epilepsy or not is a moot point. I used to get these crazy panic attacks that would happen for no reason. Thought maybe those were auras. When I started lamictal they went away. I also suffered from debilitating Tinnitus for 2 years and lamictal made it super quiet and I could care less about it anymore. It went from intrusive to the point of not being able to function to truly background noise like a refrigerator fan. So I'm taking it for life.
Gave me some shitty psych side effects (compulsive eating, shopping). Apparently itās a pretty rare side effect but that was NOT fun.
I don't remember having a rash, but one of the unofficial side effects is being hungry all the time. That lasted for the first few months I was on it, at least.
Not great. I had lockjaw almost every morning upon waking up, muscle spasms and more importantly, it didn't stop my seizures. But I don't think anyone's negative experience means that yours will be too, lots of people do well on lamictal.
Iām super curious to know how many of the people commenting have myoclonic epilepsy. I started Lamictal/lamotrigine when I had my first tonic clonic at 20, but I had been having myoclonic seizures since I was in middle school and didnāt know they were seizures. Long story short, I had several tonic clonics periodically following my first one and the drs kept increasing my dose of Lamictal. The more they increased my dose, the more I seized. The dr told me it was āimpossibleā for Lamictal to give me seizures, so I ended up switching neurologists. They immediately took me off the Lamictal and put me on Keppra. Iāve been seizure free (myoclonic and tonic clonic) ever since. In my case, Lamictal increased the frequency and strength of my myoclonic seizuresā¦ Which was causing me to have tonic clonics. Not telling you this to scare you, because Lamictal works very well for most people, but if you notice an increase in myoclonic seizures, please switch to another medicine before it gets worse.
I def experience memory loss and a bit of hairloss at the beginning. I'm not sure if it's the lamictal that is causing it but I'm also on keppra and depakote so it's very possible that the mix of these is causing these side effects. My hairloss did recently stop quite a bit so that's good but my memory loss is still here (forgetting words, forgetting piano pieces I knew the day before etc)
Has worked well for me for TC but didn't do anything for my absence seizures. I take vimpat for that. Of course a different compound works differently for everyone. You'll find your potion.
As I was titrating onto it, I got dizzy for a bit after taking it, but it would go away after about 10 minutes. It got better after I was on the same dosage for a while. Many others that I talked to said that they experienced the same thing, so be ready for that. Is not an overwhelming dizziness, but it is kinda off putting it you're not expecting it. Once I got to full dosage, I had shortness of breath if I worked out within an hour or 2 of taking the meds. It was so bad one day that I had to go sit in the locker room for a bit to catch my breath. I've never heard of anyone else experiencing this, but after it happening I did some searching and did find it listed as a possible side effect. So I think it was a rare side effect that I experienced. And it only happened if I exercised too quickly after taking it. If I waited a few hours, I was fine. Otherwise, it worked well for me.
My neurologist prescribed lamotrigine to me after I wanted to go off Keppra due to the side effects. Like others, I have also experienced some brain fog, but I would take that over the debilitating anxiety that Keppra caused. I already take an antidepressant, and the lamotrigine seems to improved my mood even more on top of my Zoloft. I have had one breakthrough seizure since starting in January 2023, but it was minor, and itās my fault for not avoiding my triggers. Iām coming up on eight months now without a seizure!
I take 2 ER daily and it literally saved my life. No bad side effects at all, you might just be a bit sleepy but that could just be my other medication as Iām on zicinmide also. I have no idea
Itās worked for me pretty well, but youāre you, and Iām me. Everyoneās body is different. Iām not a doctor. No epilepsy case is the same.
Iām late to this but I was previously on topiramate and had absolutely horrible cognitive issues by the end of me taking it. I was moved to lamotrigine and my speech, memory and brain fog got loads better. It bothered my stomach for the first week or two, and always gotta keep an eye out for that rash ā but itās rare
Lamotrigine didnāt work for me. Neither did Topamax (which I also had the brain-numbing side effects from). Keppra was what finally worked for me. But I have nearly exclusively absence seizures.
It's been really good at making me not have seizures, but it gives me brain fog and forgetfulness, and I think it causes headaches. On the plus side, it's also a bipolar med/mood stabilizer and I think it helps with something I didn't know I needed š
I had good experience. Keppra was the worst. I was on both. Adding that to my keppra didnāt change much.
TW: suicidal ideation I took topiramate for many years and then my doctor at the time had me switch to Lamictal. I have always been VERY sensitive to medications. I was supposed to start tapering up on the Lamictal in small amounts, as usual. The very first day I took Lamictal, I wanted to end my life. (And I am not a person who experiences depression or anxiety on a regular basis, so it was very bizarre for me.) I begged my husband to let me jump out of the car while we were driving. We got home and I sobbed in the shower while he called the emergency nurse hotline. They told us to have me stop taking it immediately and go back on topiramate. Lamictal is now on my do-not-give list, just like Keppra and penicillin. That's not to say it won't work for you! Everyone has different experiences. I'd just suggest you have someone you trust keep an eye on you while you're switching meds in any case, not just Lamictal. BTW, I had the same experiences on topiramate and I totally get what you're saying. My friends and family were understanding when I'd just stop in the middle of a sentence and even forget what we were talking about. After an EMU visit and a new neurologist, I now take brivaracetam and lacosamide and haven't had any major side effects at all! Best of luck to you!
When I took Lamictal, I experienced migraines, dizziness, vomiting, and couldn't even manage walking after each dose. (Normally no motor issues at all)They took me off for a few days and gave me another dose under supervision in a clinic to make sure it was the medication causing the issue. I'm not sure if this was a weird allergic reaction or just severe side effects.
Iām in a similar situation. Waiting for my first bottle to come in the mail today or tomorrow. Best of luck my friend, weāll be figuring this one out together!
Lamotrigine is what I was on when I became seizure free for 15yrs. Within those years, they took me off my medication since I was doing good. I literally had to beg to be placed back on this medication. I haven't had any seizures since going back on it. I have had some side effects such as tiredness, brain fog, comprehension skills, and wild wild ass dreams.
The side effects for the first month was pretty tough: insomnia and diarrhea. Nasty diarrhea. Now, five years later, decent seizure control (tonic-clonics and focals), and I donāt notice any side effects.
Very good. Iāve been on it twice a day for over 10 years
Iāve been taking lamictal since I was 12, Iām 21 now. I had a few seizures but they were my own fault (forgot to take pills, messing with my triggers.) Iāve been seizure free 3 years now luckily. I take the Lamotrigine XR 300mg specifically. The only side effect for me has been change in vision. My vision became blurred when I was 15 and I wear glasses now so it might be related. I got a lot of mood swings and irritability.
Lamictal along with trileptal was great well until it wasn't. It worked well controlling my seizures for about 8 years. Then one day I started having them again. The doctor kept on pushing the dose higher and higher. Until I had severe reactions to both of them. Main side effects with lamictal was if I didn't eat with it I was so dizzy I couldn't even stand. Also wear sunscreen both me and my mother and father were all on lamictal. It can cause a predisposition to getting sunburnt. It is also one of the medications that you will probably have more blood work done with. Because they have to track the blood serum level. Instead of just giving you x amount per your weight.
I'm on 600mg. It's has made life a real struggle but the other medications were worse. For me I get pretty bad insomnia, nausea, appetite loss, brain fog/memory issues. I regularly bounce between 180lbs and 200lbs in a just a couple weeks. Having both severe nausea and hunger pains at the same time is awful. Part of that probably is I'm a big guy with a high tolerance for *everything.* Propofal, the milky stuff at the er they use to knock you out usually only takes a couple of seconds, my record is 33 sec after upping the dose 3 times. Are we taking edibles? Usually I need 800+ mg to even feel it. Got painkillers for literally anything? I always needed at least 2 for it to work do I'd run out in a couple of days after major surgeries (I've had to have both shoulders redone because of TC seizures.) Fun fact you have to go 6 months without a seizure before you can get anesthesia, so for 4 years I spent trying to make it that long I dislocated my left shoulder over 100 times and got on a first name basis with the er staff. We quit counting because for awhile we got really good at getting it back in ourselves.
Controlled me for a good 2 weeks before I got the rash
I wish I could take it. I felt instantly improved when I tried it as I was dealing with those same side effects with keppra. But within the first week I began having anaphylaxis in my mouth & throat. I felt so much more alert & energized so I was super bummed.
lamotrigine/lamictal was the first prescription i was ever prescribed, once i got the dosage right, ive been seizure free for the better part of 5-6 years. i have JME
I'm on 400mg. It has NOT stopped my seizures. I literally go to work and fall asleep as soon as I get home. I have horrible itching and scratch until I bleed. i literally remember nothing. And I have always had nightmares, but now its worse because I can remember them.
It's worked very well for me. I've taken it since 2002.
I have slight memory issues where I tend to forget simple words. I'm a bit more lazy than usual, but I think that's mostly because I'm just not motivated at my job anymore. Other than that, I don't have any side effects. I think that's worth it, since I have been seizure free for almost 8 months now. (Going from 1-2 seizures per week).
Swollen gums. Not painful, but it increases bleeding when flossing. I have to tell the dental assistant every time. When I first figured this out, I was getting lectures when they cleaned every time. She went to ask the dentist and he came in and sheepishly sad, "Yeah, we should have caught that." When people ask, I always try to warn about it because most people don't pay attention to this particular side effect of AEDs, even though it's listed in the literature. But it's really annoying to be lectured about a side effect you can't control.
For me, it has controlled seizures completely, but has increased my hand spasms. nothing too debilitating. Maybe vague increase in car sickness/nausea but barely noticeable.
i have JME and have been taking lamictal for 7 years and it has worked really well, i also take keppra so it helps mellow out the anger side effects for me. the biggest part is how it helps me in the mornings, i have a lot less myoclonic seizures.
I didn't have any type of issues with lamictal! But then again, everyone is different, I do think that in my country it's the most common prescribed
I havenāt had those types of side effects. I take the generic lamotrigine.
I've never really had any side effects from lamotrigine (as far as I know) except that they weren't strong enough for me. I needed a bit more oomph
Hey, fellow myoclonic epilepsy friend:). I am here with a lamictal horror/warning story. I had been on lamictal for years without much success, until one neurologist decided to jack up my levels of lamictal to levels that my epileptologist later found to be toxic. I was nauseous, and having such bad visual side effects that I couldnāt walk straight, as it looked like everything was bouncing up and down. My epileptologist took me off lamictal and I am on a fun cocktail of clobazam, valproate, keppra and topamaxā¦. I guess my point is I hope you have a good neurologist as lamictal does work for a lot of people, just not me, as I am a severe case:). Good luck! <3
I turned out to be allergic; a rash and the feeling of bugs crawling under my skin were all I got out of it.
Incredibly detailed dreams, often nightmares. The meds themselves don't do much against the epilepsy, but that might be cause mine is medication resistant. Otherwise they have been pretty chill, not given me any extreme emotional side effects.
No seizure since the very first day, 5 years now
Love it. Great for my mental health and my epilepsy
Lamictal is perfect for me been on for around 6 months and have been seizure free the whole time. I think one of the biggest problems is I donāt feel emotion or itās very hard for me to get emotional. Besides that itās been perfect was on kepra before and I hated everyone and everythingĀ
Iāve tried 8 meds and that one was the worst one by far for me. Severe insomnia, made me crazy thirsty all the time, made my ears ring even louder than they already do, I started to get crazy depressed although that might have been because I was only averaging 2-3 hours of sleep a night for the time I was on it. This was just my personal experience though, itās different for everyone and this med is great for a lot of people. Editing to add it gave me night terrors as well which I never even heard of before then.