Hello! I've been taking Lamictal for about 6 years now. I'm dia...

Hi, I just started Lamical a month ago. I am very uncoordinated, I feel sometimes I am going to have a seizure if I consentrate too much on something. I too, have some memory issues. I take 100mg twice a day, one in the am & 1 in the pm, even right now as I am typing this note I feel a little "twitcy" which is a sign that I will have a seizure, but I stop & get myself together. Does anyone else get these symtons? Sometimes I forget how to spell some words

Hey. I take Lamictal too, I take only 200mg, all at night.
I was taking twice that, first all in the morning, and then once I figured out that it was making me totally out of it, I switched to at night (The psychologist told me there was no way it was the Lamictal, I believe he's wrong on that).
I am taking it for some pretty hard-core irritability, and I tend towards depression, too. Since I began taking it, I have not had any of the really bad depression. It seems to make a huge difference with the irritability too, thank God, and when I stop taking it for a week, which I've done 3 times, the irritability comes back full-force (although of course this could be rebound).
I too get the vertigo-type feeling, it was very noticeable when I was upping my dose. It was honestly kind of funny, it was like having the physical stumbly effects of being drunk without the mental part of being drunk. I ran into the wall a couple of times. Now it doesn't happen much.
I was taking 400 mg, but then I switched down because I was feeling really sedated during the day. That's not quite the right word- it wasn't sedating like an actual sedative, it was more like I just didn't know what was going on. I had a sort of bad brain-fog. I have ADD, and it was no good to be taking a drug that made me less grouchy but less able to concentrate!
I also DEFINITELY have trouble finding the right word sometimes, much more than normal, and it's much when I don't get enough sleep (which I know can cause the same problem, but it's much much worse than before I took it).
Some days I would have so much trouble finding words that regularly forgot what I was saying in the first place while stalling over a word.
I also had serious hypersomnia. I could sleep for 14 hours, and I usually get enough sleep. I didn't like that.
After backing down the dose, it was not nearly as much of a problem.
Also, I take birth control, which can lower the amount of Lamictal in your blood by as much as 50%.
I have 3 suggestions:
1. Try lowering your lamictal dose
2. Try lowering your lamical dose and consider adding another medication to make you less irritable, like a birth control pill (although this can be as hugely trial-and-error as all the psych meds, ug. I take Loestrin 1/20 FE.)
3. If that Lamictal dose is what you need, try talking to your doctor about adding something to make you more alert. I have taken everything for ADD that there is, but it all has lots of side effects, like more irritability. Then I recently got a new doctor and he said to add PROVIGIL. I take it every morning, and it really honestly totally takes care of the brain fog that the lamictal caused. It's the perfect combo, for me.

I'm finishing up nursing school, and also work, 2nd shift during the week and 3rd shift on weekends. I wonder how much of my trouble with irritability and depression is made worse by inconsistent sleep patterns. There's a lot of info out there on sleep-wake disorders and ciracadian rhythms. Maybe you have weird sleep habits too, if you're in school?

Please, consider that you might be taking too much. And, ask your doctor about maybe trying Provigil (mine just gives me samples all the time, as my insurance doesn't cover it), it could be just the thing.

Congratulations on finding a med that works for you! I know how hard it can be to find one worth sticking with. Good luck!
-Kate

Your tongue problem may be related to possible heightened sensitivity of the tongue and mouth which Lamictal seems to provoke in some people. I've learned to avoid or reduce a number of substances:

-Ascorbic acid/Vitamin C supplements - this seems to cause the most irritation
-Citrus fruits
-Any type of strong tea or coffee (with or without caffeine, inc. herbal tea)-weak tea is okay, particularly if you drink it with milk
-Certain spices-e.g., cinammon

Also, if you bury your Lamictal tablet(s) in a spoonful of apple sauce, this usually helps. I suspect that there is something in the powdery quality of the Lamictal table that causes it to irritate the mouth. It would be nice if they could make a tablet with a hard coating, but I checked with GlaxoSmith-Kline and they don't make such a product.

Hope this helps!

Rosslyn