Lamictal and dilantin

my son has been on it now for about 4 months and has tried to commit suicide in the process of a 5 week change from keppra to the lamictal.then had to take dilantin until reached full dose of the lamictal which for him is 150mgs 2 xs a day at first the keppra made him fly in to rages so that was blamed for the suicide attempt.but just a few days ago he said that he was having weird feelings again. so i don't know what to do. waiting to hear back from the dr.i would just like to know if anyone else has experienced such severe thoughts from taking this med or if passably it could be not a high enough dose.i don't really know anymore by the way my son is only 15 and he is on the lamictal for seizures.any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I have been on it for about 7 weeks now, I have the best Dr.I dont know what I would do with out her..I am transitioning from the Dilantin, been on that 25 years, now have ostiop........... ( Used to be a really good speller, maybe thats a forties thing!) in my hips and back. I started feeling really good, now having huge lapses of depression, Lonliness, eye sight which I hear very common, spotting different times of month, headache, dont know if its a side effect but each time I up my dosage things I think are becoming clearer, and cry a couple days, like to much information is flooding my mind. I Have bad dreams the kind that you can obviously analize, but wake up crying. Its a very lonely place to be, people think you will have a seizure thats why they avoid me ( I have been told) which I dont understand because Im taking more medicine and feeling better!

I was on Lamictal for 4 years and after the first year I suddenly started having all kinds of teeth and gum problems for no discernible reason. But since Lamictal has the possible side effect of "sores or blisters on the inside of the mouth" I wondered if it could be related.

I did a Google search and am coming up with no experts yet, but lots and lots of posts connecting anticonvulsant meds, particularly Lamictal, Topamax, Neurontin, and Depakote, with dental problems. Dilantin is well known for causing gum disease and breaking down tooth enamel, loosening of teeth, and even breaking down of jawbone tissue.

I don't think the experts have connected the dots yet, but is anyone else having this problem?

I started taking Lamictal about six weeks ago for epilepsy. Now keep in mind, I was on Dilantin which worked great for 17 years and then suddenly stopped working. I have been in medication hell since then. First Topamax made me dumb as a rock. I would space out all the time. Worst drug ever. Then Keppra which was better in that my memory/ability to speak came back but I had these intense ups and down. I had rages constantly. Now I'm on Lamictal. So far, it's better than the Topamax and the Keppra, however the dreams are very intense as are the night sweats. I'm also experiencing much hair loss. Fortunately I have a full head of hair but I'm afraid I will eventually lose it all.

I was put on Lamictal about a year ago after the Dilantin I was on stopped working after 25 years. Tried Fursuit but the anger and extreme tiredness almost lost me my job. I found this site since I'm coming off Lamictal. I was still having seizures and the doc just kept upping the meds. At 400mg/day I found I couldn't stop laughing (I do Stand up comedy as a hobby) My chest was killing me after 2 days of euforia and couldn't sleep. Vision was so blurred I couldn't see a thing. I told my doc I've had enough and I'm coming off the drug as slowly as I can manage. After a few months I'm down to 125 mg this week and coming off it 25mg a week. so far seizures have been about 1 per month but that might increase. I'm finding the withdrawal side effects worse than the drug. Leg pain, chest pains and found out my blood pressure has gone thru the roof. Would like to know if that has happened to anyone else. It went down a bit after I reduced my dosage last week so I see a conspiracy. I have noticed my vision improves as the drug wears off during the day but I can't concentrate at work. would like to hear from others with epilepsy that are having problems with this drug and to give me any feedback. Figure If alexander the Great can create an empire with epilepsy and no drugs then I'll take the seizures over the meds

I had a grand-mal in October of '06, so I was first prescribed on Dilating. And then in December of '06 they also had me on Lamictal, but 50mg daily along with 300mg Dilantin. I was totally off Dilantin as of March '07 and was taking 200mg Lamictal daily. I had no side effects from Lamictal until I started noticing in May that I had staring spells. I didnt pay attention to it at first, and then I noticed that my staring spells were happening way more frequently. And if that wasnt bad enough, as time progressed, I started feeling spacey, had shortness of breath every once in a while, and a bit of anxiety. Now it is up to the point where Ive just about had it, since I've been spacing out wayyyy too much, and I sometimes feel SO fatigued for no reason...like the lifes been drained out of me. My vision has also been getting blurry which is another big annoyance. What Im wondering is that why would they give you medicine if it wasnt out for too long or even officially approved? Im hoping I can get off this medicine! I wanna drive and actually be able to pay attention to normal things instead of spacing out.

I have been prescribed Lamictal for seizures, and am currently taking 400mg daily, with my 300mg of Dilantin. Had horrible side effects this weekend-nightmares, exhausted, worsening depression, crying jags, difficulty swallowing. Has anyone else experienced mood changes for the worse while on this drug?

100mg 2x daily for complex partial siezures.. Initially thought this was great after dealing with dilantin and feeling like a tired zombie. The only side effect I had was a chronic runny nose. I then started having low back pain, then nearly unbearable muscle spasms down the back of my legs. It was so bad I was setting alarms so I could take ibuprophen round the clock. I began having stomach issues from the ibuprophen, so I scaled back to only taking it in the am. Muscle spasms are now tolerable, but I've developed a new issue - I'm often dizzy and have random blurred vision. I waited 6 months to get my license back (after one minor siezure). Now I don't drive because of the side effects. I don't know whether cutting back the dose of lamictal would help, but I intend to ask.

I've been on Lamictal for 3 years after a brain tumor removal. I was intially on Dilantin but the side effects made me crazy. My face constantly tingled and was numb, I couldn't speak well and the dizziness was debilitating. My neuro put me on Lamictal. I started off at 100mg, once in the morning and once at night, and had another seizure. I finally figured out I was having my seizures in the late afternoon and deduced the drug was wearing off around that time. My neuro put me on 150mg 2x a day and 100mg at lunch time. I've had no seizures for 2 years and 3 months so I think we have the dosage problem licked. However, I am really dizzy in the late afternoon and if I get excited like when I'm at a party. Shopping makes it much worse and I think that is due to moving my eyes around so much. Grocery shopping can be a tough task. I don't slur my words but I frequently cannot 'find' the right word. I'm slower in everything. I cannot take a walk looking at the horizon because I lose my balance and get dizzy again. Sometimes my head tingles. Heat makes it worse and when I get hot flashes (yes, I'm over 50) makes the dizzy much worse. Sometimes my fingers don't automatically go to the home key on the computer keyboard. I have to really concentrate on things that used to be automatic, like knowing a stop light is red. I used to be able to 'see' that and react appropriately. Now I have to concentrate on those red lights so it is irritating. I feel like I'm getting old. However, I will stay on this medication. It works and though the side effects are tough to live with, I'd rather stay on a med that I know works, rather than try one that might work. I lose my driver's license every time I have a seizure. I guess that is the worst side effect :-( I'm hunting for something to combat the dizziness and am using mybraintrainer.com to see if brain training exercises will help me become faster again. It can't hurt and so far I've had a little bit of success. I'll just keep going.

Due to a head injury,I am succeptable to seizures.I have been taking Lamictal for over a year. Initially I started with 300 mgs daily.It did not work effectively,so my doctor raised the dosage to 400 milligrams per day.I asked the doctor what are the side effects?He replied that tere are none. He said in fact "it stimulates the brain."I replied "how could any medication that deters seizures not have any side effects"??
At this point I am frequently constipatedI get rashes.I also am extremely forgetful terrible memory & cannot get my words out that I had no problem with while taking dilantin.I stopped dilantin, although it worked effectively, due it's terrible side effects& constantly having gum problems