Lamictal and meds

an update on my BF, now almost 3 months off lamictal and all other meds. he still feels great, for the 6th consecutive week he has lost a bit of weight as measured by WW. he finds that he is less forgetful. before, he was always losing his keys, his cell phone, you name it and he was so easily overwhelmed by everyday tasks that he assumed he had AADD.

as time passes, he is feeling better and better. the lack of headaches and muscle pain were the big pluses but now he is seeing a gradual restoration of his ability to think clearly, which is wonderful

my BF has been taking antidepressants for 15 yrs- mostly a combo of lamictal and parnate. he is always depressed, has no energy, can't lose weight, suffers from chronic migraines (for which he downs handfuls of Tylenol and Excedrin) and constant muscle pain. i'm afraid to drive with him because of the road rage. his thinking is foggy, he is overwhelmed by every little thing and he constantly loses his keys, his phone- you name it. when he saw the commercials for AADD, he started to think he had that too and needed even more medicine!

i've had about all i can stand and in doing research, i found that niacin is useful for people with depression. it has to be the flushing kind and you need to take enough without flushing. some very depressed people have taken 12,000 mg a day and still not flushed!

so i started him on niacin and as we built up his dose, he cut down on the antidepressants. he got to 2000 mg of niacin a day and it took him 2 months to wean off the antiDs. he had minor brain shivers, but not nearly as bad or as many as when he has tried to get off the meds in the past

he has now been completely off the antiDs for 2 months and is taking between 300 - 500 mg of niacin daily.

here's what has happened: in 2 months, he has only had one headache and his muscle aches have gone; consequently he has only taken one Tylenol in the last two months as opposed to 10 a day like he used to. he has more energy- this Sunday when he got out of bed, he got active doing things instead of slumping on the couch for hours. i also almost fainted when i drove with him and he didn't scream when a pedestrian cut out in front of him. he is much more able to focus, he is not getting overwhelmed by everything.

and for the past 3 weeks at weight watchers, his weight has gone down a little

he is very happy about it.

Hi all! I googled acne and lamictal and here I am. I'm so relieved to see that I'm not the only one that has experienced breakouts due to the meds. I had struggled with acne in college, but now i'm 24 and it's back worse than ever! Does anyone know what to do about it? My doctor said a dermatologist wouldn't help because the lamictal is messing with my hormones and I just have to wait to get adjusted to it - but I've just started on the 50mg and the plan is to go up to 200mg within the next few months, and I don't want this to get worse! Thanks!

I have been on Lamictal for about 3 and a half yrs now for Bipolar 1. Overall, I have had a really great experience with the drug. I started with 100mg and then went to 200mg after a year and a half. Now I take 225mg as of a month ago. For about a year and a half I had the acne on my chin and then it went away suddenly (thought it was cutting out dairy from my diet though). I have been extremely fatigued for awhile now. 7hrs of sleep is not good enough for me so I end up taking long naps when I have the opportunity each day- I always want to sleep. I feel stupid and lack focus and motivation. I use to be a social butterfly and now I feel so exhausted when entertaining. I am a personal trainer and am in the business of making others feel better, but I seem to be feeling worse. I have experienced weight gain as well and that is hard for me since I use to be bulimic and have always had poor body image issues. I was on the NuvaRing for 5 months and it made me sooooo depressed so I finally got off that and feel better- don't mix those 2 drugs.
I am going to ask my doctor to take me off of it this week because I am ready to trust God with my mental health. I have a great support system to help me through the tough times and if I want to get pregnant, I have to go off it anyway.

just thought i would put another post on to tell you how my autistic son brett is getting on with coming off his lamictal i told that he was on 750 mg a day we have had meetings with his doctors and they agreed we should start to reduce lamictal we are now 2 weeks into the reduction at 25mg a week he is now on 700mg a day the reduction does seem to have had a positive affect for brett his speech has become less repetitive his conversation is more meaning full the rash on his back is getting better he seems to be more settled in his self so at the moment things are ok i must say i make sure he has mis meds when he gets up in the morning around 7.30 then again around 7.00 on the night i will keep posting and letting people know how he is getting on

I've been on 200 mg Lamictal for 2 months now, after 4 month titration up from 25mg; Going off Lithium 900mg titration to 450mg this week. Since 1st day of lower Lithium, all the common Lamictal symptoms went from mild to extreme. Whole body muscle aches (like 24 hours after a heavy weightlifting workout) worse in neck & back/shoulders/calves, bad headaches, swelling in hands & feet, extreme blurred vision, loss of memory, halted speech while trying to figure out what to say, fuzzy. I called the Clinic to simply ask which NSAID (aspirin? ibuprofen? Excedrin? naproxin?) to use to manage the pain. They all freaked and made me come in for a blood test to check Lithium levels. I explained I wasn't "overly" concerned about it at this point, but just looking for a recommendation, and that they may be over-reacting (even though I did appreciate their concern). I also reminded them that I had just **decreased** Lithium when it happened, so I wasn't having a Lithium Toxic attack (I'm well-versed in that, having been on Lithium for 7 years). It didn't do much good to tell them I thought their diagnosis was a little off. I'll find out the blood test results today, but I'm pretty sure I know what they'll be. They also wanted me to see my PCP since it could be something else. Again, the problem was a ramp-up of existing symptoms the next morning after I lowered Lithium (the only change), so I'm conviced everything centers around that. I think they're a little inexperienced with this med. (Lamictal/Lamotrigine) and if they'd just read this blog they'd probably learn a lot. They had never heard of the muscle ache side effect. Pretty hard to believe after reading all of your comments! My theory is that Lithium was somehow holding back the side-effects of Lamictal and now they're expressing themselves more fully. I haven't read anything like this on any internet discussion, so maybe my body is very different. But maybe my experience will give someone else some insight in a similar situation.
I might also mention something that happened to me I have only seen (kinda) in one other "blog" about follicle (sweat gland) cysts. Yeah, I definitely got the jawline acne starting at the Lamictal 50mg level & increasing at 100mg. But I also got my first ever "cyst" that concerned me and sent me to my dermatologist for the first time in 30 years (I'm 47 and saw the old guy when I had acne at 17!). It started as a blind pimple on my chest the week I increased Lamictal to 200mg (final dose), but didn't go away. It continued to grow (not diminish) over 4 weeks to 3/8 inch round/pink/solid/itchy/burn-when-rubbed. So off to the "Doctor" like my father used to do on a regular basis (I know I'm getting old now) and scalpel/pop/stitch it was out. But it was real, not my imagination or hypocondria, and the timing of its appearance was right when Lamictal changed to full steam. Since acne appears to be a common effect with so many, it seems it's not unreasonable that this occurs occasionally as well to others. Let me be the 2nd to mention it. No "official" verification, but....
I'm not bagging on Lamictal, and have been very hopeful that this would be better than Lithium. It has eliminated the GastroIntestinal problems I had on Lithium, but I am getting discouraged that it has all the brand new symptoms that are discussed in this blog. Your "stuff" is real. I wish the Docs/Nurses/Case Workers would spend 5 minutes checking your comments out. It might bring about a better informed conversation than the shiny Glaxo flyers provide. That is all.

Hey, I cycle, so who knows if some of this is the meds or the BP roller coaster..

What I do know:

• Memory Loss ***
• Rash like Poison Oak if I increase too quickly *12.5 mg
• Heart Racing + Mind Racing (part of all this right)

GROUCHY at work regardless of meds.

I am 32 years old, and still have acne. I have been taking it for almost 14 years now. I know that Lamictal causes skin rashes. I asked my neurologist if Lamictal causes acne. He said no. I will never be able to get rid of acne, as long as I keep taking it. I have been seizure-free for over 2.5 years now. Dad won't let me get off of it, and be on primidone only. It's more important to keep driving seizure-free, than to have clear skin.

I have been on Lamictal for one week and feel terrible!! I'm using the meds to treat bipolar. My chest feels tight...I am exhausted all day...feel as if I am in a daze...headaches...muscle aches. I don't know if this is just side effects seen in the beginning and will subside with time?? I really feel bad.

I have been on Lamictal for about five months for bipolar II. I has been increased slowly over these months and I am now up to 300 mg a day. I have a tendency to sometimes forget things but remembering numbers has never been a problem for me. In fact I can look at someone's tag number driving down the road and remember it for days. Phone numbers of people I have known for 20 years would stick and I wouldn't even have to call them on a regular basis to know the number. However, recently while trying to use my bank debit card at the store I was asked to enter my PIN number and totally could not remember. I tried it several times but it never came to me. I felt like a fool!. At this time, that was three days ago and I still cannot remember it!

This is very, very distressing to me. I feel like something has been wiped clean and that I will never get it back.

My Lamictal dose has been increased in the last couple of weeks and I thought maybe Lamictal or one of my other meds could be making this happen so I started researching and found this site where other people were complaining of memory loss while on Lamictal.

Headaches are another common side effect for me while on this med. It has really helped me emotionally and I need to know if the memory loss is just going to be a temporary thing and it will get back to normal or if I will be forgetting more and more over time. PLEASE HELP!!!

I HAVE BEEN ON THE LAMICTAL FOR 5 MONTHS NOW( FOR MINOR BI POLAR EPISODE). AT FIRST I FELT A LITTLE "SPACEY" AS I HAVE INCREASED MY DOSAGE EACH TIME I NOTICED VERY PAINFUL MENSTRUAL CRAMPS, WORSE PMS, EXTRA LONG MENSTRUATION CYCLE, JOINT PAIN IN THE HIP, FORGETTING EVERYTHING( LOSS OF SHORT TERM MEMORY), AND EXTREME TIREDNESS IN THE DAY AND NOT SLEEPING AT NIGHT. I HAD BEEN ON 75MG A DAY ( 2 IN AM, 1 IN PM) AND THEN UPPED MY DOSE TO 100MG(2 IN AM, 2 IN PM). THE SIDE EFFECTS ARE WORSENING, ESPECIALLY THE JOINT PAIN. I HAVE ALSO NOTICED PANIC ATTACKS AND IRRITABLENESS THAT I HADN'T HAD BEFORE. WORST OF ALL, IS THAT I HAVE GAINED ABOUT 27 LBS WHILE TAKING THIS MED. HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS? PLEASE REPLY TO TELL ME THE BEST REMEDY.

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?

lamictal controls seizures if you take it at the right time. i am on 200 at night and 200 in the morning plus epilim. sometimes i just sit and cry wen im trying to concentrate on reading books i have to study or trying to remember work i learnt at school which has left my brain. im failing school not matter how hard i try, i study all the time then the next day i have forgotten it. im so young and i havnt even started my future yet and i may have screwed it already. failing exams because i forgot wat i learnt the night before hurts so bad. its hard to say "hey everyone the reason i failed is because lamictal screws my memory" i know thats what it is. i was extremely intelligent before i started taking it, but now im a failure. i guess deep inside i know really im not a failure, but lamictal makes me one. : ( p.s add a constant hand tremor and sudden jerking movements every now and then.

Took mostly for seizures, but have been informally diagnosed with Bipolar II.

Had tremors at night, almost immediately, marked anxiety, weight loss, strange heat flashes, severe headaches (already have a migraine problem), complete w olfactory hallucinations (could have been breakthrough simple seizures, or headache auras).

Felt detached from myself and others. But the most disturbing symptom of all was auditory hallucinations. I have no history of psychosis and this only happened after starting Lamictal. Basically I could hear a constant chirping sound, subtle, but loud enough at night to keep me from sleeping unless my radio was playing to distract me from the sound. Could it have been a new form of seizure? Maybe, but regardless, the sounds started at the time I started this drug. Plus, according to a psychiatrist, I had no signs of psychosis, just the unexplained phantom sounds. One last possibility: Maybe an inner ear problem. Still would like to look into that.

People are right when they say this is still an experimental drug. If I had known what I was getting myself into, I never would have tried this drug to begin with. If any of you have had auditory hallucinations on this drug, without a history of any sort of hallucination or psychosis, PLEASE respond here and let me know about your experience. Thanks!