Lamictal and siezures

I am on this medication for seizures. Besides all the other side effects being posted (typing, speech, spelling, forgetfulness, etc), I have EXTREME daytime sleepiness. To the point that I will not/cannot drive and have to stay where I'm at until I "wake up". I have been off work for 5 months, but had to go back for financial reasons. I work partial days and go home and take a nap, which the neurologist prefers I don't. Anyone experiencing daytime sleepiness (disorders)??? Thanks

I got all those problems but the higher the dosage the more attacks i had.Another neurologist think that i just have pseudoseizures-paranoia attacks.Anyways the doctor screwed me up,he gave me 5 years ago something different and my seizures started daily than switched me to lamictal.I must say that sometimes i have or HAD electricity in my left hand all the time and once a women touched me and got stunned lol.anyways lamictal is bad,i didn't have any side effects like loosing hair but i did have A LOT of head hecks.I must share something with you,when i read epilepsy.com it seems that my seizures called myclonics in the end they are not but they similar in effects.Myclonics its seizures that happens only in the morning.Heres the catch for me,i figured out that if i won't close my eyes the first hour after i got up and went to the sun outside than i didn't have seizures.Its not a real solution so i decided to raise the lamictal from 175 which was ok for me to 200-250 like the good doctor said,just made me worse.Now i started dropping it by 25 mill each week and i must say i feel better only a little tired after 5 years that my body got used to it.Anyway if any of you have myclonics than don't close your eyes.BTW i have AURA-feeling before the seizure but luckily for me after a second if i open my eyes nothing will happen although i don't always take notice of it.In midway it would happen if i seat in front of computer and will lose attention if someone will call me or whatever but its a mill-sec seizure,barely noticible if at all and i never get "disconnected" from reality!!!
the ONLY thing which is bad for me is that except that im sick now my blood pressure is huge-140/82 and pulse 106 which is being like that for couple of days but i will get trough that.Since i lowered my dosage my midway seizures stopped,now im on 100.

P.S=Check yourself with the neurologist with a different one preheps.IF you can describe the whole seizure it means you don't dispatch from earth which mean it might be psydo seizures which are psychotic and not epileptic,the most important thing is that if someone takes lamictal or any anti apileptic drug even tho he doesn't have real seizures the medicine can do this.I got screwed and now i try to get over it,the doctor trowed me on woods with tablets after having a first seizure WHICH IS WRONG because you sepused to get tablets only after 3 attacks and after describing seizures and doing eeg tests to make sure that you DO have the problem.

Anyways remember what i said about the closing eyes in the morning part,if you close your eyes and feel weird keep them open at least those that have them after they wake up,that was a solution for me and it can help you to...MY doctor said everyone like me but i think he is laying,the other neurologist said my doctor was wrong probably about the seizures,i think i have both but i do know that believing and saying that you don't have anything WILL help you and lower your seizures,after speaking with the doctor i actually started to believe i don't have anything and walla i have almost NADA,today i had zero!!!! :D

OF course don't lower dosage without first consulting with someone expert,but since i know i can control basically every seizure i have and i know what to do to avoid it i let my self start dropping dozes!!!

GOOD LUCK my friends believe in yourself and if you want some personal info leave your msn i will add you and try to answer you the best i could,i was researching my self trying to figure out the core of the problem for 5 years but after 6 months knocking my head in the pipe when i washed my face i learned what i should avoid to minimize the chance!!!Try that

My 14 year old son began Lamictal 2 weeks ago for absent seizures, starting at 12.5 mg at night for one week, then 25 mg for one week and then will increase by adding a morning dose at this rate; ultimately to titrate up to 100 mg at night and 100 mg in the morning. The slow increase in dosing is supposed to avoid the life-threatening Stevens-Johnson syndrome (indicated initially by a rash).

I have noticed he is moody, angry and tearful now. I find this concerning since it is also prescribed for mood stabilization. He complains of body aches and especially leg pains/soreness. I think his short-term memory difficulties are worsened. He has made comments that he doesn't care if he lives or dies.

I noticed that his lymph nodes in his neck and just below his skull are a little enlarged, though he saw his pediatrician yesterday and they are not big enough to be considered outside normal range.

I am a nurse, and drew blood work at home today to rule out infection and look at liver function. There are no tests which quantify a therapeutic range for lamictal--it's very individualized.

I want to take him off of the lamictal and am looking for alternative ways to minimize seizures, such as exercise, diet, vitamin supplements, omega oils, perhaps neurofeedback, massage therapy, music therapy--any and all things which may help.

I feel like my child is sliping away from me with this personality change; I want to find out why he is having seizures rather than just treat symptoms which are the siezures. I'm reading--night and day and will not give up until I am convinced there are no natural approaches which are better than drugs. It's exhaustive to put the work into it, but I think it is necessary.

It is recommended that Lamictal be tapered off over about 2 weeks, to prevent siezures--whether you are taking it for this or not. I don't know how his neurologist will respond to this request to take him off. I think it's important to have a good working relationship with your doc. However, in my view a good doc is open to individualized concerns and alternative treatments.

My heart goes out to all of you who are struggling with your own problems and suffering side effects. I wish I could do something to help you. In my journey to learn, I will post any things which I discover to be helpful to my son, though they may not pertain to your particular problems, they may also be of help to you.

I have learned that seizures cause oxidative stress to tissues, just like an apple browns once you have bitten into it--it does so due to oxidation. Vitamins C, E and selenium may help, since they are antioxitants. Siezures disrupt the metabolism of essential fatty acids, so supplementing with omega 3 and 6 oil may be helpful--these oils also stabilize cellular membranes, because cell membranes are constructed of phospholipids derived from these essential oils. At minimum, I would do these things.

Exercise may help, and also a modified Atkins diet. I have always struggled with depression, and nothing helps me other than exercise and eating a diet restricted in simple carbs and sugars. I think this is important for everyone, as this is the way to prevent and sometimes also reverse type 2 diabetes. Everyone should eat like this and exercise--this is the best mood stabilizer of which I know.

I think that most illnesses are related to metabolism, and in this day, we are exposed to unhealthy foods continuously and our lifestyles/jobs make it difficult to get physical activity. I believe our bodies are screaming at us to make changes in this, and that is why we are having so many problems with illness in general.

I know it is hard to exercise when you are depressed, but if you can do it, you will see the changes in the quality of your lives. Be careful though, becuase the meds you all are taking may put you at unknown risks for injuries that I have no knowledge of.

I wish you all well.

Sherry

I believe that it is best to try to find natural ways to help

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 recently was given 200mg over the recommended pharmaceutical dose of Lamictal. My dr.'s partner prescribed this after a trip to the ER for a seizure to get me by until I could see my regular neurologist at the beg. of the week. The extra dose caused major blurred vision side effects, inability to walk, extreme sensitivity to light, and nausea. I am now at 400mg of Lamictal and starting Topomax with it so I hope this works. Any thoughts from anyone else taking this med combo?