I had been on 100mg lamictal for 8 months and was preparing to go overseas for a week when suddenly a red itchy rash occurred on my legs and arms. I am not prone to rashes. It was perplexing and it did not occurr to me it was the Lamictal. I got itch cream and tried it and tried other topical things to make it go away but it only spread to my stomach and chest. I was two days away from leaving. I went to the local walk-in medical clinic and the doc there knew right away it was the Lamictal. He said STOP the Lamictal now. The following day, I called the mental health clinic and told them I needed an appt for when I got back in a week.

When I got back, I was hypomanic and needed to get back on Depakote ASAP. They screwed up and didn't make an appt for me and wouldn't let me see anyone so I went to a local ER and checked myself in for 4 days to get back on Depakote. The clinic sent someone over and said that the girls in the reception office at the clinic had reported that I had become "irrate" and left angry. I laughed. I've never gotten "irrate" in my life.

It was not a fun experience but I had forgotten the warnings my nurse practioner had given me especially since it had been 8 months earlier. I didn't expect the reaction to occurr that much later.