Hi,

I have IBS and am lactose-intolerant. I have been taking Lamotrigine for several months at a low dose. I also have lots of other food sensitivities, and I was having abdominal upset that I could not be sure was related to Lamotrigine or something else. But I have had the side effect of dry mouth with Lamotrigine that had not gone away.

The low dose that I was taking helped me a lot to be much more stable with a more manageable life but I still needed self-help measures such as reading and partipating in the Bipolar Forum and even so sometimes I was struggling with stability. My GP (I live in rural area and I am fortunate to have a GP) suggested increasing my dose a couple of weeks ago, but I got bad constipation, and my GP said that if have side effect of dry mouth, then constipation is also frequent because of dehydration. I reduced my Lamotrigine dose, and the bad constipation has gone, which is a sign that it was related to my increased dose of Lamotrigine. But I am still dealing with abdominal issues.

I didn't know that lactose can be a side ingredient in Lamotrogine, and I don't know if my constipation is a result of any lactose included in Lamotrigine or associated with dry mouth.

My point in all this is that it can be hard to tease out causes of abdominal problems between medications, their side ingredients, and/or from foods that we need to eat and abdominal issues .

Sorry I am not more helpful. Good luck!