Rash...

I woke up this morning with a minor rash, like a small case of hives. I am on 75mg if Lamictal, and just called my doctor.
this sucks.

It might be a Lamictal rash. It's good that you called your doctor early. For me, Lamictal rashes affected my whole body, but primarily the mucous membranes. The medication was working well for me, so I didn't call my doctor until I was desperate. Hopefully others are more prudent, since it took a while for the rashes to go away.

Schedule an emergency dermatologist appointment if you can.

It's just a lamictal rash. You can schedule an appointment with a dermatologist if you want, but chances are it's not SJS and you're just going to waste your money. You'll have to back off lamotrigine till the rash clears up and then try it again at a slower titration rate. Google lamotrigine rechallenge. Did you start at 75mg?

good that you called the doctor, i have always been told to watch out for that. Keep me posted

good news, I don;t have to stop the Lamictal. Doc said it sounds like a mild allergic reaction, but nothing serous. He said "the bad rash" has much worse symptoms, so keep monitoring it.

There is hardly any itching. I might just take some antihistamine, as I have had a horrible sinus infection lately too.

I was really getting worried I would have to stop lamictal, as it seems to be one of the only drugs that can help me with my bipolar rapid-cycling.

(I have been on Lamictal once before< and didn't get any rash, so I don't think I am severely allergic, we'll see)

Rash is almost gone. I'm back on Lamictal dosing schedule. Go up to 100 mg tomorrow.

I have a sinus infection and my immune system is probably just weakened.

Im so glad

That doesn't sound like a good idea, I would wait until the rash is completely gone before increasing the dosage. How is the rash almost gone, you just created this thread today?

I don't know, it showed up yesterday morning, then began to go away.
Doctor said it's no big deal, just monitor it, and keep taking the Lamictal as directed.

The rash has since subsided, just barely any spots left.

100 mg this morning, no rash.

That's good to hear, pawn78! Lamictal is a very good med IMO so long as your body tolerates it.

Pawn, I'm glad to hear that things got sorted out!

You mentioned that you took an antihistamine. On that note, I have a cautionary tale for others who might have a serious Lamictal rash -- it might not be wise to take an antihistamine while you are still on the Lamictal.

I did this without talking to my pdoc (used a OTC antihistamine), and it masked the severity of my rash for a while. So when I went off the antihistamine, my rash broke out with a vengeance.

When my doctor took me off the Lamictal, she put me on prednisone (prescription antihistamine), and this slowly calmed down my rashes.

Yes, very good advice. I did some research and discovered this fact, so I DID NOT take any anti-histamine. The rash just cleared up on its own.

I think I discovered what caused it. The night before the rash, I took a large amount of cold medicine, with a bunch of phenylephrine hydrochloride(congestion drug), dextromorphan hydrobromide(cough drug) and Acetaminophen(Tylenol).

Apparently this was a stupid move, as these drugs can all be enhanced by Lamotrigine, according to the latest published findings. So this is where my small rash came from. Once I stopped taking the cold medicines, I cleared up.

There are a gazillion reasons for a rash. You're under a doctor's care. So many people have been on lamictal that the fear of SJS may finally get into perspective. Very few people get SJS, and a good doctor is prudent and watchful.

If you're on a generic, you can be allergic to the inactive ingredients, not the lamotrigine itself.