Starting Lamictal, side effect questions

I was just prescribed Lamictal today and I'm wondering about that "rash". How common is it & if by some chance (I hope not) I happen to show signs of the rash If I stop taking my med will it just go away or will it get worse? That's the only thing my pdoc warned me about so now I'm wary.... sigh... and scared to take it. But, I've heard amazing things about lamictal so I gotta give it a try at least.
She has me taking 25mg for the first two weeks then I'll be taking 50 after that for awhile but I don't know how long she'll keep me on that dosage before she increases it again. She said she wanted to go really slow.... good!!!

The rash is extremely rare and will go away upon discontinuation. One of the safest meds out there, good luck

What I find is that SJS is very uncommon. And if you titrated up slowly, it virtually eliminates this possibility.

I think the rash would show up rather quickly and likely by now, if you were going to have it. I think it's rather uncommon. I took Lamictal for years and found it helpful. It is a commonly prescribed drug.

Thanks for the reply's. I'm starting it tonight before bedtime. I just want to make sure I knew what to look for just in case. I always seem to get the worst possible side effects of every med I have ever taken. I've looked it up online but I'd rather have your opinions since you guys have experience with it. I really hope this med works though & gets me better!!!

I'm just starting Lamictal, too. Like you,I start at 25 and go up to 50.

The rash is rare when you go up slowly. But read the paperwork that came with it. It says it's most common in the first 2 to 8 weeks. But it can happen anytime.
"Even AFTER you stop taking this medicine, it is still possible for the rash to become life-threatening or cause permanent scars or other problems." That's in my paperwork, anyway.

That's the reason to go up very, very, slowly and report any side effects to your doctor.
I'm a little nervous, but I've accepted the fact that my trip to the morgue may happen a lot faster if I don't take it.
Chasing down people in cars and catching their yards on fire really pisses people off. It's only a matter of time before someone retaliates with deadly force.

It's really quite rare, and slow titration makes it even less likely. If you notice any rash just call up the doc and let them know. Lamictal has been a good drug for an awful lot of people. Hope it does good things for you as well.

Very rare. For me was the best medicine I've taken by far (so far) for bipolar.... it possibly helped to save my marriage.... though 9th a mood stabilizer it does kind of bring you down... so my dr says. So now combining it with latuda(mood stabilizer that is supposed to help be a little more uplifting). ... however lamictal is still save me from severe outbursts... basically more self control

Lamictal is like a magic potion for me.

Well hopefully it works I'm tired of being crazy lol. And hopefully I don't have to deal with the rash problem. Why do these meds always have the worst side effects? Why can't they be good side effects?
The whole getting worse after you stop it is pretty scary too. I have extreme panic/anxiety attacks so I'm scared to take it but something needs to change.
I'm ready to be happy again!

Hi, just ask a pharmacist but I think 1 out of 15,000 have almost fatal skin reactions. I've been on Lamictal for like 10 years with no side effects. However I'm at 600mg where at 400-600mg it's supposed to have anti-depressant effects but I haven't noticed any benefit. I'm on just because it's the best anti-convulsant, needed for bipolar II disorder. Typically from what I've seen, the meds needed for one who falls into the bipolar spectrum are an anti-depressant, anti-convulsant, atypical anti-psychotic, sleep aid and benzo. For bipolar depression an SNRI, AD is best, since they don't hardly poop out! The AAP required for a bipolar disorder that worked the greatest was Abilify at 2.5-5mg for depression to be augmented! Lithium also augments the ADs very effectively and doesn't poop out either...it's worked the best with my helping my ADs work better! I'm bipolar II, so I'm typically down...Aplenzin and Nefazodone are also great ADs for bipolar depression... For a sleep aid, I love Seroquel, and for a benzo, Valium is by far my favorite. Best of luck and hopefully you don't need all the typical bipolar meds!!

I'm interested to hear whether your pdoc thought it could help with your panic/anxiety.

The rash is rare, and they usually slowly build you up. I have been through quite a few combinations of medication and Lamictal is by far the best for me so far! I hope you have the same experience!

You know I ask her about that, if it helps, and she said yes. She said it helps indirectly. She prescribed me a different med for immediate relief but my pharmacy said they didn't get the script so I have to wait on it & I forget what the name of it was.
Mine is pretty bad so if this does help I'll keep you updated on it. You might have to remind me cause my memory is horrible anymore..

I'm bipolar II also, and 90% of the time I'm down too. My pdoc said that Lamictal addresses all of my issues so I'll see what happens. I know she said I have to wait two weeks until I start to feel any effects and by then I'll just be hitting 50mg. I wonder how long it takes to get up to therapy levels?
I've tried the abilify & lithium, neither worked for me. Abilify turned me into a zombie & lithium made my anxiety worse.
I had a doctor who gave me just an AD before they knew I was bipolar and it made me crazy and to this day I've never been prescribed another, even with a mood stabilizer.
Taking a new med, especially one with side effects this bad is scary for me. I took my first dose last night and made it through so hopefully I don't have any side effects with this one.

I actually developed a rash at 16 when I got put on it. I am pretty sure the doc didn't slowly up my dosage. They just took me off immediately and it got better. The risk of a deadly rash is A LOT lower. I wish you the best, Lamictal has helped a lot of my friends

Lamictal is my friend...

Abilify turned me into a zombie, too. I didn't like it.

I have an extreme anxiety disorder. When my pdoc said he was putting me on Lamictal, I asked, "But, is it going to kill me?" He said part of my fear was related to having an anxiety disorder, so of course, I would react like that.

That's when he told me straight up what really might kill me considering my behavior.

That's about the same that happen to me. I'm scared as hell to take it, but the repercussions of not taking it are far worse.

Having such bad anxiety brings out the worst in every situation

Yep, others would just ask if they should worry about the side effects. But with us it's, "Oh no! This is going to kill me, isn't it???!!!"

i only experience weakness when i ty to take a walk..other than that i dont know if it helps yett, im on 300mg, bipolar1