Lamictal

Recently started taking Lamictal. As it stated, My coordination is altered. The biggest downside is feeling lethargic. I'm also taking 15mg Zyprexa, and 1mg Klonopin. Never felt this way before, so I'm just assuming it's the 'Lamictal'.

Fred

Hi, Fred!

Back to that ole adage "Every drug affects everyone differently" ...

Lamictal is a med that has to be started verrrrrrryyyy slowly and built up to the desired dosage just as slowly. I began Lamictal almost a year ago and my pdoc continues to increase it at each visit. I'm assuming your Dr. is doing that.

In my case, I have experienced no side effects from Lamictal at all (at least not that I'm aware of being on various other meds as well). My pdoc is switching me from Depakote to Lamictal as he thinks I will do better on it.

Best wishes to you on this...hopefully what you are experiencing will be only temporary.

ive never had anyside effects from it either and ive taken it for about 6 months now,,./....but i have expericend side effects from lexapro and klonopin..... like Azalsa said everyone reacts different to meds...... hope they start making u feel better withought the side effects....

I have been prescribed Lamictal on two different occasions, I never had a problem with it...perhaps the combination with Klonopin and Zyprexa is the answer.

DJ

I get headaches and digestive problems for the first week at a new dose of Lamictal. And with the most recent increase (100 mg to 125 mg), I had a week of strong irritability. It's better now, but it was pretty nasty for a bit.

Good luck with Lamictal. I hope your side effects wane and you find it a good med for you.

gg

I was on lamictal a couple of years ago and had no side effects...it is the only one I had none with...I am very sensitive to meds and also have head issues dealing with medicine, so it was surprising for me to be able to go on anything...

i was on lamictal and had a SEVERE allergic reaction to it. i broke out with the lamictal rash and it was awful. i had to be hospitalized for almost 2 weeks to get it under control. about 4 days into the allergic reaction i started having hallucinations. it was insane. i felt awful. good luck on it. i hope it works for you.
sniffles

Hi, Sniffles...

Was wondering...how long were you on Lamictal before you got the rash and/or what dosage were you on?

I had an appt. with my pdoc today and, since we haven't been able to get the depressive episode that began almost a year ago under control enough for me to function well most of the time, pdoc initially said he was going to increase my Depakote again. I questioned this as our initial plan was to take me off Depakote and replace it with Lamictal. (Currently taking them both.) pdoc said it was dangerous to increase the Lamictal because of the possibility of the rash. I was very confused as that possibility has always been there and when we first opted for Lamictal, pdoc said it was a low percentage of people who developed the rash.

He also said something about if I weren't on Depakote he could increase the dosage of Lamictal quite a bit more, so I'm wondering if the rash danger is exacerbated by taking both.

At any rate, we decided to keep me at my current Depakote level and increase the Lamictal a bit more, but pdoc told me that if I got a rash in my mouth to stop it immediately.

Anyone ever hear of this warning after being on Lamictal and Depakote for so long with no problems?

I switched from Depakote to Lamictal, got mouth ulcers and eventually aplastic anemia (bone marrow failure) which nearly wiped me out. My pdoc is much more leery of prescribing Lamictal now ... however, while I was on it, it did wonders for my mood! It just nearly killed me in the process.

If you look at the numbers, about 10% of all people who take Lamictal get a rash of some sort as a result. Almost all of these are no big deal. Something like 1 in 1200 will develop The Rash...the one everyone worries about. If that happens, you will have a rash and probably a fever, and will feel sick. In that case, you grab your pills and head to the hospital.

Interestingly, adding Lamictal to Depakote will decrease the serum level of Depakote by 25%. From I can find, taking both together should not increase the risk of "The Rash". If you are going to get that, it is generally going to happen as you are ramping up the dosage when you first start therapy with it.

Hope this helps...and I hope everyone has a great weekend!

DJ

I've been on Lamictal,for a few years and haven't had any negative effects,but everyone is different.
It may be the other meds. causing some of this,best to take this up with your pdoc. perhaps he or she can make some changes that will allow the meds to work together or eliminate one of them.
Can't hurt to check it out. I wish you lots of luck with this.

Azalysa....I had only been on Lamictal for about 2-3 weeks. He was upping the dosage every few days. I think (don't quote me), I was on 100mg of Lamictal when it developed. God oh mighty was I a mess. I had just gotten out of the psych ward and had gone home and the rash came 2 days later. Back to the hospital I went. It was awful. However, as DJ said, the rash is a rare thing and mainly happens when the dose is increased. I wish you all the best hun. I did't start Depakote until after I was taken off Lamictal. I started it while on Prednisone for the rash, because I started cycling with my Bi-polar. So he started me on this as a mood stabiliser. If you have anymore questions, just ask.
sniffles

My guess would be that increasing the dose every few days versus every week or even every two weeks might have, in part, contributed to you developing the rash. I could be wrong, but I think it's more likely to happen if you go too high too fast.

Sorry that happened to you, though. It sounds like a horrible experience.

gg

Thanks Sniffles, and Candy, and Davey....

What you described, Candy, sounds like what my pdoc was concerned about as he specifically mentioned mouth ulcers. When I first began Lamictal along with the Depokote and I mentioned fear of the rash, he said the same thing Davey said, that it was pretty rare.

So, after a year and no rash, I've felt ok about it. Now out of the blue pdoc doesn't want to increase the Lamictal with still being on the Depakote. But from what I understand you to say, Davey, that shouldn't matter.

Curioser and Curioser.....

I've been on 200 mg of Lamictal for about 4 years with no ill effects. I do take several other meds (Abilify, Xanax) & had a problem with excessive daytime sleepiness so my provider put me on 72 mg Concerta ((usually used for ADD) & 400 mg Provigal (usually used for narcolepsy). These helped tremedously. I'm now able to stay alert all day & use the Xanax to help sleep at night. (I don't take Xanax during the day because of its sleepiness effect, so I just ride out the anxiety during the day). You might want to talk to your doc about the possiblity of adding Concerta, Provigal or both. I've never had to increase my dosage of them. I think both have low chance of abuse. You don't feel "high", just normal amount of energy.--Suzy

So far so good. Last week I started it. I need to take it during day because it will keep me up all night. I take prozac with it also. My mania left a day ago. I am so better and hope it stays that way. Love Razel

I just looked lamictal on it's site, and rash seems to be a common thing. Here's a link if you are interested.
http://www.lamictal.com/bipolar/pati...formation.html

"IN CLINICAL TRIALS OF BIPOLAR AND OTHER MOOD DISORDERS, THE RATE OF SERIOUS RASH WAS 0.08% (0.8 PER 1,000) IN ADULT PATIENTS RECEIVING LAMICTAL AS INITIAL MONOTHERAPY AND 0.13% (1.3 PER 1,000) IN ADULT PATIENTS RECEIVING LAMICTAL AS ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY."

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/lamotrigine.htm

So, not very common. The reason that you see so much about this rash is that it can be extremely serious, even fatal, in very rare cases. this is also why why you titrate the dosage so slowly when you begin therapy...it reduces the chances of this rash occurring.

DJ

Sorry, I lose track of what few posts I make.

Yes, the Psychiatrist started my on 25mg/2weeks, 50mg/2weeks, and finally 100 daily in am.

My coordination is no longer an issue, as is feeling lethargic. Guess I was just repsonding to new meds, zyprexa and lamictial.

Thanks all for the inputs
Fred

** bump

I had been on Lamictal (200mg. daily--one pill in a.m., one in p.m.) for about 5 years with no ill effects that I could tell (taking a bunch of other stuff). Recently I had a long period of hypo mania & then crashed into a depression. Doc slowly (25 mg. per week) increased the dosage to 300 mg. daily. Feeling better, but Trazadone was also added to aid sleep, which also has an anti-depressive effect.

I've been very happy with Lamictal. The rash sounds really scary. I'm glad it is uncommon, but I know if it happens to you that it being rare doesn't much matter!--Suzy

I've been taking Lamictal for 3 years or so. I take 300 mg. Once when I was feeling rather depressed, my pdoc bumped it up to 400mg and my depression worsened. I couldn't take how I felt, so I went back down to 300. As soon as I went back to the 300, I was fine. I thought that was strange.

Yes that is strange...... Most so called "side-effects" usually end up being a mixture of something else.

Dr.S