lamictal?

OK, so I met the psychiatrist today for the first time and he is switching me from Zoloft to Lamictal. I have never heard of this and hate switching meds when I don't know much about them.
Anyone know anything about it?
All he could say was "if you get a rash, call me right away". I just want to know what experieces others have had, if any.

thanks,
Only

I've done well with Lamictal, I'd suggest it to anyone just starting out with this.
Like any med., some work well for some people, while some meds may not work out for other people.

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darkeyes said:
I've done well with Lamictal, I'd suggest it to anyone just starting out with this.
Like any med., some work well for some people, while some meds may not work out for other people.

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Thank you. Did you have any rouble getting used to it in the beginning? Do you have any side effects? I just want to get some sort of idea what I may be in for.

thanks again

Only - Lamictal™ (lamotrigine) is effective in certain types of treatment resistant depression. I have seen it used sucessfully in several cases of treatment resistant bipolar depression. Lamotrigine is actually marketed as an anticonvulsant and is used for epilepsy, but like so many other anticonvulsants (eg. Epival™/Depakote™ - divalproex; Tegretol™ - carbamazepine; Neurontin™ - gabapentin) lamotrigine is used as a mood stabilizer and also helps prevent the manic and depressive swings in bipolar disorder. Of all of the mood stabilizers, in my opinion, lamotrigine has the best antidepressant activity.

The rash that your psychiatrist is talking about is a serious, but uncommon side effect of lamotrigine. The rash is called "Stevens-Johnson Syndrome" (SJS) and can be life threatening and can occur if the dose of lamotrigine is increase too quickly. That being said, those that are most at risk of getting SJS are young children and the elderly.

The rash is important to know about, but starting with a low dose and increasing the dose slowly this side effect is hardly ever seen. In 20 years I have seen 4 possible and 2 confirmed cases, and only 2 of those "possible" cases were in people taking lamotrigine. These 2 people developed a rash after starting lamotrigine, but whether the rash was SJS was debateable. The skin doc thought that one of the cases was a mild allergic reaction to lamotrigine, rather than SJS.

I'd say give the lamotrigine a try; as for dosing, just start low and increase the dose slowly, over time. Let us know how it goes.

I hope that this helps. - Cam

Wow Cam, that helps a TON. Thanks for all the info. He has given me a "sample" pack that has the pills in it and each day you take the one for that day and after a couple weeks the dosage goes up so I guess I am gonna be taking it as slowly as the doc says.

Thanks again. You don't know how happy that makes me to hear that very few people get that rash.

Only

I'm taking it now and was on it twice before. I never got the rash. This is the only psych med I've ever taken that didn't have negative side effects for me. It helps without me having to give up anything to get the improvement. It doesn't make a huge, immediate difference for me, but it helps enough that I'm willing to keep taking it. Good luck.

I've been on Lamictal for 5 years now & found it extremely helpful with no side effects. Your doc is doing the right thing by increasing it slowly. I believe besides the rash to look for are sores in the mouth, as well. Read the instructions & warnings; I think Lamictal also makes you sun-sensitive & more prone to dehydration so you need to drink lots of water, esp. in hot weather & when exercising. (I hope I'm remembering right.. Several of my meds have that warning about dehydration & sun-sensitivity & I THINK Lamictal is one of them.)

I had a relapse (bp 1) in Aug. (first one in about 5 years) & got very depressed so my doc increased my dose from 200 mg a day (100 in a.m; 100 in p.m.) to 300 mg a day. It has brought me out of the depression. She also incresed this dosage very slowly. Hope it works for you. I know so many people who are helped by Lamictal.--Suzy

Cam, your replies are awesome!! I really feel that people ned good, solid,informed info about these meds and your posts are right on. I would add for the OP, if you get a rash go to the ER, then call your doc. SJS can be very serious. Also the sample packs the drug company put together is great, just stick with it. Personally, I am a big fan of lamictal.

Thak you all SOOOOO very much. I feel much more comfortable about taking it now.