Lamictal (Lamotrigine) causes high heart rate and blood pressure?

Has anyone seen increased resting HR or fast HR while standing up, while on Lamictal?

I recently was prescribed Lamictal to help with some depression and as a mood stabilizer. I have been slowly increasing dosage per my doctor, and now on 75mg Lamictal for two weeks. This past weekend, I had some major issue with heart palpitations when standing up from a sitting position. On Saturday, I was on my recliner for 30min, then got up fairly quickly like I always do. Immediately my heart started pounding rapidly. I took my pulse/EKG with my Kardia Mobile device, and it showed a steady HR of 120+, and it stayed at 115 for 20min. My arms and legs started shaking like I was having some type of panic attack.

I called 911, but by the time they got to me, my HR was down again, but my blood pressure was elevated 140/100. I went to the ER to get checked out and everything was okay.

The problem is, that now whenever I'm in a sitting position for awhile, and stand up, my HR goes through the roof to 120bpm for a minute and I get major palpitations, until finally dropping to the 90's.

This never happened before I started Lamictal. My normal resting HR has always been 50-70bpm, and even when standing up fast, would never get to 90bpm. I am currently on Multaq, Bystolic, Xarelto. These are for my AFIB and blood clot conditions.

The only other thing that I can think of that may have caused this condition, is that I had a minor outpatient procedure Friday. They put me to sleep with Propofol. But they told me that was short acting, and shouldn't interfere with my other medicines.

I suspect that Lamictal causes me to have rapid heartbeat/palpatations, especially if I'm hot. The sensation is very much lie having drunk too much caffeine.

I've had BP problems for maybe 8 years, with 3 hypertensive crises/emergencies, ~180/110. The ER doc said I'd better freaking learn to chill because I was headed for a heart attack or stroke. I take Lamictal, too, but never thought it was related. Wow. Maybe it is, maybe not? My HR hovers at around 100. My PCP doesn't seem concerned, really. I take lisinopril (I was prescribed Bystolic once but felt it was just outrageously overpriced, so I just never took it)...

I have noticed that high bp occurs with almost every psych med I've ever been on. That's 30 years of many, many different meds. I was very thin and my bp at low-normal when I first took an SSRI. My bp immediately went up. During the times I was off meds or only on Klonopin my bp dropped way down. AP's cause high bp. It seems to me that Lamictal does, too. I am very concerned about it.

Do you have the dry cough side-effect with lisinopril?

Warped...Palpitations are really scary. I haven't had those in years and hope never to have them again. You take EKGs in your home?

*Laurie*...No, I've never had a dry cough. I've taken lots of psych meds since the 1970s (never very compliant), but my BP only started to be problematic in my mid 50s.

When I was restarted and ramped up on the typical 7-drug bipolar regimen last year, my BP went down to 110/70, so lisinopril was held. I recently started it again after tapering off all that stuff.

My PCP told me to quit "stalking" my BP because I would just make myself crazy. I check it maybe once every two weeks. Oh...I also bought a smart watch that tracks pulse and BP, but it's mostly for fun because the numbers aren't reliable. I mean, I just checked it, and my pulse was about 10 bpm, so...I'm not sure I should be conscious.

You know what I look forward to? The day when dark chocolate, fish oil, and calcium channel blockers will wipe bipolar off the face of the earth and we can all get back to living. Or some genius will miraculously tweak DNA and voila! No more bipolar ever again. DSM-5 will have to be revised to eliminate mood disorders.

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My doctor told me my heart rate is high. I’m also on geodon. And I only take propalanol once a day instead of twice. So I don’t know if it’s the lamictal or one of the others.

I take them with a portable device just for my AFIB condition. It's the Kardia Mobile device you use with your smart phone. It's FDA approved to detect AFIB only.

Yesterday at work, I had a massive panic attack. It felt like I was going to die. End of the world feeling. It lasted several minutes.
My face and head got flush and really hot. Palpitations started and my heart raced rapidly. After it was over I immediately took pulse and it was 112bpm.

Pulse may have been higher during the initial attack, I don't know.

But now I'm wondering if Lamictal is making my anxiety worse. This med is not meant to treat anxiety and panic, but my doctor says it's the only one I can try to use, since I'm on Multaq. Multaq interferes with all SSRI drugs.

I was fine for a long time without any anxiety drug but ever since I was admitted to hospital for DVT and PE blood clots in May, my anxiety came back. Which is why she started me on Lamictal. I also was having days where I felt depressed and other days happy again. So I might have a slight bipolar disorder. The Lamictal seems to have helped with that.

Now I'm being referred to a psychologist for help with controlling panic attacks but I don't know how that will help.

My attacks come on suddenly and there is no controlling them. I also wonder if the Klonopin I took that morning when I was feeling anxious actually contributed to the panic attack. I've had a couple of panic attacks shortly after taking Klonopin for anxiety symptoms.

This morning again, about two hours after I took my Multaq, Lamictal, Xarelto, I started having some minor anxious feeling. I took a 1/4 tablet of Klonopin and that seemed to help for the time being.

My doctor also has me taking Vitamin D, B12, and Folate supplements. I was told those should help with anxiety. I'm still thinking it's the Lamictal causing nervous feeling, even though I've been on only the lowest dose 25mg.

Can any of those others cause anxiety?

Anyone may experience any side-effect ( previously documented or not) from any drug at any time.
Please be safe.

WC

I haven't heard about lamictal causing high pulse or bp, but I guess it could. My pulse tends to be in the 80s or 90s when resting, but that's because I don't exercise. I know if you exercise regularly, your heart rate and bp go down. I would definitely discuss this with your doc.

It's been over two weeks since I tapered off and stopped the Lamictal. My heart rate now is much lower again, and I don't have major palpitations and racing heart when going up stairs. My resting heart rate now hovers around 55-68bpm. Going up stairs at normal pace, it goes only to about 110bpm. This is much lower then when I was on the Lamictal.

My psychiatrist kept telling me that the Lamictal shouldn't have caused that, especially since I had reduced the dose down to 25mg. I'm not sure what else could have caused my higher heart rate over all those days, because it was continuously high until after a week of stopping Lamictal.

Perhaps it was an interaction between Lamictal and one of my other meds. Who knows. But I'm not going to take it again unless I need it.

I'm also thinking if maybe I have some type of Dysautonomia condition. Because occasionally I get chills and have low body temp.

I know it's a different class of med, but I think I'm having similar issues with Abilify with elevated heart rate (not sure about BP--haven't checked it in the few weeks since I've been taking it). My p-doc said to stop taking Abilify and see if it helps. I was also on Lamictal for a bit in the past and it increased my anxiety--I forget whether it affected my heart rate.

Also, you mention dysautonomia. You said how on Lamictal your heart rate would go up considerably when you stand up. Are you still having that issue? If so, you may want to check into a condition called POTS

What happened? Is your heart rate better?

I am now having minor to extreme anxiety attacks that I never had before taking Lamictal. I think it messed up my body. I can just be out with friends and laughing about a joke and then I get hit by an anxiety episode or a major panic attack. One day I went out to eat with a friend. Was driving home and immediately started shaking and having an extreme anxiety attack. It felt like I was going to die and felt like something wrong with my heart. I took Klonopin tablet and then that helped.

My current psych has no other options for me since I'm on Multaq for AFIB. I'm looking to find another psych.