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Below are Lamotrigine reviews, ratings, comments submitted by patients and caregivers. Based on a total of 12 ratings/reviews, Lamotrigine has an overall score of 6.25. The effectiveness score is 7.67 and the side effect score is 6.17. The scores are on ten point scale: 10 - best, 1 - worst. This information is not vetted and should not be cosidered as clinical evidence. | Lamotrigine review by 37 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | Moderate Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | major depression |
Dosage & duration: | | 25mg taken 2x per day for the period of 8 months |
Other conditions: | | ADHD |
Other drugs taken: | | Wellbutrin 450mg, Concerta 72mg | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | It started working immediately which was wonderful. My energy level increased, I was more interested in going out rather than hiding in my house. I've increased to 100mg 2x's a day. I've lost approximately 25 pounds but I think that's because of an interaction from the Concerta & Lamotrigine. |
Side effects: | | Within 2 months I noticed my eyes felt strained all the time so I continually have to refocus. I get tremors in my hands every couple days and can't stop them from shaking. The worst - and the reason I'm choosing to change medications is the excessive sweating. I use clinical strength deodorant 3x's per day but I can't go through the summer being self conscious of how I smell. I constantly check my arm pits for sweat marks. |
Comments: | | I started out with 25mg and moved quickly up to 200mg per day. I increased to 250mg but found no benefit so I dropped back down 200mg. If I didn't have the sweating side effect I would DEFINITELY continue to take this drug. |
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| Lamotrigine review by 29 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Moderately Effective |
Side effects: | | Extremely Severe Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Depression/Anxiety |
Dosage & duration: | | 75 mg taken 3 x day for the period of 2 months |
Other conditions: | | Depression/Anxiety |
Other drugs taken: | | Wellbutrin, Ambien | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | More mellow mood. Just taking Wellbutrin alone wasn't enough. I am a mild bipolar and needed something to balance out my moods. I have both depression and anxiety. And do not sleep well. That's why I was on Ambien, too. |
Side effects: | | RASH. ALL OVER TORSO. Burning, intense pain for days! Swollen tongue; couldn't eat. Lips puffed up twice their size. My doctor prescribed a 10-day series of steroids. The first night, I had to swallow eight steroid pills. The next morning, I had to wake up and swallow another six. Then another week of lessened doses. I have been removed from all of my drugs. Not fun. WARNING about lamotrigine: there is a slim chance of getting a horrific rash. I thought it was too slim for me, considering I'm very healthy. I was totally wrong. |
Comments: | | Fully removed from lamotrigine, as well as Wellbutrin and Ambien. Now I am on Seroquel. At least, I will be on it as soon as I am fully removed from the steroid treatment. I will never, ever take lamotrigine again. Today, nearly all of my steroid prescription is gone, and the rash has reappears. It itches like bloody murder! |
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| Lamotrigine review by 20 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | bipolar disorder |
Dosage & duration: | | 100mg taken once a day for the period of 2 years |
Other conditions: | | n/a |
Other drugs taken: | | lexapro | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | I began taking this medication during a very unstable period in my life and when I had been rapid cycling and experiencing mixed states, and over a 2 yr period it greatly helped increase my self-worth and overall stability. It helped me to get control of my life and avoid the severe depressions I was prone to, as well as putting a cap on my manias. I still felt mild highs or maybe natural euphorias but they are not manic-y and crazy. I even started being able to get sleepy at a normal hour and wake up in the morning. While on the medication I feel much clearer in general in my thoughts, so if I still feel down or up I am more confident in my ability to manage it. I feel like I am not overly leveled out and blah like I felt with Depakote, more like I avoid the worst and can be in control. |
Side effects: | | After 2 years and stopping for several months then starting again, I developed a rash which my psych guessed was the lamictal, although i don't understand why it started suddenly after so long! I convinced him to let me try again, however if I develop another rash I'll be switching to zyprexa. |
Comments: | | taken consistently for 2 years along w lexapro varying from 5 to 20 mg. occasionally risperdal as well. |
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| Lamotrigine review by 55 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
Side effects: | | Severe Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | depression and anxiety |
Dosage & duration: | | 200 mg taken once a day for the period of one month |
Other conditions: | | anxiety |
Other drugs taken: | | none | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | Raise the platform of being less anxious |
Side effects: | | Reduction in motor skills and memory loss |
Comments: | | Began taking a doseage of 35 and increased to 200 mg. at 150 and 200 noticed lack of balance and reduction of motor skills. Immediately reduced to 75 which was perfect for the patient but well below the recommended level of 200 to 400 mg. |
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| Lamotrigine review by 42 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Seizure-1st and only at age 41 |
Dosage & duration: | | 100 mg two times a day taken 2 times a day for the period of 11 months - still on it |
Other conditions: | | None |
Other drugs taken: | | None | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | Allowed to drive again after build up to therapeudic level |
Side effects: | | Initially, very tired in evening but that subsided within a few weeks. After that, I noticed small bumps on my whole scalp where follicles were-if I scratched one, a tiny white hard follicle emerged and a hair never grew back at the site. Although the thinning was noticeable to me, no one else noticed and the neurologist didn't agree that the medicine caused hair loss. Luckily that side effect subsided within 3-6 months. |
Comments: | | Took 12 weeks to get to correct level and couldn't drive during that time |
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| Lamotrigine review by 44 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Ineffective |
Side effects: | | Severe Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | migraines |
Dosage & duration: | | 25mg taken once per day for the period of three days |
Other conditions: | | degenerated discs in low back |
Other drugs taken: | | none | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | None. Had to discontinue use after three days because of severe side effects! |
Side effects: | | Within hours of taking the first dose I had vaginal itching. Since I read that was a side effect in the paperwork, I didn't think much of it. After two doses, the itching turned to a burning and sourness in the pubic area. I thought it might have been irritation from wearing leggings with no underwear (from the seam). The medication was taken at bedtime. When I woke up after taking the third dose, I had blisters on the outer labia. Late that night, while on an hour+ drive home from a nearby city, I was in severe pain. The blisters got worse, severe headache, severe backache, chills and all over aches like the flu. During the drive, I felt so bad I was praying for my life so I could continue to raise my children, even though I do not believe in god! It is now the next day after that horrendous drive. My blisters continue to worsen; my entire pubic area is sore, itching and burning; and I have developed a swollen lump on each side of my pubic area that is extremely tender and painful. I have not taken my temperature but I'm sure I have one. I feel like I have the flu plus all the gynecological problems. I'm no doctor, but I highly urge any woman on this med that they discontinue use IMMEDIATELY upon ANY gynecological disturbances, no matter how minor you think they might be. The goose eggs in my bikini area continue to grow and become more tender. |
Comments: | | My neurologist that prescribed the med told me to see my primary gyn if symptoms are not gone a week after discontinuation. Isn't that nice! I live in a rural town and don't have an established gyn right now so it just is not a good situation. BEWARE!!! |
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| Lamotrigine review by care giver of 14 year old male patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | epilpsy |
Dosage & duration: | | 100mg taken daily for the period of 12 months |
Other conditions: | | autism |
Other drugs taken: | | none | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | fits settled down to maybe 1 a fortnight which were daily before this medication |
Side effects: | | has gained quite abit of weight but as he has had problems gaining weight since being a toddler this isnt a bad thing |
Comments: | | givn by specialist after previous medicine epilim caused serious side effects still messing with dosage in the hope of getting his fits down to 0 but so far a vast improvement in seizures |
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| Lamotrigine review by 36 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Marginally Effective |
Side effects: | | Severe Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Borderline personality disorder, bi polar |
Dosage & duration: | | 100 (dosage frequency: 1 x daily) for the period of Still taking but considering stopping |
Other conditions: | | Pmdd, ocd, gad, ptss, adhd,migraines |
Other drugs taken: | | Vyvanse | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | My mood swings lessened, only benefit |
Side effects: | | Strong depression and crying, very angry and aggressive, loss of hair, dizziness. Cant feel happiness. |
Comments: | | My doctor put me on this and told me im bipolar. However I feel more bipolar with it. I did well on cymbalta but it raised my blood pressure. Lamactil has made me very agressive and angry! I cry all the time and my doctor told me he wanted to up the lamactil, and I said, but dr. I didnt feel this way before. And he uped it anyway. I am not taking the new dosage bc I have a child who is possible schizophrenia but is too young for the diagnosis and two angry people is not a good mix. Also I have taken vyvanse for over a year and its a stimulant as well in the past ritalin and adipex for weight loss, never have I experienced anger like tjis! |
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| Lamotrigine review by 19 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Marginally Effective |
Side effects: | | Severe Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Bipolar Disorder |
Dosage & duration: | | 25mg taken daily for the period of 10 days |
Other conditions: | | Anxiety |
Other drugs taken: | | N/A | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | I felt better for the first few days, mood-wise. But then I got depressed again. So I guess that's not a benefit. |
Side effects: | | I've always been one to freak out at the slightest appearance of illness - I have anxiety as well as bipolar disorder. When I was told that lamotrigine (the first drug I've been on for bipolar) caused a potentially fatal rash, I decided that this time, I was going to try not to worry. One out of ten people experience a rash on the drug - and I tried to be rational - that means I'm likely to be one of the nine that doesn't.
Oh, was I ever wrong.
Firstly, the lamotrigine didn't help with moods. I wanted to die for two days more badly than I ever had in my life on this drug. It was excruciating. Luckily, I have a lot of support, and I (obviously) didn't kill myself.
I couldn't sleep. I lay awake most nights until 7am. I eventually passed out and got maybe 4-6 hours of sleep. This is barely better than the sleep I get when I'm hypomanic. And we all know how bad it is when bipolar people don't sleep. Luckily, the meds did seem to keep me from going upwards mood-wise. I also had to pee ALL THE TIME, which was not fun.
That brings me to the rash.
I first noticed a few raised bumps on my inner forearms. I thought it would go away, that I shouldn't freak out - I wasn't going to get the rash, right? And the next morning, I was covered in a slightly raised, red rash, even on my face and hands. I went to the clinic, and the doctor said I was having an allergic reaction. He told me to just go home and stop taking the lamotrigine. He knew nothing about it or the fact that it causes rashes. It got worse, and by night-time I was freaked out. I called a nurse and she told me to go to the emergency room. I did, and they had me stay the night to make sure I didn't have Steven Johnson Syndrome. Luckily, I don't. I just have something called "drug eruption."
Even if it's not going to kill me, it's never fun being covered in red blotches. I still am and it's been three days. I'm afraid to go to the Starbucks around the corner. My verdict? Lamictal isn't worth it. Don't risk it. |
Comments: | | I was put on 12.5mg, then 25mg, and we were going to keep raising the dose slowly to minimize risk. |
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| Lamotrigine review by 32 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Bipolar 2-Extreme moods swings |
Dosage & duration: | | 150 mg taken 1xnightly for the period of 2 months |
Other conditions: | | bulimia, depression |
Other drugs taken: | | none | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | My miracle drug!! I have suffered for years with extreme mood swings, depression, and bulimia. It was several months ago that I was diagnosed with bipolar 2-I was immediately prescribed Lamictal-I didn't really notice a difference so my dr. upped it to 150mg. It has worked wonders! I am so proud to say that I am happy and I haven't felt this elation in years! I can actually stay awake during the day, I have the drive to exercise, my labido is back(sure did miss that), almost no mood swings at all and most importantly I feel like a mother again! I have 3 beautiful little girls that I can hug, kiss, and love again!! I feel like crying-in a good way-everytime I think about how happy I am! My only fear is wondering how long this will last-I can only pray this will last forever. |
Side effects: | | The only side effects I have (I consider 2 of these not even side effects at all)headaches, staying asleep at night, weird fever like feeling, increase in sexual drive and weight loss. All are tolerable considering the benefits. |
Comments: | | 150 mg a day-taken before bedtime |
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| Lamotrigine review by 42 year old male patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Epilepsy |
Dosage & duration: | | 150MG taken twice per day for the period of 7 months to date |
Other conditions: | | N/A |
Other drugs taken: | | N/A | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | To Date Improvements I've noted (but confirmed by closest): Seizures viewed much fewer & shorter. 50% of the seizures merely feelings & no communication loss. Much more clarity, energy & strength, alertness vs. drowsiness. Moods much better with smiling even during difficult times.
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Side effects: | | a little balance, occasional dry mouth |
Comments: | | I've had > 20 years of my sedatives & mixes, but my Lamictal on its own has easily become the best for me, & I'm still at a a much lower dose than the average Lamictal taken by my type. When my family & I discuss the net improvements we smile and even laugh.
I challenge my neurologist with Q's from me or my wife's; he's knowledgeable, thorough,& Q's any mixes. |
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| Lamotrigine review by 24 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | PTSD |
Dosage & duration: | | 200 mg taken 1 a day for the period of 2 months |
Other conditions: | | Bi-polar |
Other drugs taken: | | None | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | I have never felt so good in my life. This drug doesn't make you happy but it gives you a stable state to work from. I also read self-help books and have therapy along with the medicine but I wouldn't have been able to not have extreme highs and lows without Lamotrigine. It saved my relationships and my sanity. Thank God for this medicine. |
Side effects: | | Yeast infections occasionally. |
Comments: | | In therapy weekly and using "Feeling Good" and "Break the Chain of Low Self-Esteem". |
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