Desperate and with medicine (Lamictal) problems

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VanessaS

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Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum. I'm 19 years old. I have simple partial epilepsy in both the occipital and temporal lobes. I was diagnosed in '07 (though my seizures started either around '06 or '05) and have been most likely seizure-free since October of '08. I say most likely because I have had a few episodes where I've seemed out of it and have no idea why. When I have a seizure it's mainly psycho-related, where I can't see or hear, or answer anyone, and I get heart palpitations, nauseau, etc.
Long story short, I'm on 175 mg of Lamictal and 100 mg of Zoloft. I was always such a smart girl - I'm even in an Ivy League university! But did anyone notice ever since they were put on Lamictal that they feel their intelligence has just dropped? I understand that courses are harder in college but my grades just coincidentally dropped A LOT as soon as I started taking Lamictal at 200 mg. I was recently lowered to 175 mg and I actually am doing a bit better, though I still am having a hard time concentrating, thinking, and remembering. My Zoloft was rasied from 50 to 100 mg as my Lamictal was lowered. I was on Zoloft before the Lamictal from clinical depression. Ever since I have been put on Lamictal, my anxiety has PEAKED. It was raised a couple of months ago because I was so anxious that I had literally not eaten in days because I couldn't get food down and I would visibly shake 24/7. Now, I'm still abit anxious but not nearly as much but am very VERY tired...does anyone else have this?
Sorry for such a long story but I want ot know if anyone has been experiencing these side effects? I go to world-renowned neurologists and am sick of just constantly going to them and getting a medicine change. I'm starting to feel "why did I have to get epilepsy?" (especially since I've experienced no head trauma and no one in my family has it that we know of). Finals are coming up and I had a severe mood swing yesterday where I couldn't stop hysterically crying and then completely snapped out of it (I used to have those before my Zoloft was raised to 100 mg) and I'm just so depressed now because I thought those were over.
Thanks for your help!!!
 
Hi VanessaS, welcome to CWE!

Lamictal can have cognitive side effects, although it's considered to have a better track record in that area than other AEDs. I'm on Lamictal (same dose as you -- 175mg) and don't have any cognitive or mood issues but that may be because I have generalized epilepsy rather than TLE/OLE. I think folks with TLE can be more vulnerable to mood swings and anxiety.

How is your sleep? I know for the first few months on Lamictal I had very poor sleep, with vivid dreams. If that's the case for you, it could be exacerbating all the side effects you are having.

Best,
Nakamova
 
Hey! Thanks for replying so quickly!
I actually didn't have any sleep problems at all. The only trouble I've had with sleeping is very recently - I'm tired all day, but that's only within this past semester of school.
I'm just afraid that it's not the medicine and it's just me over-reacting.
Vanessa
 
Given that both the Zoloft and the Lamictal have sedative effects, I imagine that they are playing a contributing role in your fatigue. Of course academic stress doesn't help. :) I assume that you aren't a big consumer of alcohol or caffeine, since those could make things worse.

Another possibility is that Lamictal is giving you "tired blood". It has that effect on me -- I tend to run at the low extreme on the CBC counts. To counteract that I take a B-Complex vitamin, and in general try to eat a balanced diet.
 
I'm on Lamictal too. I don't know if it's the Lamictal or just having epilepsy but I have a heck of a time remembering things. It took me about 4 years to realize that President Regan was dead, and I even watched his funeral on tv. I have bad long term memory problems too. I'm tired a good bit also.

I've recently started shaking, it started about 2 months ago. At first I would shake for about an hour constantly but now I'm down to maybe just a few seconds several times a day. The dr pescribed Venlafaxine HCL ER (Effexor XL) 75mg. I go to the neuro this week so I'm going to see what he has to say about it.

It's weird too though, if I start to think about shaking, I will. I'll do it other times too without thinking about it.

Deffently don't drink alot of alcohol or caffeine, they aren't good things to drink when you have epilepsy.
 
I've never smoked and barely ever drink (if I do, I just get a bit tipsy and that happens only a couple of times a year)...Have you ever tried alcohol though with Lamictal, and if so, what happened? Anything scary?
And valeriedl, I have memory problems as well. They definitely lessened once I dropped 25 mg, but I still have them and it's more short term memory. I feel like my short term memory has really sacrificed but in turn my long-term memory has gotten better. (I can remember some exact moments from years ago when I was 4, for example). Do you have cognitive issues too, for instance with learning? If you don't mind me asking, what sort of a dosage of Lamictal are you on and what types of seizures do you have?
 
Oh wait, I just realized you said caffeine as well. Because I'm constantly tired, it's so hard for me to study without drinking red bull. So I drink max only 1 can a day (not even) and I rarely drink it once everyday each week, normally like 5 times. Is that having adverse side effects? I asked my PA and she said don't drink more then that but she didn't seem negative about it.
 
I can't remember exactally what type it is, but I have damage in both parts of my brain. Normaly the types of seizures that I have I just space out during and don't know of anything that is going on during it. I have however had a few grand mals, but in the 8 years I may have only had 5 of them total.

At first I had very bad long term and short term memory problems. Espically after the seizre I'd have trouble remembering what would happen druing the daiy.

It has gotten alot better. The short term memory is pretty good, but the only stay up there for a few months and then start to fade away.

I graduated high school about 15 years ago and just about everything from 10th grade and up is gone. There are a few things up there but not much. My friends will tell me about things that we've done and I'm glad they remember cause I sure don't.

I've mentioned in a few posts that it took me a few years to remember that President Regan was dead, and I even watched his funeral with my husband. When something would come on tv about him I kept saying to my husband "He's dead? When did he die??" He thought I was joking and was really driving him crazy but finally it's stuck up there.

There have been alot of goofy things my husband does that I seem to remember, I won't go into all the details but my husband tells me you forget everything else, why can't you forget these!!!!!!

I'm on 175mg of Lamictal
 
Red Bull might be problematic, but it;s hard to tell. It's basically sugar water mixed with a lot of caffeine, so it's a recipe for allowing your system to crash. If you need caffeine, you're much better off with something like tea (which enters and exits the system in a much gentler way). Red Bull does have taurine, which has some anti-epileptic and calming properties, but those are basically wiped out by the caffeine and sugar high. Diet Red Bull has aspartame which mimics a brain stimulant, so definitely stay away from the diet version.
 
Oh wow thanks so much for warning me about the Diet Red Bull! I had no idea!!! I'm getting a 72 hour EEG, and the last one (6 months ago) thankfully showed no odd activity so they lowered me 25 mg and hopefully the same will happen this time (the end of May) so in the summer I'll be able to talk to him about my current issues but I do NOT want to have to switch medicines. I'm right in the prime of my college work, which I'm not doing well in to begin with, so I don't want to have to experience withdrawals or new side effects. I'm just so afraid that I'm blaming too much on the medicine and am actually "stupid" because I used to be a straight A student!!! But it's just such a coincidence that as soon as I was put on lamictal my grades lowered. Please be honest, what do you think? My family and friends are being so supportive but you guys would understand more and I'm hoping for more realistic opinions here.
 
Hey there, I'm having quite big problems with the Lamictal (100mg twice a day). The side effects are horrible, but it seems to be the only med I'm not having an allergic reaction to. Let's see, I occasionally get depressed for a day or 2, my memory sucks junk, if I don't have a nap with my son in the afternoon I can't stay awake past 8, I twitch and space out a few times a day, have NO energy, walking through the mall or even folding laundry is a workout. I think the worst though is the fact that it doesn't even stop my grand mals at night or my spacing out during the day which happens a few times most day but last's no too long. Oh I'm also VERY short tempered and people around me are hating it. Also I have no appetite most days, others I just don't stop eating. I'm seriously thinking about telling the doctor to take me off all meds and try a "herbal" remedy. A friend has that instead of pills and it works great for him.
 
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Vanessa, if your gut instinct is that the Lamictal is causing your cognitive issues, then you are probably right. AEDs are so powerful, a little can go a long way in messing with our minds, moods, hormones, etc.

BTW the link below is to a great site where folks list the different side effects they've experienced on Lamictal. You may find it confirms some of your suspicions.
http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=20241&name=lamictal
 
Hi, Vanessa,

I'm on Lamctal, too, 225mg, soon to be 250. This has been the best drug so far, but I'm not sure what the side effects are. I have another neurological disorder, and I can't tell if how I feel is that, the Lamictal, or the seizures. I can say this - Lamictal seems to be much better than Keppra, Topamax, Trileptal, and a higher dose of Gabapentin. (I've been on all of them). At least I can get out of bed in the morning and don't want to bite the big one, or scream at everybody all the time. I also have anxiety, but I don't know if it's the Lamictal, the IIH (my other disorder), or seizures. Hard to tell.

I know how you feel about the med changes. I wish I would have had the chance to adjust to any given med before we gave up. For some people it takes time.

And yep, I feel like my IQ has dropped to an unacceptable low. I'm resigning myself to the fact I may never be able to do the type of job I used to do in the past, which required my brain to fire correctly on all cylinders, so to speak.
 
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