Lamictal – beginning it – itch on skin & sleep problems

[BAHAMAS]

I have been taking both Lamictal and Keppra for many years, I tried to take Keppra alone and it didn’t control my seizures. Now I am going to take Lamictal alone to see if that works.

I am on 2,000 mgs of Keppra per day and am taking at this point only 100 mgs of Lamictal per day (50 mgs in AM 50 mgs in PM).

My Dr. has said that I should get up to my full dosage of 175 mgs per day before I reduce my Keppra, but I was on this regime maybe seven or eight years ago and I do not remember all that much about the transition between the 2 medications as even though I was keeping records they were lost in a move.

What I would like to ask everyone is the following - I am presently having a slight itch all over like I had flees or ants/insects crawling all over me . And must say it is not bad but I would like to find out if this will go away in time or does the Keppra make it worse.

Also I have found that taking my medication as prescribed I tend to wake very early in the morning and then do remember this happening before, and at that time I remember researching Lamictal and found that the length of time it is active or effective in your body is over 24 hrs. So I said to my Dr. “why don’t I try taking all of my Lamictal at once a day in the morning” so I did and I remember that my sleep improved somewhat but I still really would like to know if the Keppra makes it worse. I also can remember if my sleep was disrupted during the night for any reason I usually either could not go back to sleep or to me a long time.

Thanks for reading Craig

 

[notime]

Hi,

Have you told your doctor this?

I was on keppra xr for a long time, and just 3 weeks ago I was taken off of it. That was the first drug I was put on, but it didn't work. He put me on lamictal last year and reduced keppra slowly until recently and I just had another seizure. I am not sure if it is because I skipped it or if I am the exception and both is needed to work for me?

Anyway, I didn't have any side effects other than memory loss, little confusion, until I was taken off and a lot of that went away.

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Bahamas --

Lamictal can sometimes cause an allergic reaction. In some cases an allergic reaction can be a sign of a dangerous reaction Stevens-Johnson-syndrome. Let your neuro know about the itching. If it gets worse, and/or a rash appears let your neuro know right away -- you may need to stop the Lamictal.

When I was starting on Lamictal I was a bit itchy (mostly at night) and I slept very poorly, the same as you. (I wasn't on Keppra at the time). Eventually those side effects went away. You may or may not get any benefit by taking the Lamictal in a single morning dose. Don't make any changes without checking with your neuro first. Lamictal can have a relatively long half-life, but that half-life is different for every person. Your individual metabolism and seizure threshold are factors to consider. You could also ask about taking Lamictal XR -- the extended release version -- to minimize side effects.

 

[Belinda5000]

Lamictal I'm alleric to it made me scratch myself raw.