Lamictal & Keppra --- some the side effects & more.

[BAHAMAS]

I am presently switching medications from Keppra to Lamictal as Keppra did not control my seizures where as Lamictal does a much better job as and I have noticed myself that there are quite a few differences between the two.

Here are the main differences.
So far Lamictal is definitely affecting my sleep as some nights I tend to wake up and stay awake one to three hours. Also I wake up earlier (5-7 in the morning every morning) whereas when I was on Keppra alone I would wake up on average (7-‘s 8 in the morning). Also I do not feel as rested as I did on Keppra.

When I first began taking LamictaI I would itch all over – like I had flease .ant’s or insects were crawling all over me. This has decreased and almost disappeared over time. (approx.. 4-5 months

More Constipation – maybe 3-5 days a week on Lamictal - where as when I was on Keppra alone it was okay.
Nowadays to counteract that I try and take the lead to more flaxseeds, magnesium and yogurt.

My left eye seems to twich on a daily basis. (mainly in the evening).

My speech is worse the higher dosage that I take on Lamictal.

My seizures are also a lot more violent and cause me severe headaches the next day.

My dreams are a lot more vivid and realistic.

My writing whilst on Lamictal is VERY poor & I find it hard to a write as well as it is slow . It is though better in the morning but worse if I have had a bad night & later in the day.

While I was on Keppra and Lamictal to get their a few years ago I did not notice these side effects anywhere near as much but since I came off Lamictal and on to Keppra alone and then back on to Keppra and Lamictal I have paid a lot closer attention to how side effects affect my daily life.

4 years ago I was diagnosed with an ulcer , I now feel it burning again or hopefully its just hearburn or acid reflux. I did read somewhere that Lamictal can cause these things , has anyone else had this happen to them whilst they were taking Lamictal ?.

I would also like to know if any of you have any of the problems or side effects I do. Taking in to account that everyone is different I would still also like to find out what is the average minimum does that the drug is effective , and also the maximum dosage that anyone is taking.

Thanks Craig

 

[Fedup]

BAHAMAS

Lamictal can affect your sleep, it did for me at the start and the itching, the constipation does end but it does reappear now and again, your pain threshold can increase, increasing your fiber intake can help also some exercise during the day or evening like walking should help with the sleep. The eye twich I still have and the yes the dreams are extremely vivid and real. The depression which you can get (mind you it does not seem to effect many) unless you learn to catch it at the start can be bad, they might even recommend anti-depressants but they do not mix well with the lamictal.

The headaches can be bad but they tend to go after awhile but the headache after a seizure is bad. I never had the speech problem the writing I am not sure about. I know I am on 500 mg a day now it was 800mg but what the recommended does is I do not know, rather cannot remember.

 

[SlimBlue]

Hi Craig. The ones I've noticed from that list:

The itches when I first started.
Chronic insomnia.
Both eyes occasionally 'flutter' between left and right a couple of times.
Sometimes very vivid dreams, also pretty warped night terrors when I'm stressed.

I do get bad acid reflux but I'm on a low dose (125x2), and take keppra and carbamazepine as well so I can't comment on which causes it.

A quick google for average dose for seizures seems to be roughly 200x2 (there are a lot of people on lower/or even higher doses though) but are quite a bit different when used in monotherapy or adjunctive regimes- so effective adult dose is listed as 100-400 per day.

Insomnia, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, constipation, nystagmus, and confusion are all listed as side effects.

 

[photoguy]

Hi Craig,
I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I am on both Keppra (2000mg twice a day) and Lamictal (300mg twice a day). I had been on Tegretol XR and Lamictal for a while, but the Tegretol induced some visual-field side effects for me.

Best of luck to you,
--Dan

 

[flesz]

Hi just got off lamictal, I came down with steven johnson syndrome, i itched and my mouth was full of ulcers and skin pealing off.keppra must makes me lazy brained.

 

[jenagade]

I am half and half with what you have experienced

So far Lamictal is definitely affecting my sleep as some nights I tend to wake up and stay awake one to three hours. Also I wake up earlier (5-7 in the morning every morning) whereas when I was on Keppra alone I would wake up on average (7-‘s 8 in the morning). Also I do not feel as rested as I did on Keppra.

I had trouble waking up on Lamictal, probably sleeping 9-11 hours, and I definitely didn't feel rested. Since the addition of Keppra though, I have more like 3-5 hours because I wake up for hours at a time during the night.

More Constipation – maybe 3-5 days a week on Lamictal - where as when I was on Keppra alone it was okay.

Again I found it was the Keppra which made this worse.

My left eye seems to twich on a daily basis. (mainly in the evening).

My speech is worse the higher dosage that I take on Lamictal.

My seizures are also a lot more violent and cause me severe headaches the next day.

My dreams are a lot more vivid and realistic.

Definitely had this with when I moved from Tegratol to Lamictal, especially the speech problems. Do you find that you are really unstable as well, not necessarily dizzy but more like the floor is ever so slightly tilted?

My seizures got much worse to the point of status epilepticus, which is when the Keppra came in. Not sure why my neuro even bothered keeping me on Lamictal after that but he didn't seem to trust the hospital neurologist.

My writing whilst on Lamictal is VERY poor & I find it hard to a write as well as it is slow . It is though better in the morning but worse if I have had a bad night & later in the day.

I realised during my uni exams a few weeks ago that I haven't actually had to write anything, apart from filling out forms, in about 6 months so I don't know if it has had any effect on my writing lol.

4 years ago I was diagnosed with an ulcer , I now feel it burning again or hopefully its just hearburn or acid reflux. I did read somewhere that Lamictal can cause these things , has anyone else had this happen to them whilst they were taking Lamictal ?.

I have heard that Lamictal tends to pick on the skin and the digestive tract.