Lamictal, Anyone?

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BrandiBrat

BrandiBrat

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Well, once again (or should I say still?) my seizures are not responding to my current meds so my neurologist asked if I wanted to try Lamictal. I am currently taking 400mg of Topamax per day. Even though the Topamax isn't working very well, I don't have very many side effects on it. I am really scared of switching to Lamictal and having negative side effects. Prior to the Topamax, I was on Dilantin and Keppra and the side effects were so bad I could barely get out of bed.
I know that people experience side effects individually, but can you share with me what you may know about Lamictal so I can make a decision about switching? Did it work for you?
 
hi brandi,
topamax wasn't doing much for me either (10 mos seizure free then they came back with a vengeance), so after 1.5 years after that i switched to lamotrigine. also on carbamazepine. the mix of carb and lamot wasn't too bad, not much for side effects except the rash in the beginning which was mild, but overall it has only messed with my hair. fell out at the beginning and it knots up really bad, use twice the conditioner that i used to. hair is past my rear so that is not fun :( other than that it's okay, doesn't work for my szs tho. have added vimpat to get through til surgery and then lamot. will be the first one i drop. so my two cents: few side effects but still szs.
 
oh yeah and maybe watch your diet more, it did put on 5-10 pounds. hear that alot about this one. but, a few pounds wasn't a huge concern to me compared to the other nightmares out there such as keppra.
 
Thank you for that, I appreciate the input! I've been on 3 meds so far and all dang three have made my hair fall out. I've succumbed to the idea that they all will... lol I'm about to bic my head and buy a wig, it's already so thin. :/
 
qtowngirl said:
oh yeah and maybe watch your diet more, it did put on 5-10 pounds. hear that alot about this one. but, a few pounds wasn't a huge concern to me compared to the other nightmares out there such as keppra.
Click to expand...

Crud! One of the things I did like about the Topamax was the weight loss. But yes, the Kepprage was a nightmare.
 
oh yes, topamax was good for that. didn't lose much but it kept my weight steady within a pound or two for over two years, no matter what i ate/drank. bleh :( that was a nice time.
 
Yeah, darn it! Too bad I can't take it just for weight loss haha my doctor is really strict though, I doubt if she would she would allow me to be vain.
 
qtown told me when I started Lamictal last year that I would have red hot Angelina Jolie lips and would have a weird craving for fried armadillo!:roflmao:

This is the 2nd time I've ramped up on Lamictal June of last year came off of it during a VEEG Started back on Lamotogine this time in January of this year. I never got the rash I am on it along with Keppra and Tegretol. I do have some vivid dreams but I also find myself sleeping a lot. I wont even talk about the kepprage. My poor dog gets the brunt of most of that. With the Keppra its hard to decide if the side effects I have are the Keppra or the Lomotogine I'm willing to bet its the Keppra.
 
oh your poor memory. i said i had hot angelina jolie lips (in general) and that you would have a weird craving for arms.......
 
Baaahahaha!!!! Those lips are to die for, though! lol

With my luck it will make me grow facial hair or something haha
 
Lamictal gives me blurry vision, dry eyes, dry mouth, but is basically tolerable. I'm nearly 5 years seizure-free on it. And I've gained a few pounds too. :(
 
I would much rather have a few pounds and be sz free :) Nak, what about your teeth and gums? Any problems there? The Topamax has made my gums recede a bit...not bad but I do feel like it's Me vs. Top. everyday regarding my dental health.
 
qtowngirl -- My five-year date will be the end of May. (Maybe we should schedule the orgy for then?)

Brandi -- My teeth and gums seem to be fine. I see the dentist every 6 months just be on the safe side.
 
nak - :woot: yes!!


pita - no profiling here. if you'd rather desire armadillos you go right ahead :)
 
Lamictal was something I tried multiple times as I didn't find anything that was good for mono therapy. The side affects for me were to much, I felt physically sick and it didn't stop any seizures.

These meds are pretty weird. The carbamazepine is holding its own. Trial and error I guess?

Either way I guess Keppra also can do some damage to the teeth. I guess we always have to sacrifice something for seizures control. I have to look super stoned all the time and talk like Keanu Reeves for now haha.
 
Hahaha, laughing about the stoned image :) Ya know...I honestly don't know why my doc is on this mono-therapy gig. I told her I'm totally down to pop a handful of pills if it means kicking these fits. But she is so set on mono therapy. I'm going to talk to her about it again on the 12th and see if she will let me try both.
 
haha yep being doped for awhile with new meds is pretty common I guess.

Well you should tell your Doc that its really common to use more then one med. At least that was what my neuro said, because I never got much success from one drug. Here is an article about monotherapy.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2730009/

Not sure how legit this info is but it makes some sense. I figured all Docs want you to be on less meds aka less side affects. But I see no reason why your Doc would say no to both of those meds. Hope everything works out.
 
hey muay, no worries about legit, that is one of the most accurate and best websites available for medical information. it's the national centre for biotechnology information, u.s. national library of medicine. they have a host of pubmed articles as well, which i would trust completely as my doctor said that's her reference site and for me to get my epilepsy/seizure info from there as well.
 
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