Lamictal or what?

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Dignan

Stalwart
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Hello again. Well, I've been off of Dilantin for a year now and still taking only Neurontin. However, I think I had a seizure a few days ago. I woke having bitten my tongue and feeling sore all over and I threw up the night before.

When I told my Dr. all of this he said he wanted me to try Lamictal. Does anyone have any experience with this drug? Would Trileptal be better?


Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

-D
 
Keep in mind that everyone's experience on meds is different....

Lamictal has a pretty good reputation in terms of tolerability, and it works decently for me. These are the side effects I've had: Restless sleep/vivid dreams, hair loss, headaches, dry eyes and mouth, blurry vision, mild dizziness, mild weight gain, very mild acne. The first 3 of those side effects went away after a few months, the others are still hanging around. One additional drawback to Lamictal is that you need to ramp up on it very slowly in small amounts to avoid developing an allergic reaction. Some of the other meds can be ramped up much faster.

You can look for more info in the archives on Lamictal and on Trileptal using the "search" tab at the top.
 
Are you male? And have you noticed any sexual side effects? I noticed a loss of libido AFTER I stopped the Dilantin and don't want that to continue.
 
I've been on Neurontin (didn't work), Topamax (made me very depressed), Keppra (horrible mood swings), Trileptal (made me dangeriously depressed), and Lamictal. Lamictal has been the one I've tolerated best so far. The first time around I got a rash, so the doc took me off. Second time around we ramped up much more slowly, and I was okay. The most troublesome side effect for me has been insomnia. Lamictal is known for messing with your intellect the least - in other words, better brain processing, memory, etc. than many of the other drugs.

Everybody is different. Some people take lamictal and have pretty much no side effects at all, some have a few, some take it and have really bad side effects. You've just got to try it and see.
 
I'm female. And no, I haven't noticed any sexual side effects.
 
Lamictal was the first AED i was tried on, and it didn't work for me. It made my seizures worse, my hair fell out and i got a lot of dizziness and sleepiness with it. Eventually i was taken off it and started on Keppra (and recently Vimpat) instead.

But, as everyone has said, it affects everyone differently. Apparently Lamictal is one of the meds with the fewest side effects, it's just that i seemed to hit every one of them lol.
 
Lamictal

I have been on Lamictal for about 10 years or so. It has worked good overall, however i noticed that the longer I take it, the more I have built up an immunity to it. I am now on a 600mg a day dose, and my doctor says I am maxed out. I'm combo'ed in with Topamax to help control my seizures, and it has worked for the most part. However in the last week, I've had two seizures, so I think Lamictal is done for me. But I think it's a great med, and I highly recommend it. And another thing. Depending on your income, I suppose the company is great about giving their epilepsy patients the meds for free. Just sign up for it and they will send you three months worth for nothing; for a year.
 
Sexual side effects

And I am a male, and I have noticed no sexual side effects what-so-ever. Just to paint a better picture, I started Lamictal around 2001 or so and my son was born in 2006 =)
 
Update: I saw the Dr. today and he had decided to try me on Keppra intead of Lamictal.

Any thoughts on Keppra?
 
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