Can Lamictal give you a 'quick temper'...?

[elizzza811]

...or lack of impulse control? Or is it just the epilepsy?

I won't go into any details here, but let's just say that there have been several instances, especially since starting Lamictal, in which I've found it extremely difficult to not act on what I am thinking of doing/saying in stressful situations. This had happened a couple of times before starting Lamictal, so I'm not sure whether to blame the disease or the drug, but it definitely has worsened since starting this drug, worsened enough that I am actually acting on these impulses and finding it somewhat scary. I was always so meek and I don't even recognize myself sometimes anymore. This all started when I cold-turkeyed Klonopin and the underlying seizures it was apparently treating took over my brain.

It's scary enough that I'm actually thinking of mentioning this to my neurologist and suggesting she try me on another drug, but I don't want to risk losing the opportunity to drive again in the spring. If she were to switch my seizure meds now, would my 6-month ban on driving start all over again? It already started all over again a couple of months ago (September?) when my thumb started twitching on me and she said I was now having simple partials. I haven't driven since December of 2010, and gosh, I need my freedom back. What should I do?

 

[Nakamova]

I haven't experienced that on Lamictal.

 

[momof3boys]

I tried Lamictal for a few weeks in April of this year. My emotions were all over the place! I would get very frustrated and having crying outbursts. It got so bad I didnt even feel like being around people. I kept bringing this up to my neurologist and he said Lamictal should be doing the opposite and giving me more energy and making me more relaxed. But after a few weeks, I couldnt take it no more. Along with the severe reactions I was having, (sores around my jaw line, and my glands in my neck were really swelling up bad) I had to get off of that. Once I was off, things improved so much! I actyually felt like myself again and the physical things that happened, got much better and eventually went away. I saw my dr in august this year, and he said most of the time he never see's a patient react that way to Lamictal. But there are rare cases that react to it in different ways. I was just one of them. So you might be going through the same thing as what I went through. I think I got up to 50mgs if I remember correctly. They started me out at 25mgs twice a day and I got up to 50mgs twice a day. It was just too much for me. If you have any questions, I would be more than happy to help answer them for you. Hang in there!

 

[elizzza811]

Thanks for relating your experience. I've been getting the crying outbursts too. Before I posted this thread I actually googled 'Lamictal and impulse control', and apparently this drug is actually used to treat that so I was totally baffled. I'm actually up to 125mg twice a day, so that's a lot. And I really don't think Lamictal is helping me as much as my neurologist does. True, I'm not having complex partials anymore (that I'm aware of), but this relentless clenching continues, and it often increases shortly after I take my medication, so I know it is somehow related to seizure activity. I've also noticed an increase in cystic acne around my jawline. Not sores per say, but they don't heal, I end up picking them to try to get them to go away, and then they end up looking like sores.

I really would like to switch meds. My only concern is that in doing so my 6-month ban on driving might start all over again as a precaution. It started all over again (already) this past September because I was having simple partials, so now, because of that, I won't be able to drive until March or April (and I was hoping I'd be driving by January).

Do you happen to know if that would still happen if I continued to remain seizure-free through March or April even with the medication switch? (assuming I'd start today, December 1st?) Or would my driving-ban be extended to June as a precaution because of the medication switch? I haven't driven since December 19th of 2010.

 

[momof3boys]

I dont know how it would affect your driving. My seizures have pretty well been under control for the most part. I didnt drive of course for a few months after having my VEEG done in March. My dr was trying alot of add on medications with the Keppra and I was having break through seizures during that time period. Lamictal for me was a nightmare. I even tried acne medications to help treat the acne or sores I was getting. That might have made it worse, because they turned into scab like areas that were so sore, they would crack open and bleed whenever I washed my face. Once I got off the lamictal, all that cleared up and went away. It took a couple of weeks, but it eventually got better. When all this was coming about, I did contact my neurologist, and he said I couldnt be having a reaction to the medication. But when I went into my primary care dr, (my neurologist said to see them because at the time I was having swelling in my glands, he said I had a sinus infection going on) they did blood work, all sorts of tests, and i had no infection going on! Thats when she saw I had started Lamictal and said I was having a bad reaction to the medication and I needed off of it ASAP. My neurologist wasnt pleased with the outcome, but agree'd to get me off of it. Since then, Ive only been on Keppra XR.

Have you brought up these concerns to your neurologist or even went into another dr to get their opinion. My gut tells me if it wasnt for me going to see my primary care dr, I dont think my neurologist would have taken me off the lamictal.

 

[elizzza811]

I haven't yet mentioned this to my neurologist, and probably the thing holding me back the most is the driving issue. Plus, from past experience, most doctors don't like being challenged, and not that I've learned to fear them, but I guess I've just given up on arguing 'God'. Many doctors don't seem capable of thinking beyond what they learned in medical school, as if everything there is to be learned was presented to them there? They don't want to listen to possibilities...rare cases...they just don't exist, in their eyes.

 

[Endless]

Hi, Elizzza,

Lamictal IS also used for people with bi-polar to even out their moods. That doesn't mean it couldn't affect your impulse control. Drugs affect everyone differently. Here's a link to the Lamictal package insert. It doesn't mention impulse control specifically, but does mention related side effects, one of them is "thinking abnormally." Keep scrolling down and read the tables.

http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=15349#nlm34084-4

On driving. Every state has different laws. Here's a link where you can look up the laws for your state. Most are pretty cut and dried, no gray areas, it's a set amount of time after your last seizure. In some "seizure free" means "altered consciousness seizure free." In a few states whether you drive depends on your doctor.

http://www.epilepsy.com/EPILEPSY/rights_driving

http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/resources/Driving-Laws-by-State.cfm

 

[elizzza811]

Hmmm? I live in PA and it would seem as if a medication-switch-triggered seizure might not be as lethal to my driving privileges as I thought, as long as I (first) remain seizure-free on Lamictal (for 6 months) before making the medication change.

(3) was previously seizure-free for a six-month period and the subsequent seizure(s) occurred as a result of a prescribed change in or removal from medication while under the supervision of a licensed physician, and prior medication has been reinstituted [67 PA. CODE § 83.4(b)(3)];

Thanks for all the info, very helpful.

 

[Endless]

That is GREAT news~!

Make sure all of that is documented in your neurologists' files.

 

[Blue Eyes]

Hi, Elizzza! My daughter has bipolar disorder. A few years ago, she was given Lamictal to battle depression. It made her irritable and mean. Her mood and behavior were out of control. I think that trial lasted a week, at the most. So, it most definitely can alter your mood. On the other hand, I take it and not only does it control my seizures, but it evens out my mood. Go figure!

Blue Eyes