Lamactil - could it be affecting my eyesight?

[Lola Lolushka]

Does anyone ever experience hazy black dots in their line of sight a couple of hours after taking meds?

 

[Blue Cat]

I get "floaters" but they don't have anything to do with the meds. I'd say see your opthomologist before attributing it to the meds. They are usually nothing to worry about.

 

[valeriedl]

I've worn glasses since I was about 13 years old (I'm 34 now). Every year the pescription would get a little stronger. When I had my first seizure, about 8 years ago, my pescription changed alot and I had to get a much stronger one. Since then when I get my eyes checked every 2 years I need to get a slightly stronger pescription.

I I had issues with "nystagmus", where you feel your eyes racing back and forth from side to side. I also had a bit of double vision. Both were happening when I was on too high a dose. On Lamictal, I haven't had either nystagmus or double vision, just the blurry vision that comes and goes.

I also have nystagmus and it drives me crazy!!! Even though it only lasts a second it's just so annoying.

I aslo get double vision from time to time and that will last for an hour or more. I'll have to walk around with one eye closed sometimes just so I can walk straight. I wasn't sure if it was a side effect of the medicine or if I could be having a small seizure. I know everything that is going on around me and can think straight, which I usually can't do if I'm having a seizure, I just can't see right.

Both of these haven't happened for a good while, I hope now that I say that it doesn't happen tomorrow!

 

[Endless]

Take a look at this thread for the role of melanin, and lamotragine binding with melanin, on vision:

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/lamotrigine-long-term-effects-12837/

 

[LCS]

Found this thread while searching for anything similar to the vision/Lamictal interaction that I have. Seems like there's not much info out there.

I've been taking Lamictal since 2009, after having several "episodes" of confusion and memory loss. An MRI and EEG didn't show any problems, but the doctor said that if I took Lamical and it helped, then I must be having seizures. I'm taking 150mg (Lamotrigine-TEVA) two times a day, and as long as I don't miss a couple doses, I don't have any problems.

In Nov. 2010, I noticed one night that I was seeing lights at night in triple. Most evident on headlights, taillights and stoplights. I would see the actual light, then a less intense duplicate above and below the light. It was especially obvious with LED lights. There would occasionally be a night where I wouldn't see the triple images, but most of the time I did. I brought it up with my neuro at my regular visit a couple months later, and he didn't have any idea why I was having that.

Nov. of this year, I get my eyes checked, tell him what's going on, and he things that my astigmatism is getting worse, and showing up worse at night when my eyes are more dilated. I had also been having problems reading, felt like the pages were kind of wavy/moving. He thought that the new glasses would make things a lot better. All they did was make the extra images more clear. By this point I was actually seeing things in fives--two duplicates above and two duplicates below. Still only evident at night. I was still occasionally having nights with no duplicate vision.

Soon after this, I realized that there might be a correlation between the Lamictal in my system and my vision. If I had missed my morning dose (or a couple, I'm bad at remembering pills), I wouldn't have the vision problems at night. Tonight I tested that theory and I'm pretty certain. The last dose I took was yesterday morning. Tonight all those stoplights and taillights are perfectly clear and single. Also, my glasses, which had been helping me greatly with reading and computer, make things harder to read tonight.

Problem is, the Lamictal helps. I seem to have gotten more sensitive to missed doses. Only 12 hours after a missed dose, and I had one of my episodes this morning. I guess I'll chose a clear brain over clear vision (and I took tonight's dose as soon as I came back from testing my vision tonight).

I'm starting with a new Neuro soon (soon meaning I need to call and make an appointment in the morning), will be interesting to see what he thinks.

Hope that my story helps out in some way, I haven't really seen anything similar in my searches.

 

[elizzza811]

I've had problems with blurry vision ever since I stopped Klonopin abruptly (was on it for anxiety) and threw myself into a seizure frenzy - way before I ever started Lamictal. Even with a fresh prescription my vision remains blurry. Some days my vision is less blurry than others. My take on it is that seizures are the cause of my 'blurs', not Lamictal.

 

[Wobblez]

Thanks everyone for your input. Since starting this thread I have learnt a lot about how Lamactil affects my vision. I was struggling with study, the words felt like they were moving, I got motion sickness for the first time ever and reading or working on a computer strained my eyes after just ten minutes. My optomotrist monitored my sight and suggested I hold off on my next set of glasses until my dose had stabilised. When i started Lamactil, he saw a definite myopic shift in my eyes. This explained the blurry, strained vision, headaches and possibly motion sickness. As my body adjusted to my 200mg daily dose, my vision recovered and I didn't need a new prescription yay! I was so relieved because my eyesight does decline every few years. I've recently increased my dose to 300mg daily and i'm having the same issues but I hope my body will adjust again. Thankfully i'm on my uni summer break so I don't have to read 4hrs a day!

 

[Electra]

Anyone ever feel like their eyes were crossed before a seizure but when they covered one eye at a time they were not. Taking Lamotrigne myself.

 

[valeriedl]

I've had blurred vision before a seizure. I've never tried covering one eye to see if I can see ok or not.

 

[LuminaryLucy]

Hi Wobblez

I take Lamictal for abt 18months now. Previously I was on epilim and keppra. I had 2 years off uni as the seizures and drugs incapacitated me. During that time I did not keep appointments with my optometrist and my eyesight seems to have rapidly declined. Prior to epilespy diagnosis he said my eyesight stabilised and I was now a candidate for laser surgery. But now it has deteriorated, I am very glad I did not get the laser surgery. However he couldn't explain why it had gotten so bad. But I didn't mention epilepsy or medication.

 

[Nakamova]

I had laser surgery a few years before I went on lamictal. So I had perferct vision (20/20) before starting Lamictal. Since I went on it, my reading vision has stayed fine, but my middle and longer-distance vision gets blurry on and off throughout the day, and I do a lot of squinting, especially at night.

 

[Endless]

Eyesight deterioration can be due to the medication, migraines, or some other cause. This is a good question to ask your neurologist next time you see him.

This is from the Lamictal package insert. Note that blurry vision is dose-related, which means if a dose is increased it could especially be the culprit.

The most commonly observed (≥5% for LAMICTAL and more common on drug than placebo) adverse reactions seen in association with LAMICTAL during adjunctive therapy in adults and not seen at an equivalent frequency among placebo-treated patients were: dizziness, ataxia, somnolence, headache, diplopia, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, and rash. Dizziness, diplopia, ataxia, blurred vision, nausea, and vomiting were dose-related.

http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=58356#nlm34084-4

 

[Hand of Blood]

i honestly dont think u can get away without having side effects... im on tegretol and it give me blurred vision too and everything goes bright now and then

 

[Wobblez]

Hmmm...I don't mind the side effects because they do settle down but my Neurologist said he doubted it was the lamactil. I beg to differ given the optomotrist's findings!