Lamictal has recently reared its ugly head

[skyfire322]

Hey all! It's been quite awhile since I've posted (been seizure free for quite some time!) I should note, since I was diagnosed with E over 15 years ago, I have never had side effects with Lamictal at all.

Backstory: I moved to a new city last year, and had to wait six months for my insurance to kick in, so I couldn't get a prescription in that time. My dosages were 300 mg twice as well as 250 mg of Depakote once a day.

I saw my new neurologist, and she said that dosages were way too high for me, but said she would adjust levels after blood tests. I got my prescription, and didn't notice anything at all for two months and felt fine. But then with this prescription, I started getting severe side effects like double vision (almost a drunk feeling), loss of balance, and very dilated pupils.

I called them, and they said to take one pill once a day to get my body adjusted for a week, then go back to 600 mg. I called again, and they gave the same advice.

I'm wondering... Has anyone gone through this before (side effects kicking in quite some time after)? If so, did your doctor recommend to stop taking it?

 

[Nakamova]

Couple of things could be going on:

1. If it's the generic of Lamictal, it might be an inconsistent batch, one that's a little higher in the active ingredient than your previous batch.

Or:
2. There's an issue with the Depakote. Depakote has a major interaction with Lamictal (in fact it's highly recommended that they not be taken in combination because "the risks outweigh the benefits"). If the Depakote batch has issues, it might be effectively making the Lamictal side effects worse.

Or:
3. Your metabolism has changed and your Lamictal clearance rate has slowed. It could just be that you need to be on a lower dose than you were in the past.

For whatever reason, the Lamictal side effects have become problematic at the 600mg dose. That means the dose needs to be tweaked. Does the single 300mg pill work for you in terms of side effects and tolerability? If so, then maybe that's what your new dose should be. And there are increments between 300 and 600 to try in case you need slightly raise the Lamictal dose for purposes of seizure control.

But all this needs to be worked out with your neuro. Don't be shy about asking for your neuro's help ASAP. Be a squeaky wheel -- show up without an appointment if you have to. They shouldn't just keep telling you to go up to a dose that has problematic side effects, that's ridiculous.

 

[Soniag]

I had the same side affects when I was taking the generic lamictal with tegretol. Turned out they were interacting really badly. As soon as I was taken off the tegretol I have had no more side effects with it

 

[skyfire322]

Hi everybody! Thanks for your responses!

I just heard back from my neurologist about it. They told me that my metabolism is a little low, so that's more than likely the reason why. They also said that my dosage is pretty high, so they're going to take me down to 300mg at night.

 

[Nakamova]

Excellent, I hope you feel better after those tweaks.