Lamotrigine - Long term effects

[Eibhlin]

true, being an elevator operator would probably balance it out!

oh man, it's not possible to reduce any slower and you seem to be spot-on regarding alternative treatments, so it must be incredibly distressing and frustrating that you're having problems going the extra mm (so to speak).

I'm sorry to hear about your family. I think it can be very difficult for people who don't have epilepsy to really get it, unless they're super sensitive.

I agree, I think drugs cover up symptoms, they don't get to the root of why they're happening in the first place - and that goes for everything.

 

[Jfpinell]

oh man, it's not possible to reduce any slower and you seem to be spot-on regarding alternative treatments, so it must be incredibly distressing and frustrating that you're having problems going the extra mm (so to speak).

I agree, I think drugs cover up symptoms, they don't get to the root of why they're happening in the first place - and that goes for everything.

Well, if you think about it, why are so many drugs meant to be taken "the rest of your life" -or so as we're told? Healthy people don't buy drugs. If no one was sick, the drug companies would all be out of business. Consider this.....why has smallpox been the only disease that's ever been knocked out world-wide? (I believe things like polio are still around in certain countries) Hmmmm....billions and billions and billions have been poured into "research" for how many decades now trying to "find a cure" for things. Does a light go on there saying if these diseases were all -or even half of them- killed world wide, the drug companies would go bankrupt? Why do countries that have much more sun than we do have much lower rates of skin cancer? Why did "grandma", who spent 5 or 10 times as much time in the sun in the fields years ago have lower rates of skin cancer than people today? Hmmmm...seems to me that anything that says "harmful or fatal if swallowed" or "keep out of reach of children" or "If swallowed get medical help immediately" is obviously poison and can hurt your body big time. Next time you reach for that bottle of sunscreen "protectant" read the back of the label, then (try to) read and pronounce half the ingredients. If something is dangerous to put in your mouth, why on earth would it make sense that it would be any safer putting it on your skin? Your skin is the largest organ in you and takes in everything that touches it. With EXTREMELY LIMITED exceptions, if you wouldn't eat it, why put it on your skin?

 

[SevenC]

I've been having an insane amount of vertigo. I'm on Vimpat but am about to start transitioning to Lamictal. The Vimpat is making my PCOS (hormone disorder) horrible, all my hair is falling out and such. Lamictal is on a list of drugs that are better for PCOS. I'm also seeing several cardiologists. We're looking for possible causes of syncope since every single one of my EEGs has been useless and I'm passing out all the time. It's been a stressful month. I have 2 doctor's appts tomorrow and one Friday. I want this week to be over.

 

[Endless]

Well, if you think about it, why are so many drugs meant to be taken "the rest of your life" -or so as we're told? Healthy people don't buy drugs. If no one was sick, the drug companies would all be out of business. Consider this.....why has smallpox been the only disease that's ever been knocked out world-wide? (I believe things like polio are still around in certain countries) Hmmmm....billions and billions and billions have been poured into "research" for how many decades now trying to "find a cure" for things. Does a light go on there saying if these diseases were all -or even half of them- killed world wide, the drug companies would go bankrupt?

There are dozens of diseases that are near extinction in the world, but keep reoccuring because either it's a remote and/or poor third-world area and they have no vaccines, or vaccines are available but not everyone takes it. Almost everyone must take the vaccine in order to ensure the disease is actually extinct. (there are exceptions like transplant patients, patients on certain drugs, etc.) Many that could take the vaccine don't. Sad, because it puts hundreds of millions of people at risk. Before anybody criticizes public vaccination programs, travel to a third world country where they don't have them and witness the suffering and the death that is caused by lack of vaccines. Especially in the children. So incredibly heart-wrenching.

 

[msuder0583]

jf, you said exactly what i was saying in another post. i think pharmaceutical companies are corrupt. HOWEVER - i do owe them alot....because they give me my meds for free, so i can't say they are completely bad like some things....but i won't get into that. did you grow up in the 60s? you seem like someone who would have. its not a bad thing at all. i think its cool, that you prefer natural remedies over synthetic drugs because i completely agree. you gotta figure, native americans thrived before we came over here, just living off of the land; using its herbal remedies, because you know they got sick

 

[Endless]

I agree there are some serious conflicts of interest in the drug industry.

Native populations and health? Sure, based on archiological evidence, native americans were free of drugs and only used herbs, etc. in the 1400's. And they had a life expectancy of only about 20-35 years, depending on the location/tribe.....

http://books.google.com/books?id=9i...nepage&q=life expectancy America 1492&f=false

(look on page 39)

Compared to our life expectancy, which is about 78 years.

 

[msuder0583]

very interesting reading. it seems you have alot of good information in regards to all topics. however i did watch something on the history channel about a week ago showing that europeans and asians arrived in north america long before columbus did (ranging from hundreds to thousands of years depending on the coast - asians on the west coast, vikings on the east coast, and europeans in the southern US) so epidemics could have easily been spread before the known small pox and the whole croatoan lost roanoke colony thing.

 

[Endless]

Keep reading past page 39... lol...

lots of info? nope! culture of fact vs. fiction, intellectual curiosity, and google.

 

[msuder0583]

the only thing i see them reference is the constant recurrence of "European contact" which is assumed to have been in 1492. they are questioning whether the uncovered remains could have been before, during the time of or after they had contact with the Europeans. It was proven due to the stone anchors found on the ocean floor outside of Californi that the Chinese had come to North America pre-1492, and I saw no mention in the article of the possibility that there were any settlers pre-1492

 

[epileric]

I think Endlesses point was that we're living longer since pharmaceuticals have started being used. What happened pre-1492 is irrelevant to that.

 

[Jfpinell]

Go on youtube and look up "the truth about vaccines". Again, ask yourself "would I eat this?" If not, why would it be any safer putting it in your vein? I personally don't believe that GOD would've thrown all those viruses and such on earth just to get us sick and have us struggle for millions of years trying to fix it ourselves. -Even things like poison ivy and stinging nettle that many of us today see as "useless" have their purpose. People in Asia make cloth out of the fibers of stinging nettle after cleaning off the "needles" just to name 1. I don't believe "Mother Nature" makes anything useless or would've put anything here that was intended to hurt us. I mean, maybe smallpox was created to somehow assist with preventing global warming, or polio viruses were meant to help with breaking down fertilizer in soil.....? Problem today is, we just don't care to sit back and think that maybe we're looking through too narrow a tunnel of vision.
There's a difference between knowledge and wisdom. I firmly believe we were given much more wisdom than we care to acknowledge many times and settle for knowledge instead.

 

[msuder0583]

I think Endlesses point was that we're living longer since pharmaceuticals have started being used. What happened pre-1492 is irrelevant to that.

I understand what endless was saying and i agree to a certain degree. medical advances have helped alot of people but what happened pre-1492 isn't irrelevant because we were discussing the article. the only data its providing is what they have access to which is around when europeans came over and with europeans came disease so of course the lifespan will be shorter.

 

[msuder0583]

Go on youtube and look up "the truth about vaccines". Again, ask yourself "would I eat this?" If not, why would it be any safer putting it in your vein? I personally don't believe that GOD would've thrown all those viruses and such on earth just to get us sick and have us struggle for millions of years trying to fix it ourselves. -Even things like poison ivy and stinging nettle that many of us today see as "useless" have their purpose. People in Asia make cloth out of the fibers of stinging nettle after cleaning off the "needles" just to name 1. I don't believe "Mother Nature" makes anything useless or would've put anything here that was intended to hurt us. I mean, maybe smallpox was created to somehow assist with preventing global warming, or polio viruses were meant to help with breaking down fertilizer in soil.....? Problem today is, we just don't care to sit back and think that maybe we're looking through too narrow a tunnel of vision.
There's a difference between knowledge and wisdom. I firmly believe we were given much more wisdom than we care to acknowledge many times and settle for knowledge instead.

i agree

 

[epileric]

I understand what endless was saying and i agree to a certain degree. medical advances have helped alot of people but what happened pre-1492 isn't irrelevant because we were discussing the article. the only data its providing is what they have access to which is around when europeans came over and with europeans came disease so of course the lifespan will be shorter.

Actually life was proven to be very short before that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy

 

[epileric]

i agree

The ingredients of a vaccine are well described here
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/user/volleybrian#p/u/6/uwcRxssifo8"]http://www.youtube.com/user/volleybrian#p/u/6/uwcRxssifo8[/ame]

 

[msuder0583]

well i really don't like wikipedia but....although i like medications and how they help me, i always like to know what's going in me and what it's made up of. some of my meds scientists say they don't know how they work for epilepsy - they just do. because they were using it to treat something else, and it worked to help with seizures

 

[Jfpinell]

I mean, don't get me wrong....if I'm in a car crash, get me to the nearest E.R./O.R., and use drugs and surgery to save my life. But after the immediate threat is over, treat the underlying condition which is causing the symptoms don't just continue to cover it up through the use of drugs.
Maybe it's my philosophical/theological side kicking in again, but I think there's a whole 'nother (I know, I failed grammar) reason why so many people lived until they were only 30 or so back centuries ago. It's been said that there was much wisdom and information lost when places like Rome burned and Egypt, Aztec, etc. places disappeared. Stuff that if we knew, we wouldn't have half the problems today.

 

[Nakamova]

Howdy all, just a gentle reminder that this thread is originally about lamictal side effects. :hj: Interesting discussion but a tad off track

 

[k2s4ever]

K2s4ever - good luck with the switch to generic Lamictal. Be aware of which manufacturer you are taking. I was initially transitioned to Torrent brand - an Indian mfgr. After 7 years sz free I had one 3 months later, and after they doubled my dose, another one after 1 1/2 years. I insisted on switch to Teva brand (mfg in US) and have had no trouble with that, but Kaiser is not going to have that available anymore so I told the doc I wouldn't agree to going back to Torrent and he's going to let me go back to brand Lamictal. I know it's on other threads, but the fillers can be different which can affect things. I know my plasma levels were ranging from 6 to 18 on the Torrent, whereas I'm keeping a steady 12-13 now. I hope you have a better experience. I know not everyone has this problem.

Thanks! Yeah-I usually pay mind to the manufacturer once on a medication. My Keppra generic (which doesn't do anything to help symptoms but has never caused side effects) is manufactured by Mylan, (but I think I had Teva at one point when on a higher dose). Not sure what Topamax was-and my Lamotrigine just changed to a different manufacturer-and I see no side effects. But the bottle (which used to say so) doesn't indicate the manufacturer, and the pill is so tiny I can't wager a guess. But I have heard about the additives and if I suspect that-you bet I will demand name brand which my neuro would do. Today my Lamotrigine has been increased to 100 mg daily. and my neuro seems more convinced this isn't E but I'm still having auras regardless, so he still wants to see what the Lamotrigine does. At the 50 mg daily starter dose-I've been free of side effects-let's hope it continues.

 

[Blue Cat]

I've gotten the vertigo and balance problems where I step back and have sort of slow motion feeling of not being able to catch myself. Not often, but weird. The doc said it was some problem with ears (crystals that work on equilibrium?), so don't know if that is it, or drugs.