Lamotrigine side effects?

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Freda

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My daughter Carly has been taking lamotrigine for around six weeks along with her levetiracetam, dose of
Lamotrigine 25mg am, 50mg pm
Levetiracetam 1250mg am, 1250mg pm
She's now taking
Lamotrigine 50mg am, 50mg pm
Levetiracetam 1250mg am, 1250mg pm
The plan is to reduce the levetiracetam and increase the lamotrigine.
I don't feel that she having a good time on this new drug, I've noticed she loses her thread in conversation and talks rather slow at times, mixing her words is another (but she's done that a little since starting E meds last year) and today she had a small issue writing, just once but missed the letter at the beginning of a word and added it later. More worrying is the numbness she gets often, in her hands and feet and sometimes from below the knee as well - she has a strange almost pins and needles but also numb type feeling. She had itching and a very small rash which the consultant saw and said it was a reaction to the new drug and to stick with it to see if it subsides - which it did. ETA - Also she gets hot and cold as well as being very thirsty and drinking copiously
So now to my point. Could these issues be the epilepsy itself or could it be the lamotrigine?
 
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The most noticeable side effects I experienced on Lamotrigine were very restless sleep/nightmares (just for the first two months), and a little dry mouth and eye at night. No cognitive side effects and no numbness or extreme thirst. Of course, this doesn't necessarily rule out the Lamotrigine or the Levetiracetam as the cause for your daughter, since everyone responds differently. When is the next scheduled dosing change for the meds? If her symptoms get noticeably worse after the next Lamotrigine increase, then that might make the culprit clearer.

A thought: Has your daughter ever been tested for blood sugar issues? Many of the symptoms she's experiencing -- numbness and tingling, extreme thirst, cognitive issues, itchy skin -- are early warning signs of diabetes. Some nutritional issues (like B12 deficiency) can also cause or contribute to those symptoms.

Keep us posted, I hope she feels better soon.
 
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