new med....increase in seizures??

[daisy.girl]

I have been on Lamictal now for 7 days at 25mg.

I woke up this morning early; seeing swirling white and blue colors moving from the middle to the outside. Then this afternoon while lying down; I saw a star burst with orange in the middle and green on the outside.....as I was getting up; I saw a star shower moving past me very fast; like a scene from star wars.

Is this normal for starting a new med? or should I call my neuro? one of the side effects listed is increase in seizures.

 

[daisy.girl]

Now....I woke up about 4:00am today with a killer migraine. I was asking this question before, Is this migraine postictal? or has too much time passed from the seizures yesterday or could I have had a seizure during the night too?

I took maxalt 10mg for the migraine when I woke-up....but it did not help!!

I am so miserable....this is no way to live, I have to find a better answer/treatment.

 

[neilB]

Hi Daisy.Girl,

I would contact the neurologist for my own safety and comfort. I'm not a MD but it is possible to have nocturnal seizures, so again I would contact your neurologist. Let us know how you make out.

 

[Nakamova]

The swirly stuff and starburst sound like migraine auras -- but they could also be seizures. Your migraine headache could just be a migraine headache -- or it could be a post-ictal headache. Unfortunately there's no way to know for sure unless you already have a known pattern in your symptoms. It is the case that whenever there's a change in meds or dosages (either up or down), the brain and body behave unpredictably as they try to adjust to the med. It's not "normal" to have an increase in seizures, but it does happen for some people. I recommend that you call your neurologist and also write down/track any new symptoms like the auras. It's quite possible that they may go away as you get used to the Lamictal, but if things get worse then you may have to make a decision about whether to continue with Lamictal. There is a side effect called the "Lamictal headache". I experienced during the first month or so of being on Lamictal, but not after that.

 

[Endless]

Hey, Daisygirl,

I'm ramping up on Lamictal, too.

Almost every night I go to sleep at 10pm, and wake up at about 1am with a splitting non-migraine headache. Then I can't go back to sleep and I am up for the rest of the night. I have also woken up to a seizure followed by a splitting migraine headache. It's hard to tell if the light show was the migraine or a seizure. I've read that if it's in black and white then it's a migraine aura. If it's in color it's a seizure. I don't know if I believe that.

Nothing helps the headaches. Not even hydrocodone. It's miserable.

I am only getting 3-4 hours of sleep a night, even though my doc gave me sleeping pills. My body feels like it's on speed. But my energy isn't healthy calm energy. I'm seriously sleep-deprived and exhausted underneath. I can barely function.

All these things can be side effects of Lamictal. For most people, the side effects get much better over time. So we need to tell our docs, and just hang tough. Your doc may want to reduce your dose for awhile until the side effects get a little better. That's what mine did, mostly because of my dizziness.

I have a bunch of other side effects, too. Not a picnic but much better than the other drugs I've been on.

We can be our own little support group. "I'm ramping up on Lamictal, and I'm unhappy/happy about that"

 

[daisy.girl]

In the last 7 days....since starting the Lamictal XR; I have had 4 severe migraines and 3 headaches along with feeling funny, red, sore, irritated, watering eyes and moderate/severe neck pain/ache, and being exhausted. As well as break-through (menstrual) bleeding

If these headaches are from the Lamictal, I cannot continue to take it. The headaches are my worse symptom, and if I could get them under control I would not complain at all about the seizures. (atleast that is what I think now)

I get confused....because some of time the Maxalt will help my migraines, and other times, it does not touch the pain at all. WHY??

 

[Endless]

Daisygirl,

Call you neuro. He'll probably reduce your dose and keep you there for awhile. That will help with the headaches - at least get them at a tolerable level. Then ramp you up further at a much slower pace and dosage increase. That's what my doc did for me.

Whatever you do, DON'T just stop taking the Lamictal cold turkey. You have to ramp down over weeks or months. Lamictal is a different animal than the rest of the AED's. All of them can cause seizures as a result of going off cold turkey, but Lamictal is one of the worst. And once you have one of these extreme seizure episodes (due to withdrawal), you could be training your brain to do this for life.

The literature says that headache isn't dose related. But I noticed my headache getting worse and worse as my dose was increased. Dizziness is definitely dose related. That got a little better, too, on a reduced dose.

Mine headaches were excruciating too. Now down to a dull roar most of the time, once in awhile unbearable, but this passes eventually. Nothing I take helps them either.

On why sometimes a med helps a headache and sometimes not. I don't know.....