Seizures continue on Lamictal

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Ramjet

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My simple partial seizures have continued to occur even after taking Lamictal for almost 8 weeks. The seizure "events" happen about every 28 days and manifest themselves by episodes of intense sweating, which last only 4-5 minutes each. The most number of episodes during a 24 hour event prior to starting the drug (on a gradually increasing dosage) had been 18. Last month I had 24 episodes over 30 hours. I have now been on the fully prescribed dose of 200 mg for 3 weeks, and today had another event, with so far 18 episodes, some more intense than I have had before. Is it too soon to talk to the doctor and tell him this medication is not working for me, or do I need to give it more time?
 
Usually I wait at least a month at the required dosage when seeing if a medication works.

Also, I moved your post to the kitchen since you've already introduced yourself in the foyer.
 
I agree with Eric -- if you can stand to wait a bit longer, you may see improvement. But it can't hurt call your doctor too, and let him know what's going on. He may also tell you to wait a bit longer, or he may up the dose, or he may suggest a different med.
 
i was on the recommended dose of tegretol but still had seizures so my doctor told me to increase it to see if it helps. if not then they said they will try a different medication
 
Increasing the dosage

The doctor's office has indicated he wants to double the dose, from 200 mg to 400 mg. Hope that does not meen the cost doubles as well. Thank goodness I have insurance that covers most of the cost.
 
Hi Ramjet. Welcome!

I'm in Australia so I'm not familiar with your insurance situation but my dosage doesn't cost any more or less. 200mg Lamictal is only just on the therapeutic dose threshold (recommended starting point I believe). I started there and I'm now up to 400mg a day. I have noticed an improvement but as my most vulnerable time for seizures seems to be connected to my cycle, I'll wait for another few weeks before I'll know how effective it really is!

See what your doc says but I'd suggest he will try you on a higher dose if you are tolerating the Lamictal well. It does seem to be one of the less problematic drugs.
 
i am wondering if anyone knows anything about the side effects of lamotragene because since i have changed over to it a few times i have got up in the morning and after about an hout i have this nasty urge to go and have a technicolour yawn but the trouble is this happens before breakfast so theres nothing there does anyone else have this problem or am i getting this from one of the other meds i have to take like pain killers please help im sick (litterally ) of this
 
I haven't had any nausea with Lamotrigine, though that doesn't mean it isn't at fault. I do think that painkillers are more likely to have nausea as a side effect. Have you tried taking your meds (either the Lamotrigine or the painkillers) with food to see if that helps? If your painkillers are opiates, and you take them when you first wake up, it can help to lie down again for about half an hour after you take them.

There are anti-nausea medications, but my guess is you don't want to add those to the mix at this point. Acupuncture can help, also gingerale or ginger tea.
 
i normally do have something to eat after having my meds its just been this week with it being the easter holidays we are booked up to the eyeballs with demos and i just havent had time for brekky so maybe i do need to get up a bit earlier and get something down my neck i just thought id ask incase it wasnt down to lack of food as i didnt want to have something in there if it was going to keep happening but thanks ill try it out
 
lureswinger said:
i normally do have something to eat after having my meds its just been this week with it being the easter holidays we are booked up to the eyeballs with demos and i just havent had time for brekky so maybe i do need to get up a bit earlier and get something down my neck i just thought id ask incase it wasnt down to lack of food as i didnt want to have something in there if it was going to keep happening but thanks ill try it out
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Hi lureswinger,
I assume your painkillers are opiate based,Dihydrocodeine? Or are they stronger,opiates are known for nausea,so i would agree with Nakamova on that one.
 
I am not on opiate based meds I don't think anyway its tramadol nurofen and paracetamol I just wish I could do without em but my pelvis is getting more painful and after the op next month I've no doubt ill be on more painkillers
 
I think I was on lamictal for about 8 months before being taken off it again. It didn't work for me at 450mg and had a fair few nasty side effects for me.
 
My guess is the Tramadol is the culprit. It's an opiate, and nausea is its most common side effect. (Nurofen has a bit of codeine in it, but it's a fairly mild opiate. Paracetamol doesn't usually cause nausea.) BTW, Tramadol can also lower your seizure threshold, esp. if you already have epilepsy, so be very careful.
 
Yes,certainly beware off Tramadol,ive seen someone with no history off seizures,seize whilst using Tramadol,all be it abusing it,it does happen.I would be under the impression your doctor would not have you on Tramadol,considering your seizure back ground.
 
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Tramadol is known for nausea but I do get "morning sickness" from my Lamictal. I ALWAYS eat with it because it's better for your stomach but also because it reduces the nausea. Interestingly it's only on my morning dose?
 
i had to ask because in the past 12 months my meds have altered so much i hardly know whats coming the next day lol i started on epilim and tegratol now im on lamotragene for the epilepsy and tramadol, paracetamol and neurofen for pain since my arguement with the transit van 11 months ago but thanks to all of you i will have words and by the way point taken im sat here eating my breakfast while i type lol
 
without you lot to help me it makes me wonder how ive got through the past 20 odd years
 
at least i managed to make them get me off that stuff they put me on while i was in hospital i have no idea what it was but i bet a few drug dealers would of given thier teeth to try that stuff but i refused it when i got sick of watching the dots on the ceiling tiles getting up and walking across the ceiling now thts got to be some powerfull stuff thank god i was only on it 24 hrs or it would of driven me mad
 
Sounds yuk. Sorry to hear about your argument with the van, that never ends well.

On a brighter note, I'm a fellow pom! Tell me about Nottinghamshire!! I grew up in Gosport (Portsmouth) 20 years ago.
 
well i was begining to wonder if i was going to become a multimillionaire in 9 months or wether my parents had made me have a sex change at a very very early age lol
 
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