Lamotrigine for Epilepsy User Reviews (Page 2)

• Pat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 20, 2024

"I’m in my 40s, male, started having seizures about a year and a half ago. Was told I have temporal lobe epilepsy. I’ve had 6 seizures altogether, some in my sleep and some during the morning/day. I was put on lamotrigine starting at a low dose and it is going to take 8 weeks to get to full dose. I just started a few days ago with the medication. I really hope it works so I can get back to driving and working FT. I am extremely worried about side effects though, especially the rashes and Stevens-Johnson syndrome. (Not sure if I spelled that right.) I know a small percentage of people die from this drug and it’s completely freaking me out. My neurologist said this was the best option for me, I hope she’s right and I hope I don’t get any rashes. So far, so good, it’s only day 3 but I have no side effects yet."

• God...
• October 10, 2016

"I have been using the brand Lamictal for about 5 years. I love it. I have had a rash in the beginning of starting it that went away after 2 weeks or so. I do have some trouble with my vision. But, I am willing to put up with the vision issues if it means me not having a seizure. My advice to anyone that is on it: Do not stop it without talking with your doctor first. It is one of those meds that you have to be weaned off of. I've tried other seizure meds, and I've had no luck. This is by far the best for me."

• Anonymous
• July 26, 2017

"This drug does work, but some of the effects that come along with it suck. I take this drug along with two others, Keppra and Trileptal, three times a day. Most of the time, I feel tired and would like to sleep. Also, my long-term memory is affected, and my eyes are photosensitive because the bright sun causes them to give me blurred vision. I guess that I will have to take the bad with the good. Although it has decreased the amount of seizures that I have had, the side effects that come along with it suck. I am 50 and wish that I did not have to take any types of these meds, because the side effects that go along with them are not pleasant."

• thi...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 4, 2022

"I urge you to use either name brand or find a generic that works for you and demand that they provide that to you. This medication is notorious for having a wide range of concentration and bioavailability depending on the manufacturer. I don't like Zydus and will not accept it. Taro works better for me. Just keep this in mind. I had a breakthrough seizure when not on my regular generic."

• kyi...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 16, 2017

"I have complex partial seizures. After trying 17 different drugs. Yes, 17. I basically had to sign my life away to be part of a drug study on lamotrigine when it had not been approved by the FDA yet. I take 300 mg x 2 daily. I rarely have a seizure. (I do take Tranxene with it as well.) I have now been taking lamotrigine since about 1987. The only problem was getting me on the right dose. I am happy as a clam."

• Jen...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 13, 2020

"When I started going to my new neurologist, she transitioned me over to lamotrigine for my epilepsy because if I was to get pregnant, it causes the least amount of birth defects. Compared to Keppra and topiramate, I had fewer side effects with lamotrigine and specifically the Unichem manufacturers. Well, four years after I started taking lamotrigine, I did get pregnant. Over the course of nine months, I needed to adjust my medication from 500 mg to 1,000 mg; however, no seizures-thankfully. The one downside about the Unichem manufacturers is a lot of pharmacies don’t carry it for lamotrigine and need to put in a special order, so sometimes you need to call multiple pharmacies to see how quickly they can order it. I have found in the past couple of months that Walgreens specifically carries the Unichem brand."

• Shd...
• April 8, 2017

"I was diagnosed with simple partial epilepsy 14 months ago, and I have been on Lamictal ever since. It stopped my seizures. However, it is making my life a living hell. I go through these weird déjà vu episodes. I have headaches. I get dizzy. I forget things-everyday things and very important things. I have trouble concentrating. It is a living hell. I would rather have seizures."

• Hor...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• June 8, 2017

"I've been on this for 5 years, and when I started taking it, I had no mental health issues, not even a drop of depression. Now I have bipolar depressive disorder and severe anxiety disorder with chronic tics. The doctors now have me taking 700 mg a day, and because it makes me so forgetful, I have forgotten that I took my dose, so I ended up having two accidental drug overdoses. I have become extremely tired all the time. I wasn't told that this medication was bad for pregnancy, so I have also lost 2 babies because of this horrible pill. To top it all off, I still will have a random seizure, but just not as often."

• See...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 23, 2019

"I've been taking this medication for over a decade now. Had a seizure in the beginning because of CNS adjustment, and it's been great. I believe I was a guinea pig for my neurologist at the time because it hadn't been fully studied for epilepsy yet, not sure, but something like that. I'm very lucky that this medication has been the only one I've taken, and I've only needed a dose increase once. I'm hoping it lasts me until I die or I stop having epilepsy, whichever is first. I didn't get the rash, thankfully, but I do get very fatigued during the day. It's a mental fatigue, so you can still function, but you're just exhausted. I highly recommend talking about if this is a good choice for you."

• Wid...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 2, 2020

"Over 10 yrs of seizures - mild to grand mal. I've had 4 neurologists. Many types of medications I've tried. After being prescribed lamotrigine - 200 mg x 2 daily - Mfg-Zydus. I've had great success. Having had seizures 3-4 times bi-weekly. I'm now having seizures 1-2 bi-monthly. This medication was a relief and created a dramatic change in my life."

• lam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 18, 2021

"I have had absence seizures since I was young. I'm now 27 and still suffering from them. This is the first medication that was prescribed to me, and I can confidently say that this experience has been as awful as when I had shingles. I had a headache that never went away, body aches, chills, a cough, and fevers that turned into a rash all over my face and body. Benadryl and steroid cream (as harmful as it is) used to work wonders for me, but they're not doing anything right now to relieve me of the itch. I felt sick every day, and the seizures continued to happen. I'm suffering so much that I wish I could go back to how I was before, even if I have to live with having seizures for the rest of my life."

• Lam...
• October 5, 2021

Lamotrigine "This drug has helped me massively throughout the past few years. I was taking regular monthly seizures for about 3 to 4 days a month in my sleep and had several ambulances called for me. Then, when I started this drug, things have reduced, not stopped completely, but reduced drastically. I haven't had a grand mal for three years and have absence seizures, but rare, nowhere near as much as I did. This drug has caused very little side effects, I can't even recall one, to be honest, and if anything, it has given me confidence to stand up for myself for some weird reason, lol. Highly recommend, also can drink alcohol without side effects, never had a side effect from it, so yeah, I'd stick to this."

• Lrp...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 25, 2019

"It helps control my seizures better. Also cleared up my mind, better memory recall, providing greater functioning while on other seizure medication. I was back to my old self before seizures/head injury. If not for side effects, I'd rate it 8/10. Discontinued use after 2 weeks because of intolerable pain in my eyes (50 mg 2x/day). Pain started and became too much."

• Squ...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 5, 2019

"I began taking lamotrigine on February 23, 2017, and it stopped my seizures, but I had to suffer poor balance and my dizziness, which was terrible and did not fully go away. Since late January 2018, I have been having increased myoclonic jerks and several seizures that I have never experienced before. I have been put on lacosamide, which I will be fully transitioning to in the next 6 months."

• Reg...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 18, 2022

"I believe taking this drug has reduced my lifespan due to severe rapid heartbeat, 190 bpm, and other stressful side effects, like lack of restful sleep, panic attacks, night terrors, hair loss, depression, cherry angiomas, spots/papules, constant tiredness. I was prescribed lamotrigine after one seizure, after a time of severe stress and exhaustion. I was labeled epileptic and prescribed 200 mg of lamotrigine. I am healthy and have no history or family history of epilepsy. I take no other medication, not even paracetamol. It was never looked into the “cause” of the seizure. As I am anti-medication and did not believe I was epileptic, I refused the drug for a year, but seizures increased. Lamotrigine stopped the sleep seizures, but over the 2.5 years on the drug, there are so many more issues and side effects I question why this drug is on the market. There is not enough in place to help people come off the drug. Stopping suddenly, even from a small dosage, has very severe side effects."

• NYY...
• April 7, 2017

"Lamotrigine has been excellent for treating my seizures. Using this medication in conjunction with Fycompa, levetiracetam, and Vimpat I am seizure-free. If your medications do not get you seizure-free, please consider video EEG monitoring. Only after this was I able to be treated with the right medications. An absolute life changer. Vitamin B12 has been great to address all issues of lethargy or tiredness as a result of my meds."

• Sta...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 8, 2020

"I've been on this medication since I was first diagnosed with epilepsy 10 years ago. It was not strong enough by itself since I have different types of seizures. I'm on 300 mg twice daily now. Tried a combo with 250 mg x 2 of this with Vimpat 200 x daily. Had to add Clobazam 20 mg twice daily, and it seems to be working. Lowered Vimpat to 100 mg and am on 300 mg Lamotrigine. But I always experience headaches. Not sure if this is a side effect of the medication or just my epilepsy. Headaches are not too bad. I'm used to it for the most part. Not super extreme."

• Nvy...
• September 3, 2016

"My wife got epilepsy during her first pregnancy. Initially, the doctor advised us to use 'Eptoine,' which cost us, and my son was born with a cleft. Of course, we had to go for an operation to correct it. After which, the doctor advised us to use lamotrigine, and we had a second child. Here and there, there were sometimes seizures. Also, we tried to stop it using but got a seizure again. Now we are confused and experiencing some side effects like drowsiness, reduced vision, headache, and vomiting sensation."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 10, 2021

Lamotrigine "I won't talk about my experience of how it controlled epilepsy because I don't know. When I was on Keppra, I was a terrible person when I was taking it alone, feeling angry and depressed all the time. After another violent seizure, I was prescribed Lamictal on top of Keppra. I tried to refuse to take it but ended up taking it anyway (along with Keppra). Once I reached 100 mg bd, all of the Keppra side effects were gone, and I felt like a different person. But like any anti-epilepsy medicine, there are side effects, and I had two: 1- I couldn't sleep more than 5 hours at night, I never used an alarm to wake up (you wish to need it once you reach this level). 2- Dry mouth, nostrils, and eyes, dry to the point I can't open my eyes when I wake up, and I needed an eye drop to open my eyes. My mouth was dry despite not being thirsty, my eyes and mouth literally felt like sandpaper."

• Epi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 11, 2021

"No longer depressed. No longer having seizures. My mood has been stable. But I have been physically fatigued more often than not, to the extent that I wouldn't get much work done. I would get restless at night, hours after taking the pills. Insomnia and body pains. Otherwise, for its purpose, I have been able to go through days without depression and seizure episodes. I would just like to address the other side effects."

• JWe...
• June 11, 2018

"This drug has literally turned my life around. I started on Dilantin (300 mg, 1x daily @ night), and within two days of taking that drug, I started experiencing almost every side effect listed. The most troubling were: extreme lethargy, muscle weakness, uncontrollable nausea, vomiting, and a severe spike in anxiety and depression leading to suicidal ideations. I quickly went into a downward spiral where all of the above-listed side effects compounded as it built up in my body. I made an emergency appointment for my doctor to come make a house call, and he immediately told me that I needed to change medication. I was put on Lamotrigine, and within two days (it took roughly 48 hours for the Dilantin to completely leave my system), I started feeling more energetic, more hopeful, and the nausea subsided. I have been on Lamotrigine now for three weeks, and everyone in my life has said that I'm looking and acting like my normal self again. It has also helped control my anxiety and boosted my overall mood."

• Sha...
• July 23, 2019

"I’m 18, and I’ve been on Lamictal for about two and a half years. I was recommended to eventually be on 200 mg, but I only needed 50 mg (25 mg in the morning and 25 mg at night), and I haven’t had a seizure since I’ve started it. At first, I accidentally took all 50 mg in the morning instead of splitting it, which gave me a minor body rash, but once I stopped taking it all at once, it cleared up in a few days. I get very real lucid nightmares, though, however, I’ve also had a few real dreams while on it, which have been amazing and beautiful. So really, the nightmares are the downfall for me. It also really helps with my mood, but if I take it late, I’ll be sad and depressed until I take it, then it takes about 1 to 2 hours to work."

• Jai...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 11, 2019

"I've been on this for 5 years now to treat my epilepsy and have realized it's caused my depression and dark thoughts. It has worked for my seizure activity, though. I recommend talking to a doctor about a different medication if possible to not take this one, it's practically ruined my way of life. If you begin to take it, look out for symptoms of depression. I'm going to try to stop taking this and find a different solution/medication for my epilepsy. Before you take any medication, please look at the side effects. I never thought that this medication would do so much harm to my mental health."

• Bec...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 1, 2018

"Started taking this after getting in an accident due to having a seizure while driving. I started out at 25 mg twice a day. After being on this for a month and a half, I had a partial seizure occur. They then upped my dosage to 50 mg twice a day and now 75 mg twice a day. I haven't suffered any rashes from this but feel very sleepy quite often. I've had only one partial seizure since starting this medication two months ago."

• Lia...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 24, 2021

"I have a love and extreme dislike relationship with the medication. It has aided me in reducing the amount of seizures I have, now using 400 mg a day, combined with two other types of medication. I haven't had grand mal seizures for over a year now. But I truly feel it has many side effects. The memory loss (both long and short term), brain fog, and suppressing nature make me feel as though I am not maturing and am stuck being a child. I feel like I'm a teenager and have issues making decisions, evaluating the past, and looking to the future. I am now wanting to change the medication, but am so insecure, it drives me insane."