See More Treatments
See all treatments in the PatientsLikeMe system shared by patients just like you.
Lamotrigine Treatment Report
Brand Names:
Lamictal, Lamictal Blue, Lamictal Orange, Apo-Lamotrigine, Lamitor, Epitec, Lamictal Starter Kit (Orange), Lamictal ODT, Lamictal Green
What is Lamotrigine? Lamotrigine is an anticonvulsant that is used alone or in combination with other medications to treat seizures in adults and children who are at least 2 years old. Lamotrigine is also used as maintenance treatment for bipolar I disorder.
See more information, including instructions, precautions, side effects, and interactions.
| Reason | # Patients | Percentage of patients |
|---|---|---|
| Treat my mood condition(s) | 286 | 33% |
| Bipolar Disorder | 222 | 26% |
| Other | 44 | 5% |
| Depression | 38 | 4% |
| Mood swings | 21 | 2% |
| Bipolar, rapid cycling | 21 | 2% |
| Support another treatment | 15 | 1% |
| Seizures | 9 | 1% |
| Epilepsy | 6 | <1% |
| General health | 6 | <1% |
Other treatments patients are taking for Treat my mood condition(s) include Bupropion, Venlafaxine, and Escitalopram.
| 100mg as needed | 2 100mg as needed | 25mg as needed | daily | monthly | 5 mg daily | 12.5 mg daily | 18.75 mg daily | 20 mg daily | 25 mg daily | 35 mg daily | 37.5 mg daily | 50 mg daily | 75 mg daily | 100 mg daily | 125 mg daily | 150 mg daily | 175 mg daily | 200 mg daily | 225 mg daily | 250 mg daily | 300 mg daily | 333 mg daily | 350 mg daily | 375 mg daily | 400 mg daily | 450 mg daily | 500 mg daily | 600 mg daily | 750 mg daily | 60000 mg daily | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
|
1
|
1
|
33
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
45
|
1
|
1
|
43
|
13
|
138
|
9
|
79
|
1
|
192
|
4
|
14
|
77
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
63
|
2
|
5
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
||
Duration
How long current patients have been taking Lamotrigine or how long patients were taking Lamotrigine before stopping.
Currently Taking Lamotrigine
Stopped Taking Lamotrigine
| Reason | # Patients | Percentage of patients | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side effects too severe | 46 | 38% |  |
| Did not seem to work | 41 | 34% | |
| Doctor's advice | 32 | 26% | |
| Other | 25 | 20% | |
| Expense | 15 | 12% | |
| Course of treatment ended | 9 | 7% | |
| Personal research | 7 | 6% | |
| Not indicated | 2 | 2% | |
Patient Reported Evaluations
Results from 176 patient evaluations. See the overall results and all individual evaluations.
Efficacy (Effect based on reason taken)
| Major | 42% | 30 |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate | 32% | 23 |
| Slight | 8% | 6 |
| None | 1% | 1 |
| Can't tell | 17% | 12 |
Treat my mood condition(s)
Side-effects (as an overall problem)
| Severe | 11% | 19 |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate | 16% | 28 |
| Mild | 32% | 57 |
| None | 41% | 72 |
Top reported side-effects include: Headaches, Difficulty concentrating, Dizziness
Summary results are based on 176 individual responses. For more information, see overall results for Adherence, Burden and Cost.
Individual Patient Reported Evaluations (2 of 176)
-
- fragiletruth
- Sex: F
- Depression: 0
- Emotional: 0
- Compulsion: 0
- Anxiety: 0
- Mania: 2
- Physical: 0
- External Stress: Low
- 24 F
- Function: High
- Distress: Low
- See profile
-
by fragiletruth
Sep 18, 2008
- EfficacyMajor
- Side-effectsMild
- Treat my mood condition(s)
- Advice/Tips
- Keep your dosage as low as possible. - 200mg is about where it stops being more helpful for depression. I had very vivid dreams, which had included mild hallucinations shortly after waking up. The nurses tried to say it was my 'illness', but it has ONLY happened when I increase the dosage of lamictal. It's also a known side effect.
- See full evaluation
-
6 helpful marks
-
- devinrocksmyworld
- Sex: M
- 22 M
- See profile
-
by devinrocksmyworld
Sep 27, 2008
- EfficacySlight
- Side-effectsMild
- Other
- Advice/Tips
- Don't take more than 100mg for Bipolar a day quickly. The side effects go from mild to moderate. The distorted sparkes went crazy, slight pains like growing pains appeared, the calf cramps made it hard to walk, it made me really sedated, and my reaction time was 5X slower. My friends would hit me in the face, and I didn't respond to it until 2 seconds later. At 100mg a day and over a month into it, the side effects are pretty much non-existent. If you experience calf muscle cramping, it's from a Calcium deficiency. Lamotrigine decreases Vitamin D, which absorbs calcium. Take one or two Calcium+D tablets a day. It is a glutamate inhibitor and sodium channel blocker, so MSG has no direct mental effects. I was worried that it would make the effects less effective, but then I heard about a woman who took it for migraines that were sensitive to MSG. That also means that L-Glutamin is fine to take as a weight lifting supplement. Overall, it has made me much more reliable and stable. I get mild hi, lows, and mixed swings still, but that's nothing compared to what I'm capable of. The mixed swings have increased, but again, they've been really mild. It also has a slight elevating effect so that mood swings tend to be in the positive direction. Socially, it has killed my over-hyperness and anxiety. I think that's a very good thing. I can actually talk to people without being a d*ck or a creep.
- See full evaluation
-
2 helpful marks
Report created on November 08, 2009.