lamactil withdrawal

My son that is 13 years old is diagnosed with seizures. His doctor prescribed him Lamictal, but I have heard something that worried me. There were reported serious rashes that required hospitalization and discontinuation of treatment with the use of Lamictal. I want to know more about this medication because my son uses it. Also I need to know if I should expect withdrawal reactions if we decide stop using this drug.

It is true what you have heard about rashes, though it is reported only with 1% pediatric patients or those less than 16 years old. But it is known that rate of serious rash is greater in pediatric patients then in adults. That’s why Lamictal is approved only for use in pediatric patients below 16 years who have seizures associated with the Lenox-Gastaut syndrome. Interesting fact is that nearly all cases of life threatening rashes associated with Lamictal have occurred within 2 to 8 weeks of treatment initiation. There are also some benign rashes occur with Lamictal, but it is not possible to predict which rashes will prove to be serious or life threatening. About withdrawal, it is rule this drug shouldn’t be abruptly discontinued because of possibility of increasing seizure frequency. Unless safety concerns require a more rapid withdrawal, the dose of Lamictal should be tapered over a period of at least two weeks. We had one case where one doctor didn’t think her patient should back off slowly of Lamictal. She gave antihistamines and prednisone to her patient, and rashes stopped in one day. But after few days of Lamictal, patient felt problem with dry eyes, headache, fatigue, and dizzy all the time. Those are some withdrawals that should be avoided by slowly getting off from taking Lamictal.

i have started taking lamactil for my depression problems .does anyone know if it works?

Guest wrote:

i have started taking lamactil for my depression problems .does anyone know if it works?

Hi! My father’s brother has been on Lamictal for bipolar disorder and has calm him done. He doesn’t have manias any more nor is he going down, I can say he has stabilized. It took him quite a while to get there though. I think it is how it goes with Lamictal. How long have you been taking the drug?
Is this your first medication or you have been taking something else before? From what I’ve read, I see the drug is being prescribed for all sorts of things including depression.
The worst problem my uncle had with this drug were headaches, they were killing him. He still experiences them from time to time. He complained to the doc about it but he said this was common with Lamictal.
Anyway, I hope it will work good on you

Guest wrote:

i have started taking lamactil for my depression problems .does anyone know if it works?

I've been taking Lamactil for about six years for depression. I've had depression since a small child but it was untreated for years. I've tried many kinds of psychotropics some with memorably horrible effects. This has been one of the few drugs that has worked for me (300mg per 24 hours). but just lately I'd been feeling phsysically unwell with dry eyes, headaches, loss of concentration, headaches and irritability. The time between doses seemed to back up and I found I had to take the second dose earlier and earlier, finally, today I spoke with my doctor and it was recommended that I take an additional 100 mgs. I wanted to avoid doing this because it concerns me as it's been my understanding that 400 mgs is the maximum dose and it begs the question of where do I go from there if it's failing. I hope that in the next few days with the additional 100 mgs these side effects will go away and I'll stabilize. Having said all that it gave me my life back. I'll deal with the future when I have to and just say that if it's going to works for you it should take about 2 to 3 weeks before the effects will be felt and it's a wonderful feeling to find your sense of humour again and not feel so down you can hardly move. I wish you much better mental health. Don't forget that there's a lot of us out here who understand exactly how you feel. We've been there. Good luck.

How are you doing on the higher dose of Lamictal? I have been given it for depression and anxiety and at only 5 mg it works...........I did stop taking it after 7 days as I read about the long term side effects that do not go away even after you stop the med...........have you heard anything about that? Does your Dr. think it may have stopped working? Does this med do that? 6 years is the longest I have read of anyone taking it.........and I have read o f doses up to 600 mg. Hope it is working for you!!

I took 25mg last night for the first time and had horrible side effects.
Was told it would knock me out at bed time, I have been up all night and
have had the shakes and tremors.. this sucks.. im calling my doctor
as soon as day sets in.. even 1mg of xanax cant stop the tremors, I feel like im going to die..

I suspect if you are having tremors from only 25 mg. You should call the DR and stop taking it. What are you taking the xanax for? Are you sure the tremors are not anxiety caused?

To the person saying it knocked them out at night don't be alarmed. It will go away. Enjoy the sleep. Lamictal has been a miricle drug for me. I have bi-polar 2 and have suffered from depressive symtoms for years. I feel 100% human for the first time in my life. Remeber dangerous side effects are extremely rare; any foggiheadedness will pass in a few wekks. Stick with it. It saved my life.

I have taken it for 4 years now.. 200 mg. It helps. No side effects except dizziness and fatigue so I take it at bedtime. Still have BP pisodes but not as bad.

helene wrote:

Guest wrote: i have started taking lamactil for my depression problems .does anyone know if it works? Hi! My father’s brother has been on Lamictal for bipolar disorder and has calm him done. He doesn’t have manias any more nor is he going down, I can say he has stabilized. It took him quite a while to get there though. I think it is how it goes with Lamictal. How long have you been taking the drug? Is this your first medication or you have been taking something else before? From what I’ve read, I see the drug is being prescribed for all sorts of things including depression. The worst problem my uncle had with this drug were headaches, they were killing him. He still experiences them from time to time. He complained to the doc about it but he said this was common with Lamictal. Anyway, I hope it will work good on you

My Dr put me on Lamactil for seizures, the headaches were unbearable, I was told it came with the drug, that it would "wear off" it didn't and then I was given pain killers for the headache, I used to joke that I'd do "rehab in heaven" after all death from seizure was more imminent than dead from a headache pill, right ? Wrong. Well I'm doing it now and it is unbearable, I should never have allowed myself to beleive that being seizure free was more important than being drug free. When I look back it was so easy, each Dr gave me another drug to cover the side effects of the drug before. I pray for you all, I woke up today, knowing that I might have a seizure and that the side effects of withdrawal may send me mental bot for me this morning was a wake up call. One drug should not be used to cover the side effects of another. Good Luck to you all.