birth control efficacy while taking Lamictal

It is true that Lamictal does decrease the effectiveness of birth control. I just recently was put on Lamictal from my psychiatrist and before she prescribed it to me she wanted to make sure that I would use other forms of protection (condoms, etc). I have been on the pill for about 4 years now so I would be really ticked if this medicine caused a pregnancy!!!

Yes Lamictal does interfere with birth control pills and the pill interferes with the lamictal, I just called my obgyn and she said to use additional protection or use another form of birth control completely such as implant, or depo shot.

My psychiatrist said that the bc would make the Lamictal metabolize faster and that I should increase my Lamictal medication. I have been on the Lamictal for almost 2 years for major depression. It took me two years before that to find a med that worked. I am now on an IUD the merino one and after about a week or so I started to experience tearfulness, sadness and wanted to stay in bed (ugh!). So I am curious about the effectiveness of the bc and the effects that it is going to have on my depression. This is so confusing. Does anyone have the doctor or name of the articles that address the issues around bc and Lamictal?

Ok, so for those of you who think not ejaculating inside prevents pregnancy, I have two boys to prove that method wrong. To the original post, I am now pregnant after taking Lamictal and BC pills. I think it is unfare to assume that someone took the pills wrong. Maybe the drug effects the BC, but only a small amount and those of us who seem to be quite fertile, it is just enough to let the little guys through. I don't know the science, but our family is aware of the reality. o.O

i have been taking lamictal for 8 years, with birth control for 6 years. birth control works, it's the lamictal levels that decrease because of this combination. i had to increase my lamictal dose within that year.

there can be side effects from that combination. you can develop reproductive issues such as infertility and fibroids, and some other related problems. i've just learned that i have a fibrous mass in my uterus after a year of abdominal pain, vomiting, unexplained weight gain, i think they're related, but that's my opinion.

It can decrease the effectiveness of BC. I know because I was on the pill and this medication. I am now 13 weeks pregnant (I have stopped both medications)

I have an 11 year old. I have taken BC every day religiously since having my kid, and I haven't been pregnant in ELEVEN (11!) years.

Then this year... I have my period at the end of dec through January 2nd.

I get prescribed Lamictal a few days afterward.

I read online something about Lamictal and birth control and immediately take a test (a couple-few weeks later).

It is positive.

The doctors at planned parenthood confirmed that the fetus' size was consistent with a pregnancy which began a couple of weeks after I started lamictal.

They confirmed this when I went to have an abortion - my first and only abortion - because to have another child would have required I stop taking meds (and I need them to function), and I nearly died during my first pregnancy. I am one of the rare few people who are resistant to whatever they used in my epidural... so my epidural didn't work. I got an infection, had a premature birth due to running out of amniotic fluid (don't know the technical name) had to have my labor induced, had high blood pressure, etc etc... I was suicidal when I switched to lamictal so to stop taking meds might have actually killed me... I felt I had no choice but to have an abortion or risk bringing a severely disabled child into the world.

Either way, my doctor DID NOT warn me of this... when I talked to her about having read about some kind of interaction with birth control, she pulled out her little book of drug interactions and she said that birth control affects LAMICTAL... but then a moment later, she goes,

"You do know that lamictal lowers the efficacy of birth control, right?"

and I was like YES, I'm PREGNANT.

This wasn't a matter of taking the birth control wrong. And my doctor confirmed this from her book of interactions.

The answer is that both groups are right - birth control screws with lamictal, and lamictal screws with birth control. BOTH are true according to my EX doctor's book, as well as any official info I've found online.

I wanted to comment on that 'taking lamictal while pregnant' that 'Guest' posted in October 2008. I got pregnant in April of 2007 (no I was not on BC at the time because I was told that I couldn't have children anyway). I took lamictal as well as metformin through my entire pregnancy. I now have a beautiful 4-year old girl. She's one of the smartest, quick-witted, happiest, and most social children in her preschool. I am going to watch her as she grows for mental illness but so far she is 'perfect' (absolutely perfect in her mother's eyes).

Right now I'm on BC (nuvaring) and lamictal and may be pregnant... I'm just revisiting some of these posts because right now isn't a very 'convenient' time in my life to get pregnant and really hope I'm not.

This post is really for anyone who may have reservations about taking Lamictal while pregnant more so than taking the two drugs together. My psychiatrist told me that lamictal would lower the effectiveness of BC but that was in 2004 and I'm sure much research has occurred since I was told that.

Yes, it can decrease the effectiveness of birth control. It speeds up the body's metabolism of the BC, making it less effective. I spot all month long while taking Lamictal because of this drug interaction. I am considering going on a different mood stabilizing medication because I'm tired of the spotting.

Hope this helps someone.  I too have had conflicting information on this topic from different doctors.  My gyn and pharmacist say that BC affects lamotrigine, not the other way around.  Yet the lamotrigine bottle comes from the pharmacy with a reduced effectiveness of BC warning, and my psychiatrist says that it can reduce the effectiveness of BC. The pharmacist and gyn referred to a March 2010 review of research.  If anyone wants to check out the research, here's the link:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=lamotrigine%20birth%20control  They are referring to the third article on the list (as of April 2011).  The second article on the list simply says that the studies they are citing haven't investigated the effect of lamotrigine on BC (but also repeat the finding that BC can reduce the effectiveness of lamotrigine).  Having read through the March 2010 review myself, I can say that although lamotrigine is not specifically cited as having adverse effects on BC (while other drugs are), it is in a class of drugs whose mechanism of action is known to reduce the effectiveness of BC.  It also says that BC reduces the efficacy of specifically lamotrigine (with no mention of others in its drug class).  This suggests that despite being in a drug class that can decrease the effectiveness of BC, there is something different about how it functions.  However, at no point does it clearly state whether BC is or is not affected by lamotrigine.  Perhaps this is because (as the second article on the list suggested) there are no studies assessing the effectiveness of BC with lamotrigine.  One may assume that because BC affects lamotrigine that lamotrigine does not affect BC, but who's to say it only goes one way.  Sadly, I'm not giving any more answers, but hopefully at least clarifying the question and the source of discrepancy.  Hopefully someone will do a controlled study soon, because I love my lamictal and I want to know!  In terms of other alternatives, condoms, IUD and perhaps a diaphragm are the only other options (that I've been told about - I didn't read this section fully in the review).  But what I did pick up in the review is that the drug class is pretty extensive in terms of the number of BC options it affects (I believe this included nuva ring). 

Oh yeah, the review article also said that the result of reduced effectiveness is that 1 in 4 women on the pill will get pregnant.  IF true for lamictal, then 75% of the people posting here will not have this experience.

I have spoken to my doctor and my pharmacist about taking birth control with lamictal and they both said that it doesnt effect the the birth contol at all. The reason the question was brought to my atttention was from reading the information that come with my medication. When talking to both the doctor and the pharmacist they advised me that they stress using caution with using hormonal birth controls and lamictal becasue it can effect blood levels which can become dangerous.

just wanted to post on this to let you know that my wife was on BC for 5 years never got pregnant, she started taking lamictal and got pregnant 3 weeks later while still on the pill. We now have a 3 month old son

Im on lamictal and BC pills and my insurance company (Anthem Blue Cross) sent me a paper around a year ago telling me that lamictal could lessen the affect of my BC pills and to be careful and to know the risks... hope that helps! Also, both my doctor, and pharmacist said that lamictal does have an affect on the birthcontrol. thought id put that out there.

this is true, the pharmacist was not mistaken. my psychiatrist even advised me they do effect & decrease each other, i am jus findin this out myself & can't believe it!