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Lamictal side effects/weight changes? Or Tegretol?

Mon, 08/13/2007 - 13:19
Hi everyone, For anyone who is or has been on lamictal, what has been your experience as far as weight changes or any other side effects with lamictal? I tend to gain weight very very easily and am looking for another med to try. I'm currently on Topamax and while it has been great as far as the weight loss, I just can't stand the side effects anymore. I'm constantly sick and cannot eat not anything. I'm also looking for a med that I can safely be on if I happen to become pregnant and this looks to be like one of them... Or how about Tegretol? Do any of you have favorable results with Tegretol as far as fewer side effects? Thanks :-) Elizabeth

Comments

Re: side effects

Submitted by Believe on Wed, 2009-07-29 - 11:57

Seth,

Stress is a huge trigger for me & seizures.  I have really had to learn what is worth worrying about and what isn't.  My hubby is also always hovering telling me not to worry about things and is like a pitbull between me and whoever might be causing me stress.  My doctor acknowledges that stress is one of my triggers.  Do your best to stay as calm as possible.  There are things in life worth stressing about, and well, the rest just isn't worth your health. 

Seth,

Stress is a huge trigger for me & seizures.  I have really had to learn what is worth worrying about and what isn't.  My hubby is also always hovering telling me not to worry about things and is like a pitbull between me and whoever might be causing me stress.  My doctor acknowledges that stress is one of my triggers.  Do your best to stay as calm as possible.  There are things in life worth stressing about, and well, the rest just isn't worth your health. 

Re: Lamictal side effects/weight changes? Or Tegretol?

Submitted by AnneGwish on Tue, 2007-08-14 - 11:09
Hi Elizabeth...I know this sounds stupid but I simply cannot figure out how to create a new forum topic! Can you please let me know? I decided to post here b/c my topic would be similar to yours. I just started taking Lamictal 3 days ago...so no weight issues yet. In addition to Elizabeth's question...can someone please explain how the weight fluctuations occur?...do you eat the same you used to and gain alot of weight? or is it b/c your appetite increases? I hope it has to do with appetite b/c that can be controlled. If I am not hungry I will force myself to eat and if I am too hungry I will force myself not to overeat.

Re: Re: Lamictal side effects/weight changes? Or Tegretol?

Submitted by elizleigh on Tue, 2007-08-14 - 11:33
Hi there :-) There is a link at the top of each forum that says "start new discussion thread". That is where you click to start a new topic. ;-) As far as the the weight issues go, I've lost a lot of weight on Topamax simply because I feel sick all the time and do not feel like eating. My appetite has been cut to next to nothing. My sister used to be on depakote and she blew up to an unbelievable size. I couldn't even believe it was her. I'm not sure if it increases your appitite or sodium levels or what but it can't be healthy for you so I really want to try and stay away from those if I can. I've found that eating a lot of fruit and protein drinks and low sugar content have really helped a lot. Vitamin supplements help too. I have a question for you - are you on Lamictal as a monotherapy? What type of seizures do you have? I've really become interested in Lamictal because of the safety for pregnancy but am confused because I've seen that it may not be safe as a monotherapy for someone with partial and generalized seizures.

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