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just diagnosed - taking Lamictal, need some help
Thu, 06/22/2006 - 07:28Topic: Medication Issues
Hi, I'm a 26F with TLE and simple partial seizures. Also a military wife whose husband is currently deployed and mom of 3 youngins 6, 4, and 1. I was officially diagnosed 2 days ago and put on Lamictal starting at 25mg, eventually going up to 200mg. I have had 4 simple partial seizures in the last 7 months lost consciousness for 1, so I am starting to learn what my body feels like before they come on. I think this is called an aura? Yesterday I noticed this feeling once in the afternoon. I swayed a bit and the ends of my hands got cold. It was quick and nothing big happened. I almost told my dad I didn't feel right, but stopped myself because it went away. Today is day 2 on lamictal. I've been taking it at night and both yesterday morning and this morning I notice I feel so strange. Almost drunk. When I move my head I get dizzy, headache, and its like the rest of the world has to catch up. I'm not hungry, but my stomach feels empty and gurgly. I have heartburn, and feel very foggy in general. Its a feeling I can live with, but I can't drive this way and I'm worried about how it will make me feel at 200mg. My questions are:
- if 25mg of Lamictal makes me feel odd, will it get worse as I gradually increase the dosage?
- if I'm having an aura at 25mg, will those get better as I'm on the dosage longer? How long do the meds typically take to help you?
- is the heartburn a lamictal side effect? I haven't read about it anywhere, but I suppose you never know.
Thank you very much for the help, Jamie
Comments
Re: Re: just diagnosed - taking Lamictal, need some help
Submitted by jamieb5210 on Thu, 2006-06-22 - 09:02
Thank you Andy. I have been checking all morning hoping someone would respond quickly. My biggest worry is that this feeling won't last forever. Its reassuring to know these meds take time. How long does it usually take before your body adjusts to a new med? I have an 8 week period before I get to the full dosage, does it usually take that long to start feeling normal again?
Thanks, Jamie
Re: just diagnosed - taking Lamictal, need some help
Submitted by angel_lts on Thu, 2006-06-22 - 13:48
Jamie
Many times when people start out with new meds we have different side effects. But should get better as time goes on. If not, let your doctor know.
Here is the side effect for lamictal. There are more serious ones too. Just check it out
http://www.epilepsy.com/medications/b_lamictal_side.html
One of the most serious side effects is a rash. You must call your doctor if you see a rash immediately.
Take care
Lisa
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/epilepsyapproach/
Re: just diagnosed - taking Lamictal, need some help
Submitted by andy m on Thu, 2006-06-22 - 08:35
Hi Jamie, AEDs as a rule do tend to take a bit of time to 'bed in' one of the most common manifestations of this is a general feeling of tiredness/grogginess, but as your body gets used to the med this tends to wear off pretty soon. Although the most important thing to realise about AEDs is that in a lot of cases it's all a bit trial and error, I'm not trying to frighten you but to say that what happens to one person on one med can have completely the opposite effect on someone else. I have been on lots of different meds that many people take with no problems at all but they did nothing for me, in some cases they made things worse. The same applies to side effects, the official ones very rarely cover all of them. The med that has led to me being szr free for over 3 yrs, keppra, does not list rage and mood swings as being side effects yet if you read posts about it it does crop up quite a lot, although it is something i never suffered from except that little bit of tiredness at first as my body adjusted to it. It is good that you recognise what your body feels like because this can be a big help in a lot of situations especially if it gives you the time to do something about it. I can't comment personally on Lamictal because that is one of the few meds i have never taken, but there is bound to be someone who has experienced the same kind of side effect as you, there usually is. I hope some of what I said helps or puts your mind at ease a bit, the most important thing is to give any med time to work as time and patience are vital even if we all want everything back to normal immediately. Having said all this i really do wish you all the best and I hope everything works out for you. Andy