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Lamictal, altered sleep, and morning classes

Wed, 03/01/2017 - 18:13
Hi all. I'm 23 years old, and I was diagnosed with photosensitive epilepsy when I was 15 or 16 (I don't remember which). My pediatric neurologist went the herbal route, using CoQ10 and Feverfew (these did absolutely nothing for me). When I graduated out of the pediatric department, I started on Topamax, and had Keppra added to it for a while. I experienced very strong mood swings and precipitous weight loss from the Keppra, so we took that off. Just this past January, I have started the process of switching from Topamax to Lamictal (because of the horrible mental fog that I've had for about 5 years from the Topamax). I am now at 50mg Lamictal in the evening and 25mg each Topamax and Lamictal in the morning. Next week I will have completely switched over to Lamictal. My question is this: for the last few weeks I have had severe difficulty waking up in the morning. Most days I have slept into the afternoon (this doesn't seem to correlate to the number of alarms, volume of alarms, amount of sleep beforehand, etc.), thus skipping my classes. It's midterms week, and I don't know what to do. I know that Lamictal is commonly associated with insomnia, but do you have any experience of this opposite sleep problem? I am also on 100mg of Xoloft for depression, but that dosage has been consistent for months before this sleep issue started. Thanks

Comments

have you checked the drug

Submitted by Amy Jo on Wed, 2017-03-01 - 19:02
have you checked the drug interaction issues just in case? e.g. https://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/lamictal-with-zoloft-1430-848-2057-1348.htmlour child often sleeps more when increasing an aed but usually that effect goes away within days/weeks (did for trileptal and lamotrigine, keppra had different side effects). usually lamotrigine is associated with poor sleep but our child's poor sleep predates the lamotrigine.. make sure you eat properly and supplement anything those drugs might deplete.if it continues, your school has some kind of disability office that could get you some accommodations in when your classes are, assuming some are offered later.topamax also causes weight loss along with that commonly occurring mental fog

I have experienced the same

Submitted by eps123 on Fri, 2017-03-10 - 15:02
I have experienced the same issues you have. I just turned 27. I was diagnosed with Grand Mal seizures four years ago. I was originally prescribed Keppra where my doctor told me "a lot of people commit suicide on this medication if you feel that way let me know" (so why is this legal?). I had horrible mood swings on it and my mom was petrified. I was switched to Lamictal about 3.5 years ago. I hate it. I never feel clear minded (another thing my doctor said I'll never feel on any anti-seizure medications). I had to start taking it at night so that I could feel better in the morning, which has somewhat helped. I have noticed that my memory is fading I cannot remember every detail of what I did yesterday. It is definitely better than Keppra but I have kind of given up on trying anything else. I do want to switch to THC oil I just have not found an exact answer if it would be beneficial for grand mal seizures. Good luck! I hope I didn't scare you and I am soooo happy that I have found someone who has experienced the same side effects with both medications. People always say "what works for one may not be the case for another" so maybe you won't experience memory problems.

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