Sometimes one kind of medicine changes the way another kind of medicine works in the body. This is true not only for prescription medicines, but also for medicines you just pick up off the shelf at the store. It’s also true for herbal products, vitamins, a few kinds of food—sometimes even cigarettes!
Any time a doctor suggests a new prescription, be sure to talk about what other medicines you are already using. If two kinds of medicine affect each other, the doctor may want to prescribe something else or change the amount to be taken.
How does Lamictal affect other medicines?
Lamictal has no effect on other seizure medicines. And unlike some other seizure medicines, it does not reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills.
How does birth control affect Lamictal?
Although Lamictal does not reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills, there is a possiblity that birth control pills can lower the amount of lamotrigine levels in your blood, thus increasing the likelihood of unexpected seizures. If you start or stop taking an oral contraceptive, and are currently taking Lamictal (lamotrigine)--please notify your doctor
How do other seizure medicines affect Lamictal?
Some other seizure medicines do affect the level of Lamictal in the body, either raising it or lowering it. Many of these interactions vary from person to person, however. Some may even vary from time to time for the same person. Make sure that your doctor is aware of all the seizure medicines you're using.
One common seizure medicine, Depakote (and others closely related to it), will make the level of Lamictal in the body much higher. People who take both Depakote and Lamictal need to take smaller amounts of Lamictal.
On the other hand, some other seizure medicines reduce the amount of Lamictal in the body, so more must be taken. (This is not true if Depakote is also being used.) The seizure medicines with this effect are:
- Tegretol or Carbatrol (carbamazepine)
- Dilantin or Phenytek (phenytoin)
- phenobarbital
- Mysoline (primidone)
