Place Your Advertisement Here. All ad revenues support the mission of the Epilepsy Therapy Project.
 

Welcome to the redesigned epilepsy.com

It is now easier and faster than ever to access news, articles and community content. With less clutter and an improved navigation system, your favorite content is now only a click away.

The new features include:

  • Streamlined design with less clutter to promote important content and sections
  • New slider masthead
  • New horizontal menu across the site to ease top level navigation
  • Re-designed content pages that are easier to navigate
  • Overall new, fresh look!

Place Your Advertisement Here

Take control of your epilepsy and seizures. Seizure management has never been easier.

TAKE CONTROL TODAY

Sign up for our Newsletter!



aly_m
aly_m

lamictal causing headaches?

For some reason I have been getting really bad head aches just out of the blue. do you think it could have anything to due with me taking lamictal, or maybe related to have epilepsy? I would really appriciate any responses!! thanks!-Aly

By aly_m at Sun, 06/05/2005 - 3:15pm | 1950 views | 18 comments

Recent Comments on this Discussion

It may be. Headache is one of the side effects of Lamictal. Lamictal's main side effects are blurred or double vision, changes in seizure type, depression, difficulty controlling muscle movements, difficulty walking, fever, mood changes, body pain, headache, redness/blistering/peeling/loosening of the skin(including inside the mouth), skin rash of any type, swelling of the face/lips/tongue, swollen lymph glands, uncontrollable eye movements, and unusual weakness/tiredness. Ypur headache may be due to lamictal. Ask the specialist.

The information about Lamictal and the medicine is available at emedoutlet online.

boblew...

I have been on Lamictal for well over a year now, but it seems like in the beginning I did have more headaches than usual. If you hang in there I think it will pass. I have a rather different case in that I suffer from Migraine Headaches and then that is what brings on my seizures.  I have never had a seizure without a migraine, so when I first went on the Lamictal I was leary, I am sure they didn't last too long or I would have quit. I do know that headaches are a side effect, so if it doesn't get better you may have to talk to your Dr. Good luck. 

nancyb...

Hi Everyone,

I started taking Lamictal 1 week ago and I have a headache almost everyday.  I take a low dose because they are introducing it to my body and eventually taking me off the Keppra.  They say the Lamictal will help with memory and concentration. Is that true?

Meghan

megkqu...

Hi Ali,
and all others who are interested in this subject. I have been taking Lamictal for a year and a half. I have had unusual vision and blurriness. Light sensitivity immediately was so big. It was painful without sunglasses. Also, I couldn't read without getting headaches in this one spot behind my right eye. That's the spot where I always have the headache. Now I wear magnifiers so my eyes don't work as hard when accommodating to close things.
I went to a Epilepsy Foundation Support Group 2 weeks ago. Two of the other people there had terrible migraines. They are on Lamictal also. One girl only takes a small amount of Lamictal but she still had to get glasses for far away vision blurriness. The little boy has to take migraine medicine everyday. Their doctors said it was because of the Lamictal. I thought that was interesting, because I had never heard of it.

I take 800 mg of Lamictal a day, with Clonazepam and birth control to try to control my seizures.
I just had two terrible migraines in the past two weeks. One lasted 3 days, and one lasted 2 days. I said migraine because I only know it to be in one spot, where there is all the pain, I have strange light and vision changes before it, and if I was not in my room in bed with no light, I had way more pain. I also had to treat them with strong pain meds and almost go to the Emergency Room.

I am saying all of these different things because it helped me to know that other people had doctors who told them that their headaches were migraines, not just normal headaches and that it was related to Lamictal. So, when I had mine these past 2 times, I kind of knew what it was. I was also very stressed. The headaches were much worse than they have ever been. I talked to my epileptologist's NP today and she said that there is something called Lamictal Headaches, when I told her I had 2 migraines.

I will learn more, that is why I am looking up Lamictal and headaches to see the types of headaches that go along with Lamictal usually.

Thanks, hope this info. helps also.

Ariel

ariels...

Here is some more information on migraines. It may be a combination of the medication that may be causing migraines. Hope this helps.

 


http://migraines-headaches.org/

lucygrace

Hi aly,

I have taken Lamictal for about 2 and a half years and, as my dose increased to stop seizures (complex partial temporal lobe), I began to get headaches. They are always on the left temple, start off a dull ache and then become more and more unbearable. Once I get one, it seems to take ages to go. Is this similar to what you get? It's good to hear other people get them too cos I was worried for a while. I read up about it, and apparently headaches are a common side effect. What dose are you on?

Ali

ali_ri...

I started Lamictal recently and have not noticed problems yet. I have noticed that I moreso feel like eating on Lamictal as opposed to being on Dilantin. I was on a high dose of Dilantin, and it made me sick to my stomach and I was not eating right. Dilantin, food and I don't get along. 

Seruzies
Hi Aly,You know, I've always had a lot of headaches and through all of the medicines, they seem to fluctuate in intensity and frequency. However, now I am on lamictal and they seem to be more frequent...so I'm not sure if it is a lamictal thing or an E thing or just a Toni's got a lot of headaches thing...I can appreciate how frustrating it is to have so many headaches and feel like you are taking tylenol, advil and asprin all day to get rid of them! I have found that for me, some caffeine seems to help--I had stopped drinking caffeine for the longest time but now it seems that I have to have it to balance the med.Also, my dr. prescribed a migrane medicine that also works when they get out of control...good luck, Toni
taho
I have a headache pretty much everday, doc says its most likely the lamictal. Two things though, the daily headache is a piece of cake to handle compared to my migraines ( which seem to come with my other pms symptoms which also include increased sz activity),,the other thing is that the lamictal stopped my grand mal's , so I mean come on lol , hmm...headache or sz... Anyway ya its probably either stress or lamictal, but if they get to be very frequent or hard to handle u may want to get an MRI done just to be safe.
jinx1331xnij (not verified)
Hi. I'm curious. Not currently taking any AEDs, but I would like to know if "head aches" are related to E? Do the two ever go hand in hand? For the past 2 weeks I have been having more head aches along with seizures. Does anyone know if they are connected? Thanks. Linda.
yakota

hey aly im also on lamictal and to others ive been on mine for 4 years now and yet all of a sudden i got a intense heache out of the blue and its been with me for five weeks now ive never had it before and ive tried everything i can think of. i think the headahces could be linked but i can garentee that for each persons story go see your doc if it isnt going away, im doing that.

mintfairy

Aly,

The headaches you're having are one of the common side effects for people taking lamictal. I, myself, have been on lamictal since September 1997, but never recall having headaches, or other side effects, thinking they were connected to this medication. Basically just felt and looked at the problems as ordinary everyday life.

For the two websites I've displayed below, the first one is the introduction page for Lamictal, but the second is one of the many other informations pertaining to lamictal. Hope they help.

www.epilepsy.com/medications/b_lamictal_intro.html

www.epilepsy.com/medications/b_lamictal_side.html

Bruce J

grez-monkey (not verified)
Thanks for the info Bruce! I have been on Lamictal for a pretty long time, and only now have these stupid head aches started, so I think it probably due to stress more than medication. Thanks again for those informative links!
aly_m

Not affected myself (I take Lamictal/Lamotrigine, sometimes causing problems with sleep) but some lit I have describes a survey of 1100 patients taking L , a test which included some taking placebos, suggesting that headaches are the second most common  side-effect (29 %), after dizziness(38%).

Chris

scorpio

Im getting constant headaches. I don't recall them occuring before my grandmal but then again, I was in a very depressed state prior to that and was pretty numb to lots of things. After the seizure, I started to have headaches. It took awhile before I was placed on Lamictal. I didnt have a grandmal after. However, after a few EEGs, I was told I had constant seizure activity.Since starting Lamictal, my headaches have increased a bunch. Mostly on the left side. Which coincidentally, was where the seizure activity was isolated to. I am starting to think that the Lamictal was provided was based on the location of the seizure activity and the headaches, though could be associated to the Lamictal as well, could be due to the seizures. my MRIs also indicated some white spots (normal) that the doctor expected that I get quite a few migraines.  (Which I do). Lamictal (headaches) or Seizures. Pretty much a no brainer...

kolive...

Hi, I know this is a pretty only post but I thought I would reply.

I started this medication a few months ago...and began getting headaches recently every day!

I called the pharmacy to see if it was common side effect- the women who I spoke with told me that 30% of people who take Lamictal have headache symptoms. She told me that decreasing to the amount that you were not having headaches (when you were whining up on the medication) is the best thing to do. :)

I was surprised that my doctor did not warn me about the possibility of large headaches! OUCH!

Meg

meg09

Lamictal helps me to sleep like a log. I was getting dizzy when I first started taking it, but my Neuro mis-judged my weight (So he says). Now, I'm eating good, and sleeping maybe too much.

Seruzies