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Help! Starting Lamictal

Sun, 01/28/2018 - 22:26
I have never been on any medications and my doctor prescribed for the first time 25 mg Lamictal (generic) to be taken twice a day for 2 weeks (so total 50 mg a day) than it will be increased by 50 mg a day every week. I have read that the recommended starting dose is 25 mg a day for 2 weeks than 50 mg a day for another 2 weeks. After taking 25 mg x 2 a day for 5 days, I just knew that it has serious side effects like Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, etc if the starting dose is high or the dose is increased quickly. This makes me worried as obviously I have been taking more than the recommended starting dose (50 mg a day instead of 25 mg). Does anyone has the same experience to start Lamictal at 50 mg a day? If so, did you experience any side effects? Thank you.

Comments

I've been on Lamictal for

Submitted by kda on Mon, 2018-01-29 - 10:17
I've been on Lamictal for several years now, and I haven't had any serious problems with it. Mind you, it wasn't the first anticonvulsant I've ever taken (not by a long shot!), and I'm taking it with other medications. Your doctor may have recommended that starting dose for various reasons, such as your body weight or knowledge that that dose has proven effective and safe for other patients; feel free to call him/her with questions. In my experience, neurologists can lack bedside manner, being very businesslike. They won't usually offer information that isn't asked for, focusing instead on your condition--diagnose it, treat it, and show you to the door. It can benefit you to assert yourself, but luckily, the internet can be of great help these days--when I was a kid, Mom and Dad had no idea what questions to even ask in the first place. It's easy enough to be aware of any sudden changes in your body and contact your doctor or pharmacist if you notice anything unusual. Having lived with epilepsy for decades, I can tell you that my reactions to the medications, such as sleepiness and short-term constipation, have been annoying, but certainly not disfiguring or disabling. Mostly, my body has gotten used to any effects over time. I'm not the type who douses herself in drugs for every little thing, but an effective anticonvulsant is, in my mind, golden. Wishing you well, Kim

Thank you. What dose did you

Submitted by Anthgreene on Mon, 2018-01-29 - 11:14
Thank you. What dose did you start with?

Wondering why you are worried

Submitted by just_joe on Mon, 2018-01-29 - 15:42
Wondering why you are worried??? Yes there are recommended doses. Just like all other medications. They have the smallest dose and the largest dose. Those are generally set when the drug is being tested before it is approved for sale. The testing does not stop right then. Tests are followed by tests to find out all the other seizures it will stop. Then tests to find out which medications it can be used with.And so on and so on. You researched and found this information. However did you research the information the neurologist knows? Did you find out how many different medications there are to stop seizures? Generally neurologists know what you found out. They also have patients on the medications they prescribe. Those patients are your age and size to start with. Seizure meds are not like aspirin where once taken it is gone after a few hours. Side effects generally happen during the first few weeks of taking the medication while the body is getting used to the medication. The neurologist is building the therapeutic levels in your body which will stop breakthrough seizures from happening. Those are to help you in case you take a dose late or forget one. It takes 3-4 weeks for your body to get used to the medication and the therapeutic levels to builds. By starting low and increasing it faster the medication builds faster and your body gets used to it faster, Meaning it will save weeks of time and the neurologist will see if the medication is stopping the seizures faster. It takes anywhere from 4-8 weeks after the final dose is set to really judge and determine the outcome of that dosage and therapeutic level for you. Understand that the medication for one person may not work on the next. The same with dosages. As for side effects The one you posted with it's name is a rare side effect. Did you see any others that bothered you?? Yes side effects do happen. Just like aspirin has killed some people who took it. Nose sprays have their side effects but did you research them??I have been in drug studies for newer medications for seizures and I know how those side effects get listed and I know that the upset stomach I had one day may not have one from the medication but it could have cone from a different restaurant I went to that had Mexican food.I took Lamictal and at higher dosages then you will be on once you get to the level the neurologist wants. In order to stop most of my seizures my body demands that I be on the highest dosage the manufacturer will allow. When I starts taking lamictal I was not started on a low dosage. I was put right on the dosage they wanted me on. Which saved the neurologists over 2 months time because if started lower and increased like you say it is supposed to be done it would have taken over 2 months to get to the max dosage. Meaning it would then require another 2 months to see if it was stopping the seizures I was having.You have this site and a computer to research things. which you have done. So research and understand that when it was made those were the doses that they were to start with. Meaning those  doses were set for certain types of seizures and epilepsy. The testing never stops. It is then tested to see which types of seizures it will stop. It is also tested to see the different medications it will work with to stop seizures. It is also tested to find out the other things it will help with.  Kink of like aspirin works for head aches. a low dose is also used to thin the blood which helps people with heart issues. I take one daily which was started because they found out I have an irregular heart beat. OH and that too is helped in the same means with medications. Both stop electrical impulses. Beta blockers are used in the heart. Basically you have something like a beta blocker in your brain with seizure meds. A seizure in the simplest terms is "An electrical impulse hitting in your brain wrong" That wrong hit causes a chain reaction which is the seizure itself.I have taken many different medications and the only time I had a side effect it was during the first week of the first mediations I was to take. Doc stopped one med and a week later started me on it again. I had no problems after that time. I have taken over 20 different medications and combinations of medications in the 50+ years I have had epilepsy.

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