Lamictal Keppra, Head of Hair, Dilantin, Night Sweats, Topamax
Posted over a year ago
I started taking Lamictal about six weeks ago for epilepsy. Now keep in mind, I was on Dilantin which worked great for 17 years and then suddenly stopped working. I have been in medication hell since then. First Topamax made me dumb as a rock. I would ... more »
I started taking Lamictal about six weeks ago for epilepsy. Now keep in mind, I was on Dilantin which worked great for 17 years and then suddenly stopped working. I have been in medication hell since then. First Topamax made me dumb as a rock. I would space out all the time. Worst drug ever. Then Keppra which was better in that my memory/ability to speak came back but I had these intense ups and down. I had rages constantly. Now I'm on Lamictal. So far, it's better than the Topamax and the Keppra, however the dreams are very intense as are the night sweats. I'm also experiencing much hair loss. Fortunately I have a full head of hair but I'm afraid I will eventually lose it all.
Cfranze1 - long story short... i was having sex last night and the condom broke. my room mate gave me 4 birth control pills, which works as a morning after pill (or so we've always been told, god i hope i'm not wrong) but i couldn't sleep at all that night except this one thirty minute period. in that time i slept i had the most horrible nightmare that wouldn't go away. it was so vivid and realistic, and scared me like no other dream. does the morning after pill or excess birth control cause strange dreams?
Topamaxbraindamage - I have had awful dreams on the Lamictal (I take xanax, melatonin and sometimes Ambien CR because the Lamictal causes some insomnia). The dreams were pretty terrifying but every now and then I'll actually have one of those good dreams where you wake up and wish you go back?
Absisback - Finally, someone else who experienced hair loss! My vacuum keeps locking up from trying to pick up all the hair in my carpet!
I was on Lamictal for 4+ years and never had problems with dreams except for the time when I was on Risperdal as well.
I know Ambien can mess with your dreams. It's getting a bad reputation for causing people to sleepwalk too, but that's mainly people who take it every night, long term.
Also, check the amount of melatonin you are taking - 20 mg or more can actually cause worse insomnia.
About the birth control pills, those are hormones and they can most definitely screw with your dreams. I don't know if that will work as a morning after pill - it depends on what hormones were in the pills you took and how much. Different pills works different ways, causing the egg to break down, keeping the egg from attaching to the uterine lining, etc. So good luck there.
Sweet dreams guys.
Bersings - Hi, this is very similar effects and more of my fiance' who has recently (5 weeks) been increasing Lamictal doses. His neurologist is weening him off Topomax - which worked well for seizures, with twice in a year having a kidney stone. I have noticed mood changes, tiredness, being angry at himself, which is not his personality at all. He has complained of nightmares, and insomnia, and feelnig tired,as well as intense back pain and twinging. He insists none of this is due to Lamicatal, yet I have seen them all since the Lamictal, especially when he got to the 200 mg day dose. He called his Dr. and they siad he is just stressed out and shgould calm down. I have a really bad feeling about this - how can I see him through? Let m eknow if we can stop and ween back down and go back to just the Topomax, his Dr. is really eager to get him on MORE Lamictal. UGH.
Barney74 - I am a 33 year old woman, first time on Lamictal. I've only been on the drug for a little over a week, an incredibly low dosage (25mg). I am taking it for my mood swings (no diagnose has been made yet from my Doctor).
Like most people, I have fear of weight gain..so far it's fine. But my dreams are intense, strange, at times incredibly horrifying. I've made a joke to friends that I could start a career as a Horror Novelist.
I've told my Doctor. She says she can't say if it's the Lamictal or not. I've been in a bad head space lately, so I've stopped drinking to gain more clarity for the things happening in my life..I thought perhaps the alcohol being mixed with the Lamictal may have been the cause of the dreams..but it's been three days now...I take the pill within 20 minutes of going to bed....I'm out like a light and then in two hours (no lie..2 hours on the dot!) I wake up from some crazy dream and I'm wide awake..as if I have never gone to sleep..a couple of times over the past few weeks I've had to get up and take Trazadone, which I HATE because it makes you so groggy the next day.
So, I was glad to see that I was not crazy when I thought that the Lamictal may increase these dreams. Does anyone out there take Lamictal during the day or early evening...that way perhaps the Lamictal is in your system longer.
Talk to me.
Sincerely,
Nebie
Lintriago - The dreams have not been as terrible lately (maybe my body has adjusted to the Lamictal). In fact, they are more amusing than anything else. (Like I was hanging out with teh cast from Melrose Place watching flying saucers from a high rise balcony).
Hair loss has decreased also. I was surprised to read about back pain as I have been battling that for months now and now that I am confronted with the issue that it could be the lamictal, I recall that it started right around that time.
For me, the Topamax was like a trip to hell and back. But it's different for anyone. Also Keppra made me insanely depressed and prone to rages...extreme rages where I would throw things and scream to the point that i would get larangytis. Not pretty.
The lamictal, in spite of it's side effects, has been a wonder drug for me. No seizures. No auras. No neurotic behavior. I do suffer from occasional insomnia but meltanonin helps plus I take a xanax before bed.
Also, I take Lamictal twice a day. 200 in the am, 200 in the pm. I believe it has a half day shelf life (but I could be wrong).
Msd - I am a 38 year old woman. I was on Tegretol for over 20 years and it worked just fine. My husband and I were discussing having children so my neurologist pushed me to switch to Lamictal. She also said prolonged use of Tegretol can decrease bone density. I've been on Lamictal (only) since January and had my first seizure on March 25 in over 8 years. I hadn't been sleeping, waking up frequently every night with my heart pounding out of my chest, and just overall very anxious. My neurologist said it isn't the Lamictal causing these symptoms and I have other stresses in my life causing the lack of sleep/anxiety which inevitably caused my seizure. I do have stress in my life but nothing out of the ordinary. She sent me to a psychiatrist who said I have generalized anxiety disorder. I am now taking lorazepam, ambien, zoloft and am STILL having trouble sleeping. I had my 2nd seizure on June 6th. My husband and I saw her again on the 12th and she still maintains it isn't the Lamictal. I don't know what to do. How long for those that it did work for did it take to "kick in"?
Lintriago - It is the lamictal. A side effect of lamictal is insomnia. Try taking melatonin with a benzo (I take xanax). It helps
Msd - Thank you for your email. I actually went to a new neurologist and they confirmed it is the lamictal and they put me on a lorazepam/lunesta concoction and it's doing the trick! However, I am having hair loss, too. How long before that decreased for you (I'm on the same dose as you and take it at the same times).
Alysonjaymes - I'm on lamital after Topamax. Topamax is the drug from hell. I went from a 3.8 gpa to a 2.5. Although it did take off the weight Felbatol/Felamate added.
Now I am on Lamictal 150mg twice daily and Clonazepam 1mg twice daily. The Clonazepam counter reacts the insomnia and prevents break through seizures. I also have Hydroxyzine that I take if I am having trouble sleeping. It's wonderful. Makes me drowsy and I just drift off and sleep all night. No nightmares.
Unfortunately, none stop the hair loss.
Jadiebaby - i cant sleep at all im on lamictal for bi polar and i feel very off i am so tired and all i want to do is sleep and cant????? Also my dr put me on trazadone and it makes me all wired and i dont get it because i have taken both of these meds in the past and had know problems now all i have is problems ?? dont get it at all
Siouxzen - I am also bipolar and had been on 250 mgs of lamictal with zero side effects UNTIL I was increased to 300 mgs after I had breakthrough mania and a panic attack. Since this increase I can NOT stay asleep! I go right to sleep after 10 mgs of Ambien and then like another poster wrote -2 hours later I am WIDE AWAKE. I then eventually get back to sleep, but wake up 3-4 more times per night. Last night I could not sleep until 2 a.m. but was up at 8 a.m. I usually sleep 8 hours. Lack of sleep is BAD for bipolars- will make them manic. At least with me it does. I have been acting very hypomanic since the increase. I am non-stop cleaning my house all day and night. Nothing is clean enough! That is not like me, I am usually a semi-slob and very unorganized. Now I am hyper-organized. This type of mania has its advantages...you get a lot done. I haven't exercised for over a year from chronic depression and two days in a row all I want to do is exercise in between cleaning! So far no painful racing thoughts, so I am not in true mania- THANK GOD. But this insomnia has to stop and yes, as much as I will miss it- so does the hypomania. (for example it caused me to go to the grocery store and buy 40 cans of this soup I really like that I just found and also buy 3 down vests online at Lands End. I really wanted to buy all 6 of them- at least I stopped at the 3). Also, bought other crap online that I can't even recall. Hubby says I am also acting
really out of it. I think of something and in a millisecond I can't recall what it was. Despite all this I LOVE Lamictal. It is the only drug that I used to NOT have any side effects. I might have to go back down to my old dose if this keeps up.
Lintriago - I am the OP of this thread. I actually lowered my dose of Lamictal from 400 mg to 200 mg and now take my dosage in the morning so it doesn't interfere with my sleep. Keep in mind when lowering your dose that it is emotionally exhausting. I had serious bouts of hysteria and crying for about a week and a half, then my body adjusted to the new dose and I'm fine again.... No seizures, though, which is great.
I'm still losing my hair, though, albeit not as much as in the beginning.
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