Lamotrigine tiredness

[rainbowjade]

Hi everyone.

Does anyone else experience extreme tiredness/ fatigue on lamotrigine? I was recently put on 175mg twice a day after a relapse, and it makes me so drowsy that it's difficult to focus for most of the day. This and general blurry vision.

For anyone on lamotrigine, what is your experience? How do you deal with fatigue and other cognitive side effects?

Much love to all,

Jade

[Hidden]

Always take Lamotrigine after a meal. Best after breakfast and after your evening meal. Blurred vision and drowsiness are normal if you've not eaten a full meal beforehand. Get Lamictal and not a generic which is more likely to give you blurred vision and make you drowsy. If this doesn't work, try 3 doses after three meals

[rainbowjade in reply to Hidden]

Hi vibrant, thank you for your message. I take lamotrigine after breakfast and dinner, but I don't eat much for breakfast (I mostly just have a coffee), so I'm thinking that might be it! Super helpful, thank you

[Hidden in reply to rainbowjade]

A bowl of muesli + mug of tea will do the trick. Food slows down absorbtion of any drug. Stay off the coffee for an hour after that. Same goes for the evening. Take your drugs after a meal, not just before you go to bed.

[Michael_M]

Hia there, I take Lamotrigine 200mg morning and night and so far (touch wood) no evident side effects apart from it possibly disrupting my sleep because I wake up 2 or 3 times in the night and feel very scared for no reason but not sure if this is just my anxiety about seizures coming out?

Good luck and keep going, you are far from the only one grappling with this.

[rainbowjade in reply to Michael_M]

Hi Michael, thank you for sharing your experience and also kind words 😊 I also had insomnia problems in the beginning, but it was usually getting to sleep that I struggled with. I also felt anxious too, which made going to sleep hard. I think it's because I was getting health anxiety and worrying about being on lamotrigine etc.

[Golfer60]

hi , I take 125 mg in morning with breakfast and 100 mg at night before main meal, I do feel tired a lot of the time, but I put down to insomnia which is also a side effect of Lamotragine. I also have a lot of joint pain which I also blame Lamotragine , I think everyone has different experiences. The trouble is medics don’t seem to take our side effects seriously.

Take care and keep seizure free!!!

Lindy

[Hidden in reply to Golfer60]

Never take your medication before a meal. You never know whether these are actually side effects. However, insomnia is relatively common in epilepsy sufferers. 225 mg is still a very low dosage epilepsy. 150 + 150 mornings + evenings after a meal is the recommended dosage to start patients on.

[Golfer60 in reply to Hidden]

nobody has ever said about not taking Lamotragine before meal. Thanks for that. I also have a lot of joint pain which I blame on It too. I also wonder about taking it with other drugs, I take Neproxan and Lamazole I am seeing Consultant end of October. Thanks for your help.

[Hidden in reply to Golfer60]

Then it's my turn. Always take anticonvulsants after a meal. Consultantsshould know that. Here in Germany it's standard procedure. Always tell your consultant if you're on any other meds. Lamotrigine doesn't cause joint pain however many "coulds and mights" your consultant can come up with.