Posted by Emme on June 10, 2004, at 10:13:29
In reply to Need IMMEDIATE help re: Lamictal/Lamotrigine, posted by Angel Girl on June 10, 2004, at 7:36:40
> Hi! I'm currently taking 75mg/AM and 75mg/PM of Lamictal (Lamotrigine). I'm also taking 500mg of Depakote daily. I know that there is a drug interaction between the two, which fools the brain into thinking that it is getting 2X the amount of Lamictal than what it is really getting.
It's not fooling your brain. The depakote reduces the clearance of Lamictal. You are actually increasing the amount of Lamictal in your bloodstream, the same as if you'd taken twice the dose.
> I'm currently weaning off of the Depakote and replacing it with the Lamictal.
> Has anybody taken Lamictal and had any side effects?I had these startup SEs: headache, stiff tight shoulders, feeling a bit fluish. All went away within a few weeks.
> I read something about that you can get some kind of mouth sores, tooth cavities and gingivitis from it.Hmmm...I haven't heard about gum problems or cavities. I'll check the prescribing info. Mouth sores are one of the things one should be on the lookout for as they are a possible sign of the beginning of Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Do you have swollen lymph nodes or fever?
> BUT now, the entire inside of my mouth (incl the roof of mouth, etc) is REALLY painful and raw, like it would get if you ate something too hot, which I don't recall doing. It is extremely painful to say the least. I've been taking Tylenol with codeine all week for it.
That is a bad sign. Tell your doctor about it NOW and have it checked out! Now. You may be having an adverse reaction to it that could become serious.
> So, has anybody else had this or anything similiar while taking Lamictal? I need to find out before going to my pdoc tomorrow.It doesn't matter if anyone else here has had this or not. You are experiencing what you are experiencing. Report it and let your doctor make the call. Actually, I'd call right this minute and see your internist about this. It'll be helpful to both you and your pdoc to have another doctor's opinion. And if it's not the Lamictal, it sounds miserable enough that you'll want to do something about it anyway. Good luck to you!
poster:Emme
thread:355333
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040608/msgs/355383.html