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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by rockerr on May 29, 2016, at 16:10:01
im on 150 lamictal 1x per day.
my liver function tests were mildly elevated. doctor told me to lose weight. im 5'9" 200 lbs, 40 y.o.
my research shows lamictal is not likely to cause liver issues but is metabolized in the liver and can cause liver issues. PDOC says to lose weight and dont mess w lamictal. i dont believe him. i have a non specific diagnosis of irritability and intense anxiety which lamical has helped for about 2 years.i want to go off it but a) am afraid of a relapse in sx and b) do not know for sure if it is messing w my liver but the fear of this is enough to make me seriously consider going off it.
Posted by Tabitha on May 29, 2016, at 17:02:21
In reply to lamictal and your liver, posted by rockerr on May 29, 2016, at 16:10:01
> im on 150 lamictal 1x per day.
> my liver function tests were mildly elevated. doctor told me to lose weight. im 5'9" 200 lbs, 40 y.o.
> my research shows lamictal is not likely to cause liver issues but is metabolized in the liver and can cause liver issues. PDOC says to lose weight and dont mess w lamictal. i dont believe him. i have a non specific diagnosis of irritability and intense anxiety which lamical has helped for about 2 years.
>
> i want to go off it but a) am afraid of a relapse in sx and b) do not know for sure if it is messing w my liver but the fear of this is enough to make me seriously consider going off it.Why don't you believe him?
Personally I don't think it makes sense to go off it because
- there's no particular reason to think lamictal has caused your liver function change. Many drugs are metabolized in the liver, so it's not something unique to that drug.
- unless you have a substitute treatment, you're likely to have recurrence
- lamictal has a low chance of causing a life-threatening rash. The risk is very low, but my understanding is that dosage changes need to be very gradual to decrease the risk. So I wouldn't stop & start it unless absolutely necessary.
- your liver test may stay the same or improve on its own. One slightly elevated reading isn't worth the hassle of changing meds. Wait and see, or take your doctor's advice.
Posted by rockerr on May 29, 2016, at 17:12:54
In reply to Re: lamictal and your liver, posted by Tabitha on May 29, 2016, at 17:02:21
i dont believe him because i was on remeron and my triglycerides shot up like crazy and i read it can cause this he said it was unlikely i stopped it anyways and trig's went back down. so i dont trust him (or any other doc) who says oh this medicine is not causing _________.
Posted by Linkadge on May 29, 2016, at 19:51:04
In reply to Re: lamictal and your liver, posted by rockerr on May 29, 2016, at 17:12:54
You could do a pubmed.com search on lamotrigine + liver.
Remeron is known to elevate triglycerides. However, I don't know if lamictal is linked to liver issues
Posted by ed_uk2010 on May 30, 2016, at 4:46:17
In reply to Re: lamictal and your liver, posted by Tabitha on May 29, 2016, at 17:02:21
>One slightly elevated reading isn't worth the hassle of changing meds
Absolutely. Mildly elevated results are exceptionally common and usually irrelevant.
If anything major was going to have happened to your liver, it would have occurred much earlier in the course of treatment.
You could get the test repeated in a month, but it may not be worthwhile. Liver panels are ordered to excess and often lead to unnecessary investigations. They are generally only useful if symptoms of liver disease are present.
Posted by PeterMartin on May 30, 2016, at 16:01:14
In reply to Re: lamictal and your liver, posted by ed_uk2010 on May 30, 2016, at 4:46:17
This is a great site to look up meds that can cause liver injury. The important part is whether or not they're reversible. I've been in meds that screw w my levels but so long as it's transient I've felt ok about it...
It says Lamictal rarely causes liver issues:
http://livertox.nih.gov/Lamotrigine.htmTry your other meds there...
Posted by jonhed on May 31, 2016, at 11:12:01
In reply to lamictal and your liver, posted by rockerr on May 29, 2016, at 16:10:01
My liver became drastically better when i went from 90 kg (198ibs) to 66 kg (145.5ibs). I'm 171 cm (5 feet 7)
So it may be that :-)
I don't think that you're obese or something and you can be healthy with your weight, but maybe you eat something that your liver have a hard time to process..
Posted by Chris O on June 1, 2016, at 1:56:02
In reply to lamictal and your liver, posted by rockerr on May 29, 2016, at 16:10:01
I concur with the feedback others have given here: Could this be your anxiety talking?
On the other hand, as someone who suffers from an intense anxiety disorder, I completely empathize with you as well. I do not trust anything doctors and psychiatrists tell me related to the health side effects of psychotropics because I feel like we are all lab rats. We take these meds every day for years on end, and many of the long-term effects are poorly understood, especially with the newer antidepressants. So, there does seem to be some room for healthy, non-anxiety-disorder-mediated concern. But lamictal also helps you greatly (it sounds like), so if it were me, I'd try to lose some weight and check the results again after that.
Chris
This is the end of the thread.
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