Do not stop taking lamotrigine without talking to your doctor, even if you experience side effects such as unusual changes in behavior or mood. Your doctor will probably decrease your dose gradually. If you suddenly stop taking lamotrigine, you may experience seizures.
If you do stop taking lamotrigine for any reason, do not start taking it again without talking to your doctor. This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information. Take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one. Lamotrigine may cause other side effects.
Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while you are taking this medication. Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store it at room temperature, away from excess heat and moisture not in the bathroom.
It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily. To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location — one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach. Unneeded medications should be disposed of in special ways to ensure that pets, children, and other people cannot consume them.
However, you should not flush this medication down the toilet. Instead, the best way to dispose of your medication is through a medicine take-back program. In case of overdose, call the poison control helpline at If the victim has collapsed, had a seizure, has trouble breathing, or can't be awakened, immediately call emergency services at Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory.
Your doctor may order certain lab tests to check your response to lamotrigine. Before having any laboratory test, tell your doctor and the laboratory personnel that you are taking lamotrigine.
Do not let anyone else take your medication. Ask your pharmacist any questions you have about refilling your prescription.
It is important for you to keep a written list of all of the prescription and nonprescription over-the-counter medicines you are taking, as well as any products such as vitamins, minerals, or other dietary supplements. You should bring this list with you each time you visit a doctor or if you are admitted to a hospital. It is also important information to carry with you in case of emergencies.
Also, your dosage should not be increased too quickly. However, because drugs affect each person differently, we cannot guarantee that this list includes all possible dosages. Always speak with your doctor or pharmacist about dosages that are right for you. Lamotrigine oral tablet is used for long-term treatment. These include an increased risk of seizures. They also include risk of a condition called status epilepticus SE. With SE, short or long seizures occur for 30 minutes or more.
SE is a medical emergency. If you take this drug to treat bipolar disorder, stopping the drug suddenly or not taking it at all may cause serious problems.
Your mood or behavior may get worse. You may need to be admitted to the hospital. In order for this drug to work well, a certain amount needs to be in your body at all times. If you take too much: You could have dangerous levels of the drug in your body. But if your symptoms are severe, call or go to the nearest emergency room right away.
What to do if you miss a dose: Take it as soon as you remember. If you remember just a few hours before the time for your next dose, only take one dose. Never try to catch up by taking two tablets at once. This could result in dangerous side effects. How to tell if the drug is working: If you take this drug to treat seizures, you should have fewer seizures or less severe seizures. Be aware that you may not feel the full effect of this drug for several weeks.
If you take this drug to treat bipolar disorder, you should have fewer episodes of extreme moods. A prescription for this medication is refillable.
You should not need a new prescription for this medication to be refilled. Your doctor will write the number of refills authorized on your prescription. Your doctor will monitor you. During your treatment with this drug, you may have tests to check for:. In addition, if you take this drug to treat seizures, you and your doctor will need to monitor how often you have seizures. This will help you make sure that this drug is working for you. And if you take this drug to treat bipolar disorder, you and your doctor will need to monitor how often you have mood episodes.
Not every pharmacy stocks this drug. When filling your prescription, be sure to call ahead to make sure your pharmacy carries it. Many insurance companies require a prior authorization for certain forms of this drug. This means your doctor will need to get approval from your insurance company before your insurance company will pay for the prescription.
There are other drugs available to treat your condition. Some may be better suited for you than others. Talk with your doctor about other drug options that may work for you. Disclaimer: Healthline has made every effort to make certain that all information is factually correct, comprehensive, and up to date. However, this article should not be used as a substitute for the knowledge and expertise of a licensed healthcare professional. You should always consult your doctor or other healthcare professional before taking any medication.
The drug information contained herein is subject to change and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. The absence of warnings or other information for a given drug does not indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for all patients or all specific uses.
A seizure is an abnormal surge of electrical activity in your brain. A seizure disorder involves many seizures. Read more on these two conditions. Know someone with epilepsy? If it works for you, you may take it for much longer than that. Make sure that you know your dose. If it is not written on the label, check with your pharmacist or doctor.
This could be at mealtimes, or when you brush your teeth. You can take it before or after food. If you are taking the tablets that you swallow whole, wash them down with a glass of water. Do not try and chew them — they will taste unpleasant. If you are taking the orodispersible tablets melts , get a glass of cold water and mix the tablet s in at least enough water to cover them. You can stir the drink to help them break up. Drink it all, and then add more water to the glass and drink that in order to make sure you get all the medicine in the tablet.
You can also chew the dispersible tablets, but it may help to rinse them down with some cold water. If you remember later during the day, take it as soon as possible. If you forget to take it by the time of the next dose, just start again with the next dose. If you forget to take your tablets for a few days, you may start getting your old symptoms of low mood back. Although you may not be taking your lamotrigine for seizures fits , if you stop the medication suddenly, there is a chance you may have a seizure.
This is because after taking lamotrigine for some time, your body will have got used to having an anticonvulsant anti-seizure medicine on board. Suddenly stopping the use of lamotrigine may therefore cause a seizure. But don't worry - this doesn't mean you are suddenly epileptic. If you have stopped taking lamotrigine, you need to speak to your doctor so that you can safely start it again and build back up to your dose.
It is best to be honest; they will help you get back on track. If you are thinking of stopping treatment with lamotrigine, talk to your doctor before doing this. If you have taken more lamotrigine than the dosage recommended by the doctor who prescribed it to you, you must get medical help immediately — even if you do not feel any different. While taking lamotrigine, some people may think about hurting themselves or taking their own lives.
You must go straight to hospital with your medicine if you have any of these thoughts. Lamotrigine can cause other serious side effects: allergic reactions difficulty breathing, swelling of your face or throat, itching skin lumps , skin rashes and other serious symptoms. Go to a hospital with your medicine if you get any of these symptoms. Lamotrigine does not mix well with some other medicines and drugs. The contraceptive Pill can affect the level of lamotrigine in your blood. Talk to your doctor about this if you are on the Pill.
You might feel dizzy or have double vision in the first few days after taking lamotrigine. Do not drive a car, ride a bike or operate machines until you see how this affects you. Use good contraception while you are taking lamotrigine. If you take it while you are pregnant, it is unlikely to affect the developing baby. However, it can cause symptoms in babies if you breastfeed while taking lamotrigine.
Talk to your doctor or midwife about this and get their help. Tell them how much you have taken. Get a friend to go with you, if you can, just in case you feel ill on the way. While taking lamotrigine some people may think about hurting themselves or have thoughts of taking their own lives. This can happen to anyone, including people who are under These thoughts may happen or get worse in the first few weeks of taking the medicine.
You must go straight to hospital with your medicine if you have any of these thoughts and tell the doctor that you are taking lamotrigine. There are other medications you can take instead. You should also go to a doctor or hospital straight away if you get any of the following symptoms:. Some side effects that appear should get better after a few days. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to help you remember to take your medicine. Do not drive yourself. Get someone else to drive you or call for an ambulance.
If you need to go to hospital, take the lamotrigine packet or the leaflet inside it, plus any remaining medicine, with you.
Like all medicines, lamotrigine can cause side effects, although not everyone gets them. It's common to get a skin rash with lamotrigine. Most skin rashes are not serious. But if you develop a skin rash or redness, tell a doctor straight away, as this can develop into a life-threatening skin condition called Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a rare side effect of lamotrigine. It causes flu-like symptoms, followed by a red or purple rash that spreads and forms blisters. The affected skin eventually dies and peels off. It's more likely to happen in the first 8 weeks of starting lamotrigine, or when the dose is increased too quickly. It can also happen if lamotrigine is stopped suddenly for a few days and then restarted at the same dose as before, without reducing the dose and then increasing it slowly again.
To help prevent the chance of you getting a rash that could be confused with Stevens-Johnson syndrome, it's best to not start any new medicines, foods or products during the first 3 months of treatment with lamotrigine.
It's also best to not start lamotrigine within 2 weeks of a viral infection, vaccination or rash caused by something else. These common side effects may happen in more than 1 in people.
They're usually mild and go away by themselves. Keep taking the medicine, but talk to your doctor if these side effects bother you or do not go away:.
In rare cases, it's possible to have a serious allergic reaction anaphylaxis to lamotrigine. These are not all the side effects of lamotrigine. For a full list, see the leaflet inside your medicines packet. There's no firm evidence that lamotrigine is harmful to an unborn baby. But for safety, your doctor will only advise you to take it in pregnancy if the benefits of the medicine outweigh the risks.
If you become pregnant while taking lamotrigine, tell your doctor or nurse straight away. Do not stop taking it without talking to your doctor first. If you have epilepsy, it's very important that it's treated during pregnancy as seizures can harm you and your unborn baby. If you're pregnant, or trying to get pregnant, and taking lamotrigine, you're recommended to take a higher dose of folic acid, a vitamin that helps your baby grow normally. Your doctor might prescribe a high dose of 5mg a day while you're trying to get pregnant and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
If your doctor or health visitor says your baby is healthy, lamotrigine can be taken while you're breastfeeding. It's important to keep taking lamotrigine to keep you well. Do not stop taking it without talking to your doctor. Breastfeeding will also benefit both you and your baby. If you notice your baby is not feeding as well as usual, seems unusually sleepy, or you have any other concerns about them, talk to your pharmacist, health visitor or doctor as soon as possible.
For more information about how lamotrigine can affect you and your baby during pregnancy, read this leaflet on the Best Use of Medicines in Pregnancy BUMPs website. Some medicines and lamotrigine interfere with each other and increase the chances of side effects. Your doctor may need to change your dose of lamotrigine. There might be a problem taking some herbal remedies and supplements alongside lamotrigine, especially ones that can cause rashes, sleepiness or shaking and tremors.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal medicines, vitamins or supplements. For epilepsy — brain cells normally "talk" to each other using electrical signals and chemicals. Seizures can happen when the brain cells are not working properly or working faster than normal.
Lamotrigine slows down these electrical signals to stop seizures. For bipolar disorder — we do not really know how lamotrigine prevents low mood in people. It might work in a similar way to epilepsy. Sometimes it's called a mood stabiliser, as it reduces mood swings. It usually takes around 6 weeks for lamotrigine to work properly. This is because the dose needs to be increased slowly to prevent side effects.
But there are some side effects that might happen over a long time. Long-term treatment with lamotrigine can cause osteoporosis and osteopenia , increasing your risk of breaking a bone. If you're taking lamotrigine for epilepsy, stopping it suddenly can cause seizures. Coming off lamotrigine should be done very slowly and might take a few months. If you're taking lamotrigine for bipolar disorder, it's usually safe to stop taking it without having to reduce your dose first.
If you get a serious side effect, such as a severe skin rash, your doctor may tell you to stop taking lamotrigine straight away, even if you have epilepsy. If you're switching medicines, it's very important to do it exactly as your doctor tells you to. If you want to switch, you'll usually start taking the new one at a low dose and slowly build up the dose while you're still taking lamotrigine.
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