Lamotrigine and Nausea: What Users Say (Page 3)

• Ash...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 10, 2023

Lamotrigine for Bipolar Disorder "I was diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder back in 2019. They started me off on Depakote, which helped with my mania, however, it made me gain 12 lbs in one week, even though I barely ate. Then they put me on Lamictal. Lamictal is great for bipolar depression, but it spiraled me into a lot of manic episodes. So they put me on a combination of Lamictal (200-400 mg twice a day) and Abilify (2 mg once a day), which did wonders for almost four years. Now, if I take them, I feel very sick to my stomach, and it makes my mouth and tongue numb. Also, when I went up in dosage on Lamictal, it made my face break out really badly, so I went back down from 800 mg a day to 600 mg. This medicine is great if you don’t want to gain weight and in conjunction with another medication (if your manic episodes flare up like mine did). I’m starting Geodon now. I hope it works and doesn't make me feel sick after a while of being on it."

• hta...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 12, 2014

For Bipolar Disorder "Great medicine, but if I missed a dose, I would feel nauseous. Once I ran out of it and missed 2 doses and got really sick with sweats, nausea, chills, and faintness. Don't ignore a rash. There is more than one type of rash. One type is extremely dangerous. Call MD or if you can't, go to the ER. I did not get a rash, but would have done something about it immediately..."

• hta...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 12, 2014

For Bipolar Disorder "Great medicine, but if I missed a dose, I would feel nauseous. Once I ran out of it and missed 2 doses and got really sick with sweats, nausea, chills, and faintness. Don't ignore a rash. There is more than one type of rash. One type is extremely dangerous. Call MD or if you can't, go to the ER. I did not get a rash, but would have done something about it immediately..."

• Wil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 5, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "Instantly on 25 mg, I was nauseous and puking for weeks, even constantly on anti-nausea meds. I stayed there for a while, then slowly went up 12.5 mg at a time, hoping going even slower would help. It took me 2 months to get to just 75 mg, which is still a low dose. Suicidal thoughts and urges to cut started at that dose. I felt no positive effects. For sure nausea and vomiting, suicidal thoughts, and urges to cut. I also felt itchy all the time and had a low-grade fever, but I had other physical health issues going on at the time, so I’m not sure if those last ones were directly related to the lamotrigine or not. It didn’t work for me, but again, neither have the others I’ve tried."

• Rac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 1, 2016

For Migraine Prevention "Did not alleviate migraines at all, but did manage to both completely counteract my antidepressant and convince my body I was pregnant. Lactation, dysmenorrhea, morning sickness, the whole nine yards. The best thing I can say about it is it helped my intractable hiccups about 5%, which is more than anything else has. All in all, bad experience."

• Kap...
• January 21, 2018

For Borderline Personality Disorder "I've been on this for a few months. I was slowly titrated up to 200 mg taken nightly. It has done nothing but given me a rash, nausea, and just a general icky feeling. I cut my dose back to 100 mg. Still not helping. I'm now supposed to slowly go off in the next month. I don't have a month to deal with horrible withdrawal migraines and nausea. I'm considering going off cold turkey after a couple more days of 50 mg."

• Liz...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 13, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "I went undiagnosed for bipolar disorder II for 20 years. Looking back, I see I was suffering the entire time. Hypomanic episodes and deep depressive slumps controlled my life. I was in shambles and thought I was insane. My psychiatrist suggested this drug because he was afraid other mood stabilizers would be too much for me to handle. I’m small and sensitive to medication (5'2" and 103 lbs). This drug has saved my life. My episodes last only a day or two as opposed to weeks. I spend more time “in between” episodes. It did stop working once I went up to 100 mg, so I upped it to 125 mg after going to the psych ward, and now I feel great. It’s tricky trying to figure out the best dose for you. The only downside is the constant nausea, and I lost so much hair. I am on Periactin 4 mg for appetite and decided to chop off all my hair and rock a pixie cut. I miss my beautiful curly hair, but I love my sanity more. Blessings to you all!"

• Sam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 21, 2022

For Seizure Prevention "Medicine side effects were horrible for me, from major weight gain, nausea, dizziness, loss of coordination, double vision, and sensitivity to light. It was supposed to help me stop having seizures, but it only felt like it was making me have them."

• mis...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 16, 2023

For Borderline Personality Disorder "I suffer from emetophobia and get nausea or vomiting from this medication. If you can, try to get ondansetron or another antiemetic or even Pepto to help. If you can make it from the initial dose of 25 mg to 50 mg, then you are off to a great start. Going from 50 mg to 100 mg was scary for me, and I was going to go to 75 mg instead, so I followed the doctor's orders and took the 100 mg. It caused only dizziness and insomnia. I am about 3-4 weeks on 100 mg and feel pretty good. I still react poorly to triggers, but I have less anxiety overall and can face more things. I've also been cutting out buspirone at the same time, and this time with lamotrigine, I don't have withdrawals as I did previously when I tapered buspirone. I am looking forward to moving up in dose. Again, if you are afraid of the nausea or potential vomiting, try it anyway and see if it works for you because I feel great now."

• Js7...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 22, 2021

For Borderline Personality Disorder "About 4 months ago, started my BPDBorderline Personality Disorder treatment using Lamictal. Got up to 75 mg and have been on that for some time. I have definitely noticed a change in specifically my suicidality and mood swings, which has been a great help in my day-to-day functions and outlook on life. Unfortunately, I am also experiencing some of the side effects, such as spots, drowsiness, and - most intensely/recently - nausea. The nausea has caused me to have a tough time meeting any real nutritional needs during my day, which is especially troublesome for a co-occurring ED, but I am working with it the best I can because, in my mind, the positives are outweighing the negatives. The spots scared me because I thought it was a rash, but ended up just going away. Nausea/loss of appetite has really been the only impactful side effect I’ve had."

• Lil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 26, 2020

For Depression "I've been on this medication for a month or so, and I've had nausea for about 2 weeks straight. I have to take Dramamine just to ride in a car, and I've never been carsick before. I also cry for no reason all the time and barely feel any emotions. I just want the nausea to stop. I can barely eat anything. I'm scared to death of vomiting, so most days I eat the bare minimum to survive and lay in bed all day so I don't disturb my stomach more. Please don't get on this medication. It's awful. If I could rate it a 0/10, I would."

• AJS...
• April 14, 2011

For Bipolar Disorder "I have been on Lamotrigine for 3 months for treatment of Rapid Cycling Bipolar II. I'm currently on 150 mg. This medicine has been amazing. I tried Wellbutrin - which made me full of rage and even violent - and Abilify - which made me excessively more impulsive (gambling, drinking, smoking - all of which I would normally not do). Lamotrigine has been a Godsend. The cycling has slowed to a near halt. I have a few mild down cycles, but they are few and far between and subside quickly. I have been able to concentrate better. It has even had the pleasant side effect of helping to reduce my anxiety. The only negative side effects for me are nausea for the first few days and intense headaches for the first week after increased dosages."

• fem...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 23, 2022

Lamotrigine for Bipolar Disorder "I was on 100 mg of Lamictal a day for the last 3 years, and I felt great, but the depression came back in February, and I am now on 150 mg of Lamictal. But I still feel down and very nauseous. I am wondering if the dose is too high for me at 150 mg and how long should I wait for it to work. I'm on the extra 50 mg 7 weeks now."

• asd...
• June 13, 2014

For Bipolar Disorder "I am diagnosed with bipolar II. I've been taking this for 3 years now. I increased the dosage up to 400 mg at one point and became very dizzy and nauseated. Although, for the majority of the time, I took 150 mg twice a day, the effectiveness is wearing down now. I give this medicine a 7 because it definitely helped stabilize my moods and I became less irritable. I'm discontinuing my use this week to try lithium. I hear great things about lithium and am tired of the inconsistency I've been getting with lamotrigine as of late. (Also, the possibility of developing Stevens-Johnson syndrome is totally not worth it, and long-term use of lamotrigine doesn't make you immune to it, of course!)"

• dat...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 7, 2022

For Seizure Prevention "I take 200 mg twice a day for seizure disorder. Virtually no side effects besides minor headaches and nausea. My seizure threshold is now high enough that I can take seizure-inducing meds like Wellbutrin without an onset of seizures."

• Lun...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 30, 2021

Lamotrigine for Bipolar Disorder "This is the first medication I am taking for bipolar disorder. It has been half a year now, and for me it works when it comes to rapid cycling and extreme depressive episodes. On 200 mg, there were no side effects except some itchiness of the skin, but there never were signs of a rash. Then my psychiatrist put me on 300 mg since my lamotrigine levels were quite low. This was awful: constant nausea with an extreme gag reflex. Back to 200 mg, and everything was fine again. My stomach is still very sensitive, though, and combining Lamictal with other types of medication has been impossible so far. So yes, for me, it works for bipolar disorder, but it is hard to treat my other symptoms like anxiety, heavy dissociation, and low mood in general. But this is probably due to me being very sensitive when it comes to any kind of medication."

• sds...
• August 31, 2009

For Seizure Prevention "Lamotrigine has reduced the severity, migraines, and nausea associated with my partial seizures by 95%. The frequency of my seizures has dropped to once every 30 days, roughly, but the events are still disruptive, but not overly so."

• eur...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 4, 2021

For Bipolar Disorder "I was (unsurprisingly) diagnosed with BPII around 2 years ago. Family history of 'eccentric behavior' on my mother's side, which we have recently realized is a history of BPII. Like a lot of people, I was a bit hesitant to start taking 'head meds' because of how I was raised, but I now regret not swallowing my pride and starting sooner. I currently take 1x 150 mg lamotrigine and 1x 300 mg bupropion XL per day and have never felt more like myself. Little annoyances bother me less, I'm able to care less about what others think of me, and I'm able to identify why I'm feeling a certain way far more consistently. There was a bit of insomnia in the beginning, but I have now settled into a regular routine and almost never get any side effects (besides maybe mild nausea now and then). One of my biggest concerns with starting a mood stabilizer was that I would feel duller in some vague way. Not only do I still feel mentally sharp, my thinking feels less 'noisy.' Overall, a lightweight and effective med."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 5, 2014

Lamotrigine for Bipolar Disorder "Saved my life after trying various antidepressants with no results. Felt dizzy and nauseous the first weeks, but noticed improvements in mood within days."

• qwe...
• August 12, 2011

Lamotrigine for Bipolar Disorder "Gave me really bad headaches, nausea, and an all-over body rash."