Lamictal

[Malaksharif]

hi everybody,

i read in more than one forum that lamictal cause serious short memory loss, this was totally new to me.i have been on lamictal 200mg for three years

i used to suffer from short memory loss since high school and thought it was due to my depression (as i was diagnosed bach then).....my short memory is getting really worse and i did not think it could be lamictale..........i thought it just getting worse aging (am 29 now)

now i cannot recall very simple vocabullary during speaking, not to mention spelling while writing simple stuff like this post

Have anyone suffered from similar symptoms and using lamictal

[Xila31]

Actually it is by law that they have to list all side effects after a clinical research in the packaging. If they do not list them and then it turns out that they knew about it and did not list them, that is how companies get sued. By listing the side effects it then puts it in the patient's hands to determine if the medication is worth the risks listed. If it is found that even 1 person out of 4,000 or however many had memory loss and they could not attribute it to any other cause, they have to list it as a possible side effect. That is why some of these medications have lists that are so long.

If they know about it and do nothing, then they will get sued and lose law suits. If they did not know and try to rectify it by making a new brand, then they stand a much better chance of not losing everything.

In the end it is our job to be responsible as patients when choosing to take a medication by being aware of all possible side effects. It is also our responsability as patients to report these side effects, or any we may preceive, to our doctors. We have to take the best care of ourselves possible since our illness is chronic.  

[adel_ezz]

I don't want to sound sarcastic or anything of the sort, neither i wish to intrude or interfere in any discussion about lamictal nor am i interested to defend this med.

It only occurs to me, suppose REALLY lamictal causes memory loss, then who tells you to take it, no one imposes it or forces you to take it, it's you who decided and it's you who must bear the consequences. Try something else. If however you think it will help the company to produce a better version of lamictal that is safer as far as the memory loss is concerned then it will be sold under a different brand not lamictal.

one point remains though. The company may fear by bringing this issue up that pts will sue the company in which case in the pamphlet it can mention this memory loss thing. Incidentally if you read the pamphlet/brochure of any med say lithium you will never have the guts to use it. This is why companies mention all sorts of possible and NON-possible side effects to secure itself from complaints.

Perhaps lamictal causes memory loss but all the other drugs if they don't cause memory loss, still they cause something else

[Xila31]

The best thing to do is tell your doctor. When a doctor prescribes a medication they are usually visited by the representatives of the pharmaceutical companies that make those medicines. These companies often make a lot of different medicines, so they can even request a rep for psychiatrics if necessary. (Or if you talk to your psychiatrist it will be easier than say a PCP.) Anyway, your doctor should contact the rep and say that "this patient has complained of memory loss and has reason to believe it is the Lamictal."

For example, recently we had a patient on Byetta (for diabetes) and this patient was getting a rash since starting it. So we contacted the rep. The rep then had to file a report to the clinical people. They then had to follow up with us to see how the patient was doing. Now, they are supposed to do this with any complaint that you give about a medication. Your report might not be what causes them to do research. But if more people do this, the better. For example, a few people died of pacreatitus while taking Byetta, so they are doing a study to see if Byetta causes pancreatitus or if it was caused by the normal risks of it when you already have diabetes.

The Pharmaceutical company that makes Lamictal is GlaxoSmithKline. If your doctor will not help you here is a link to their web site. It appears to be their US web site.
http://www.lamictal.com/

They do have a contact feature.

[opus88]

You have a good memory!!
Yes I am also on gabapentin.(for neuropathy, not as a MS)...have been for approx 5 years where the memory loss and other observations have been within the past year and the lamictal use began approx 18 months ago...since it has been the most recent med added I tend to think it would be more likely the culprit.
I agree lamictal has the least of negative effects and many pro qualities, thats why I decide to continue....the memory problems are not necessarily due to this medication it is only an observation to be aware of.
It is through awareness of others experiences that we learn than make our own decisions, again side effects vary for each of us.
take care, have a good day.

[opus88]

AND EVERYONE with complaints abt a drug side effect.....I'm not sure how to complain to the manufacturer???
although there is one site Malak pointed out to me and you CAN list your side effects on there, I don't know if this info gets anywhere that it should or is it just a place to comment???
the site is
www.medications.com
click on SIDE EFFECTS and read also POST
any other ways Xila?

[adel_ezz]

of course it's only a guess i am not so informed about drugs. i know that lamictal doesn't help in anxiety either but doesn't worsen anxiety too. so you may be right about worsening memory. what about neurontin which you take or any other med. But if the majority of pts assure that under lamictal there is a decrease in concentration and memory then it may be so. but this needs extensive statistical calculations to ascertain such assumption. i am not defending lamictal it's only that the rest of the MS have frightening side effects, so i am pro this drug. besides it's the only FDA approved for bipolarity since lithium as a 1st line MS and especially for BP1 which is tedious. It's also excellent as far rapid cycling and mixed states. one major advantage you don't have to do regular blood tests like lithium or tegretol, etc.. it's also effective contrary to gabapentin which has minor side effects but weaker. The majority of the pts in the USA and Canada are under lamictal so i assumed it's good unless the company has a good marketing policy. But since millions of people are using it i don't think they all suffer from memory loss.

In any case you may be right the med is comparatively recent and it will take time untril they realise the danger of using it if there is one.