Lamotrigine and Side Effects

Recently I've been diagnosed with a bit of Bipolar Disorder. My doctor put me on Lamotrigine, a mood stabilizer normally used to treat epilepsy, seizures. I've experienced a little bit of blurred vision every now and then from it but wonder why I'm having a small trace of vaginal bleeding every once in a while. I'm on Portia as a birth control method and I haven't had my period for a while now. Also, there is no research on whether or not this medication can  affect the effectiveness of my birth control. Why am I bleeding and is there a greater chance of pregnancy from it affecting my bc?

[stellarlunacy]

lamictal has a warning in the side effect booklet about taking with birth control; yes, it can (and usually does) minimize your birth control effectiveness. might wanna talk to your doctor, though.

[looloo141]

If it stops your birth control from working then that will be why you are having some vaginal bleeding, kind of like breakthrough bleeding but the hormone level won't be low enough to cause a full period.
These mood stabilisers are quite potent meds, they must be to stop seizures so I'm not surprised that you're getting blurred vision, it should go away eventually but I think you should consult the doctor as your dose might be too high. Avoid driving!
Hope this helps, welcome to the community, its hard when you've just been diagnosed, feel free to ask questions and share with us, its good to have a place to vent, and comforting to talk to people that understand. I've only used the site for a month and I love it!

[blondie918]

Thanks for your courteous and helpful comments!

[harrisgirlsmommy]

Hi, I recently started Lamictal too and experienced the same thing. Just very light bleeding but then it stopped after about 4 days. My doctor said it may have been break through bleedign. I have the implanon and havn't had a period in months so it through me for a loop too. But i think it is okay now.