Lamictal vs Depakote - hair loss

[LifeisGood342]

Hi

Can anyone tell me whether Lamictal has a lower incidence of hair loss than Depakote?

I was on Depakote a few years ago, and it worked well, but my hair thinned significantly, to the point where my scalp was visible. I have long hair, which has only just become all one length again.

I'm taking Lithium at the moment, which works  well for the mania, but is not as good as Depakote for calming my brain in general, and it has significantly impaired my cognitive ability.

So, I am considering Lamictal, either as a mono therapy, or combined with Lithium.

I would be particularly interested to hear from people who have experienced hair loss on Depakote, but been fine on Lamictal.  Hoping there are such people out there!

Thank you for reading.

[Crystal413]

I actually looked up all of the drugs in all of the different classes and there were a ton. After reading each one, I catorgized, in each class, which ones I would be willing to try and which ones were out of the question.  Weight was the first on my list of side effects. There was no way I was going to willing gain weight. If it said weight gain, it was out. It may have made my choices slim but that was important to me. Then, you have your list, you are informed and you can work with your dr according to your list. With your list at hand, your dr can tell you which one to match up with Lamictal. Like I said before, everyone's chemistry is different. It is impossible to go by what other people take. What works for one may not work for another. A med producing side effects for one may not produce the same side effects for another. Hope this helps, Crystal

[jstyle76]

hi there i was a 6 ft 2 tall and athletically lean dude until depakote was added to lamictal...since then(9 months) i have put on 35 lbs!!!! TThe fact is that i will not take anything that causes such a damaging side effect.  My hair is a little thinner also....so....i need some advice on what class of drug or specific drug will not cause such glaringly and embarrasing physica side effeccts to modify my moods without feeling space out...lithium created awful side effects and the anti psychotics cause me to walk around like some wild animal that has rabies!!  No joke,,,so,,,,what would complement my lamictal without awful side effects like substantial weight gain and thinning hair?  HELP ME!!!!!

[babybonita]

I've usually always take a mood stabilizer, ie. Lamictal & a anti psychotic, ie. Seroquel. I take them in combination or ill be extremely manic. I've tried depakote & the only issue was weight gain & slight hair loss. I haven't noticed many side effects w/ lamictal. I think combining lamictal w/ lithium is a good decision.

[LifeisGood342]

Hi, thank you for your reply.

I agree, there aren't really any negative reports about Lamictal, apart from the small risk of getting the rash.  It seems like it would be worth a try as an alternative to Lithium!

From doing some further research, it seems only 1% of people experience hair-loss with it, as opposed to 24% with Depakote. So I'm a little less worried about that now.

Just have to convince my pdoc now! You are right that in the UK, the pdocs stick to the drugs that are specifically indicated for bipolar, like Depakote, Lithium, and antpsychotics.

Hopefully I can convince him to let me try it.

Thanks again for your reply! :-)

[adel_ezz]

Hi

I felt obliged to answer you as I found your post unanswered. My answer to you is NOT based upon experience as i haven't tried either but rather upon readings.

As for depakote , it has 3 major drawbacks
1. serious weight gain
2. hair loss
3. produces ovarian cysts not good for young females

As for lamictal, I never read bad things except a rumor sometime ago about possibility of getting Meningoencephalitis or rather meningoencephalomyelitis but apparently it wasn't proceed as perhaps lack orf real proof or sound evidence. Lamictal usually doesn't give weight gain also has the good advantage that it has antidepressant effect not found in any other mood stabilizer. Usually in the USA pdocs write it though some now revert to lithium as effective but has serious drawbacks. In England pdocs mostly - as they are classic - write either lithium, depakote or tegretol (the last one as interactivity with other drugs so preferring trileptal but much weaker). I assume the last 3 meds are going to last for long. Lamictal has one % possibility of serious rash but reported 1 in 10000 or 1 in 100000 pts so don't worry this is why SHOULD be tritrated very slowly
good luck