Benefits and Side Effects
LAMICTAL has been used worldwide in more than 5 million people since it was first approved more than 15 years ago. Like many antiseizure medicines, LAMICTAL helps regulate the electrical activity in the brain that's thought to be responsible for seizures.
LAMICTAL is a prescription medicine that can be used either alone or in combination with other medicines to treat seizures in people 2 years of age or older.
FDA-approved uses for LAMICTAL:
- Partial seizures
- Added on to other antiseizure medicines in people 2 years of age or older.
- As the only treatment in people 16 years of age and older after switching from the most commonly used antiseizure medicines.
- Lennox-Gastaut syndrome
- One of the few antiseizure medicines approved to treat this severe form of epilepsy when added to other antiseizure medicines in both children as young as 2 years of age and adults.
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- Most people who take LAMICTAL tolerate it well. Common side effects with LAMICTAL
include dizziness, headache, blurred or double vision, lack of coordination, sleepiness,
nausea, vomiting, insomnia, and rash. LAMICTAL may cause other side effects not listed here. If you develop any side effects or symptoms you are concerned about or need
more information, call your doctor.
- Although most patients who develop rash while receiving LAMICTAL have mild to
moderate symptoms, some individuals may develop a serious skin reaction that requires
hospitalization. Rarely, deaths have been reported. These serious skin reactions are most
likely to happen within the first 8 weeks of treatment with LAMICTAL. Serious skin
reactions occur more often in children than in adults.
- Rashes may be more likely to occur if you: (1) take LAMICTAL in combination with
valproate [DEPAKENEŽ (valproic acid) or DEPAKOTEŽ (divalproex sodium)], (2) take a
higher starting dose of LAMICTAL than your doctor prescribed, or (3) increase your dose of
LAMICTAL faster than prescribed.
- It is not possible to predict whether a mild rash will develop into a more serious reaction.
Therefore, if you experience a skin rash, hives, fever, swollen lymph glands, painful
sores in the mouth or around the eyes, or swelling of lips or tongue, tell a doctor
immediately, since these symptoms may be the first signs of a serious reaction. A doctor
should evaluate your condition and decide if you should continue taking LAMICTAL.
Keep in mind if your doctor prescribed LAMICTAL
- If seizures get worse, or if you or your child experience new seizure symptoms, tell your epilepsy doctor right away.
- Most people who take LAMICTAL tolerate it well. If you develop any side effects or symptoms you are concerned about or need more information, call your doctor right away.
- It is important to take LAMICTAL exactly as instructed by your doctor.
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