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What Causes Headaches After Taking Lamotrigine?
Question: I was given lamotrigine five days ago by a neurologist whom actually I was seeing for headaches and who set me up for a head MRI. When she saw depression on my medical record and that I had just come off sertaline after 6+ months of chronic diarrhea, she gave me a scrip for lamotrigine for, she said, depression. I thought it was rather odd when I read up about it and took only 1 pill that night and one the following morning. And quickly felt weird, crying, woke up in the wee hours feeling awful and frightened without knowing why. No more of this stuff! Yet it's been five days since those two pills and my head still hurts miserably, I still sob hours a day! My head has kept spinning, I ache all over, wake up in night suddenly scared. Tried to go about my regular day today but couldn't even walk the puppy or read. Is there an antidote for lamotrigine?
Brief Answer:
No antidote exists or is needed
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern regarding Lamotrigine side effects.
However I must disagree with you in blaming Lamotrigine for your situation. The symptoms you describe seem to be in the setting of anxiety. That is not a common side effect of Lamotrigine, generally it has the opposite effect which is why the neurologist has prescribed it.
Of course any drug acting on central nervous system can have unexpected side effects, but even if that was the case on that first day that can't be still happening after 5 days. Lamotrigine by now is out of your system. It's half life is about 25 hours, so after a couple of days at most it should be completely eliminated, there is no need for an antidote (there is no such antidote by the way). I also wonder what dosage you were started with, generally it is started by tiny doses increasing gradually, so on that first day you should have been under a low dose with little effect and quick elimination.
I think that it is much more likely that anxiety is in the setting of the interruption of sertraline which may be associated with anxiety as an withdrawal manifestation and the worry you experienced upon starting a new medication further exacerbated the issue.
Medication like Xanax can help when taken for short periods but when used for long it creates tolerance, meaning a dose increase is needed to achieve effect, that is why when long term treatment is needed medication like antidepressants are needed. If sertraline produced chronic diarrhea perhaps another antidepressant should be tried.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
No antidote exists or is needed
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern regarding Lamotrigine side effects.
However I must disagree with you in blaming Lamotrigine for your situation. The symptoms you describe seem to be in the setting of anxiety. That is not a common side effect of Lamotrigine, generally it has the opposite effect which is why the neurologist has prescribed it.
Of course any drug acting on central nervous system can have unexpected side effects, but even if that was the case on that first day that can't be still happening after 5 days. Lamotrigine by now is out of your system. It's half life is about 25 hours, so after a couple of days at most it should be completely eliminated, there is no need for an antidote (there is no such antidote by the way). I also wonder what dosage you were started with, generally it is started by tiny doses increasing gradually, so on that first day you should have been under a low dose with little effect and quick elimination.
I think that it is much more likely that anxiety is in the setting of the interruption of sertraline which may be associated with anxiety as an withdrawal manifestation and the worry you experienced upon starting a new medication further exacerbated the issue.
Medication like Xanax can help when taken for short periods but when used for long it creates tolerance, meaning a dose increase is needed to achieve effect, that is why when long term treatment is needed medication like antidepressants are needed. If sertraline produced chronic diarrhea perhaps another antidepressant should be tried.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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