Is Lamictal OK for children?

Lamotrigine is also used to delay mood episodes in adults with bipolar disorder (manic depression). Immediate-release lamotrigine can be used in children as young as 2 years old when it is given as part of a combination of seizure medications.

What is a serious adverse effect of lamotrigine?

Serious side effects of Lamictal you should report to your doctor include: rash, worsening depression or suicidal thoughts, and. flu-like symptoms such as body aches or swollen glands.

What happens if a child takes lamotrigine?

Lamotrigine poisoning can cause seizures, behavioral disturbances, and cardiotoxicity. Seizures generally occur between 20 minutes and three hours after ingestion and have been described as myoclonic, tonic- clonic, and status epilepticus (Table 1).

Can Lamictal cause permanent damage?

To date, there are no known problems associated with long term use of lamotrigine. It is a safe and effective medication when used as directed.

Can Lamictal cause anger?

This medicine may cause some people to be agitated, irritable, or display other abnormal behaviors. It may also cause some people to have suicidal thoughts and tendencies or to become more depressed.

What does Lamictal do to the brain?

Lamictal also binds and weakly inhibits several other signaling receptors in the brain, including those to which dopamine and serotonin normally bind. By inhibiting these receptors, signaling in the brain is “tuned down,” or reduced, which can also decrease seizure activity.

Does Lamictal affect memory?

There appears to be significant improvement in cognitive abilities in PBD patients treated with lamotrigine that is most prominent in the areas of working memory and verbal memory and that occurs along with mood stabilization.

What is considered an overdose of Lamictal?

This review reported single-agent overdoses of lamotrigine with doses of 100–40,000 mg and serum concentrations of 15.5–74.7 mg/l, have been associated with a wide variety of toxic effects on the central nervous and cardiovascular systems, as well as hypersensitivity-like syndrome.

Does Lamictal shorten your life?

Using Drosophila as our model system, we found that lamotrigine decreased mortality and increased lifespan in parallel with a reduction in locomotor activity and a trend towards metabolic rate depression.

Does Lamictal increase depression?

changes in menstrual periods, back pain, sore throat, runny nose, or. sleep problems (insomnia). Serious side effects of Lamictal you should report to your doctor include: rash, worsening depression or suicidal thoughts, and. flu-like symptoms such as body aches or swollen glands.

Does Lamictal cause sore throat?

Sore throat: Sore or irritated throat, medically referred to as “pharyngitis” is documented as a Lamictal side effect. Estimates suggest that pharyngitis occurs in 5% to 14% of Lamictal users. In some cases, pharyngitis may cause itchiness, scratchiness, voice changes, difficulty swallowing, or shortness of breath.

Can Lamictal cause increased appetite?

Appetite changes: You might experience changes in appetite while using Lamictal such that your appetite significantly increases or decreases – compared to baseline. If you experience an increase in appetite, it may be difficult to restrain yourself from consuming excess calories – whereby you might gain weight.

How to take Lamictal?

Do not crush, chew, or break a Lamictal tablet. Swallow it whole. To take the chewable tablet, chew it or swallow it whole with water. You can also put the tablet in a teaspoon of water or diluted juice and allow it to dissolve for about a minute. Swirl it around gently then take it right away.