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Q: Concerns re. Lamictal
My question does not relate to my bipolar disorder per se, although it is an
ongoing battle to control it, but rather to the problems I have had as a result
of taking lamictal. I have experienced the rash, I have had the skin on
my hands break open and get infected (badly), I've had rash over my entire body
and itching so badly I thought I would lose my mind (am experiencing that now,
as well as rash). I spoke with the lamictal rep in my psychiatrist's office who
denied there had been ANY problems with the drug. I did the research myself, so
I know about this problem and the problem with Stevens-Johnson, which I believe
I have. There are times when my skin peels off. Would love to talk with you
about these problems. I also have been diagnosed with cellulosis and am on
antibiotics now for a breakout of this illness. I never had this condition
before I took the lamictal and my hands broke open. I'm sure that's when I got
the staph in my skin layers.
Dear L --
With all that going on, if the doc’s haven’t instructed you to stop lamotrigine
(Lamictal) then they must have very good reason to think these skin problems are
not being caused by lamotrigine. As you’ve learned, usually when there’s a
suspicion of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, the first move is to stop lamotrigine.
Perhaps they did stop your medication, and what you’re
describing is what happened after that point. If so, then it may be that you’ve
had a very unfortunate experience with this medication (sounds awful), one which
is a known risk we take every time we use it. Estimates of that risk, as you’ve
probably also learned, range from about 1 in every 1,000 people who take it, to
as low as 1 in every 10,000 people who take it. (Big range there; the apparent
rate depends on which data source you use).
In my experience there’s never been any attempt to deny
that this medication causes SJS. So I’m not sure what happened in your doctor’s
office; perhaps they were saying that the medication had never been known to
cause problems like the ones you were experiencing at the time, if there was
some other good explanation for those symptoms.
In any case, if you are not absolutely clear on whether
your doctor thinks you should continue the lamotrigine at this point, then you
should contact her/him and get that straight. Sorry to hear of your experience.
I hope it resolves soon, and completely.
Dr. Phelps
Published November, 2009
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