HeadMeds gives young people in the United Kingdom general information about medication. HeadMeds does not give you medical advice. Please talk to your Doctor or anyone else who is supporting you about your own situation because everyone is different. Please read more important details about our site.

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Lamotrigine

Return to Lamotrigine overview
  1. Use and Action
  2. Warnings and side effects
  3. Sex, drink, weight and everything else

You can drink alcohol while taking lamotrigine

  • If you drink alcohol, you can continue to drink alcohol while taking lamotrigine.

Do not drive a car or ride a bike just after you start taking lamotrigine

  • Taking lamotrigine may make you feel dizzy, and may affect your eyesight (possibly blurred or double vision), when you start taking it.
  • This could affect you if you drive a car, ride a bike, or do anything else that needs a lot of focus. It might be best to stop doing these things for the first few days, until you know how it affects you.
  • Do not worry - most people do these things as normal while taking lamotrigine.

Try not to take lamotrigine for the first time just before your exams

  • You might have sleep problems (feel tired or have difficulty getting to sleep), and some blurred eyesight or double vision when you start taking lamotrigine.
  • You should talk to your doctor about any future exams if you are starting lamotrigine.
  • You might decide together to delay starting it until you have done them.
  • If they are more than a month away, however, you might find that it is better to start lamotrigine to improve your motivation to study.
  • Do not worry - most people do all these things as normal while taking lamotrigine.

Lamotrigine is not a banned substance in sport

  • Lamotrigine is not a banned substance in sport.
  • It could, however, make you feel dizzy and give you blurred or double vision when you start taking it.
  • It might be better to delay any sport that needs a lot of focus until you know how it affects you.
  • Do not worry - most people do all these things as normal while taking lamotrigine.

Lamotrigine may affect your sleep

  • Lamotrigine may make you feel very drowsy or sleepy when you start taking it.
  • It may also make it difficult for you to get to sleep.
  • If these symptoms carry on for a long time, or if this is difficult for you, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about other medicines you could take.

Let your family and friends know you are taking lamotrigine so they can support you and help you look out for side effects

  • The side-effects of lamotrigine might put a strain on your friendships and relationships, especially in the first few days of taking it.
  • You might feel irritable, aggressive or anxious.
  • These side-effects should get better after a few days.
  • You should then be getting the good effects of lamotrigine, and that should improve your relationships in itself.
  • It might actually be a great idea to choose a good friend to tell about your medicine when you start taking it. (Or - even better - to take one with you to the doctor before you start taking it!)
  • They could look at the medicine leaflet, or at this website.
  • They could help you to understand whether the medicine changes your behaviour, or gives you side-effects (sometimes it is hard for us to see it ourselves).

No effects of lamotrigine on fertility have been seen in animal studies

  • There have been some animal studies of the effects of lamotrigine on fertility.
  • There have been no effects seen in these studies.

You need good contraception when you are taking lamotrigine. Do not take lamotrigine if you are trying to get pregnant. Lamotrigine can cause symptoms in developing babies

You should use good contraception when you are taking lamotrigine.

  • There have been reports of some effects on developing babies whose mothers took lamotrigine during pregnancy.
  • If you do become pregnant while you are on lamotrigine, you should carry on taking the medicine and go back to your doctor as soon as possible, to see if you should change or stop your medicine.
  • The hormone changes in pregnancy can affect the level of lamotrigine in your body, so it your dose be changed if you carry on.
  • The doctor might also give you extra folic acid to take, to prevent problems.

Breastfeeding may also cause symptoms in the baby

If you agree - with your doctor - to carry on taking lamotrigine, you should tell your midwife that you are taking it before you give birth.

  • Lamotrigine can be passed to the baby in breastmilk, and side-effects have been seen in breastfed babies.
  • Talk to your midwife or doctor about the benefits and risks of breastfeeding while taking lamotrigine.

References

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