1. Is Lamotrigine an antipsychotic?
No, Lamotrigine is a mood stabilizer. However, antipsychotics can be taken in combination with mood stabilizers to reduce manic episodes in conditions like bipolar disorder until the mood-stabilizing drug takes its full effect in the body. Certain antipsychotic drugs can mimic mood stabilizers and stabilize mood on their own.
2. Is it better to take Lamotrigine at night?
Usually, Lamotrigine is taken twice a day. It can be taken with or without food. If it is consumed twice a day, it is advisable to space out the dose throughout the day. For example, as soon as the person wakes up and then in the evening.
3. Is Lamotrigine an antidepressant?
No, Lamotrigine is not considered an antidepressant. However, it is used as a mood stabilizer and is used in mental health conditions like bipolar disorder to control extreme mood swings. It is a stimulant or sedative. It is more useful in the depressive phase of bipolar disorder.
4. Can Lamotrigine cause Mania?
Lamotrigine is a mood stabilizer and has been reported to cause mania. It is also known to cause hypomania. Mania or manic episodes are very common symptoms of bipolar disorder. This happens because Lamotrigine can decrease glutamate release in the body eventually resulting in episodes of acute mania.
5. Can Lamotrigine cause seizures?
Lamotrigine is an anticonvulsant medication used to treat seizures. It takes up to 6 weeks for the drug to work. A person might still have seizures during this time. In this case, the use of Lamotrigine should not be stopped without consulting a doctor. Contact our medical experts to know more.
6. How long does it take for Lamotrigine to work?
After administration, it takes about 2-4 hours for Lamotrigine to reach its peak levels of effectiveness. The effects last for about 24 hours. It takes up to 6 weeks for Lamotrigine to work for the prescribed condition. To know more about the effects of this medicine, contact our experts.
7. Is Lamotrigine safe for pregnancy?
Yes, Lamotrigine is safe for pregnancy. It is one of the safest medications for the fetus. It does not lead to any fetal abnormalities or postpartum complications and no extra monitoring of the baby is required. It is considered the first choice for women with bipolar disorder during pregnancy.
8. Can Lamotrigine be taken with fluvoxamine?
No, Lamotrigine should not be taken with fluvoxamine as these two drugs interact with each other. Fluvoxamine can lead to seizures in some patients, which reduces the effectiveness of Lamotrigine. Treatment with Fluvoxamine can cause low levels of sodium in the blood. Lamotrigine can increase this risk when taken with Fluvoxamine.
9. What does Lamotrigine do to the brain?
Lamotrigine binds to neurons and prevents the opening of a sodium channel in the brain. This results in the suppression of glutamate release in the body. These two actions decrease nerve signaling in the brain and reduce the frequency and severity of seizures. The full mechanism of action is not yet fully understood.
10. How does Lamotrigine make you feel?
Lamotrigine can make a person feel drowsy or sleepy when a person starts taking it. It calms the patient's mood swings as it lifts the depressive phase of bipolar disorder. Sometimes, it can make it difficult for a person to fall asleep. Contact our medical experts to know more about these effects.
11. Does Lamotrigine affect memory?
Lamotrigine has a good cognitive profile. It does not cause a lot of memory-related side effects. In some cases, it leads to difficulty reading words. A very rare side effect of taking Lamotrigine could be memory loss. In older patients, mood stabilizers cause memory loss and careful monitoring is required.
