side effects

lamictal, "painful rash on her body. When she went to the hospital, the doctors diagnosed her with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)...scariest part is that it burned me from the inside out – so all the burns on the outside were because my insides were so burned that it started to manifest on the outside of my skin. The rash had started to take over my body. It was like my arm had been cooked...blisters pop up in my eyes." https://www.financialexpress.com/healthcare/pharma-healthcare/woman-gets-burned-from-the-inside-after-taking-depression-medicine-know-all-about-this-bizarre-side-effect/3480746/
“The side effects were overwhelming...Beyond weight gain...paroxetine, fluoxetine, and fluvoxamine can cause irreversible damage to the kidney, while atypical antidepressants such as nefazodone, trazodone, duloxetine, bupropion, and sertraline may harm the liver. These medications have also proved to be fatal." https://www.nationthailand.com/health-wellness/40037855

psychologists

"Commentary: Letting psychologists prescribe meds is not the way to expand mental health services...Enhancing access to psychotherapy and other psychological services would better address mental health needs than letting psychologists prescribe...New York has many prescribers already: 4,090 psychiatrists, 58,680 non-psychiatric physicians, 20,150 nurse practitioners and other APRNs, and 14,790 physician assistants. All 97,710 of them can prescribe...Serious consequences can result from prescribing errors and medication side effects." https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/letting-psychologists-prescribe-wrong-approach-19442129.php

TV

X-Men '97 season 1 episode 9 "Not a lunatic. Merely a man trying to survive in a world that has proven his worst fears true." https://youtu.be/mp1Pax-QHlA

seizures

deadly "magnetic seizure therapy" requires "general anesthesia."

forensic

"in the criminal justice system across the state, essentially bringing Assisted Outpatient Treatment-type services that exist in Albuquerque to the rest of New Mexico." July it will become texas-ico. https://www.yahoo.com/news/mexico-considering-system-dealing-mentally-210816801.html

check your sources

"journalistic malpractice to not term STARD findings as—at the very least—controversial. Even psychiatrists within establishment psychiatry are questioning STARD’s validity, with some psychiatrists demanding its retraction. Other researchers have called STAR*D scientific misconduct, and one investigative journalist has termed it as fraud." https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/05/08/new-york-times-sinks-to-new-low-in-its-psychiatric-drug-coverage/

overcrowding

Kyrgyzstan "National Center for the Prevention of Torture visits Republican Center for Psychiatry and Narcology." https://m.akipress.com/news:772609:National_Center_for_the_Prevention_of_Torture_visits_Republican_Center_for_Psychiatry_and_Narcology/

whistleblowing

"Why whistleblowers in medicine are so few and justice for the harmed so elusive." https://archive.is/NrNcz

Islamophobia, racism

"Minority Fellowship Program – $15.4 million – This program aims to reduce health disparities and improve behavioral health care outcomes for racial and ethnic populations. The program also seeks to train and better prepare behavioral health practitioners to more effectively treat and serve people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds." https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/05/08/biden-harris-administration-announces-46-8-million-behavioral-health-funding-opportunities-advance-president-bidens-unity-agenda-may-mental-health-awareness-month.html Muslims never believed in mental intoxicants.

guardianship

"Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) today joined Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, in introducing the Alternatives to Guardianship Education Act to improve the awareness of" supported decision making. https://scanlon.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=658

33F, 43 kg, 165 cm, currently on lamictal, duration of the rash 5 months
I've been on lamictal for almost 5 years. Never had skin problems on it until November, when suddenly, in the space of a single day, I got blisters all over my legs. They were terribly itching and painful, a pair of them even surrounded by bruises. I thought I had been bitten by some kind of insect and let it take its course, but the rash took two weeks or maybe longer to finally start to subside.
It started again after a month, this time spreading from my legs to my torso and my back, then my arms and hands too. I then decided to see a dermatologist, who said that I was getting an infection from it. They weren't sure about the cause, but agreed it could be just a hypersensitivity reaction to even common insects bites and talked about papular orticaria. They asked me if I took meds and I mentioned the lamictal, but they didn't know it and I didn't think about asking if it could be it, the tought never crossed my mind.
It's worth noting, I guess, that I never had any bad reaction from being bitten by insects. I tought it had to be something I never got in touch with before, so I went to the extent of calling a pest control company. They said there was no relevant sign of insects in my house, let alone pest.
The rash was still there, still untolerable, itching, burning and hurting night and day. Meanwhile I started tapering the lamictal because it wasn't doing anything good for my mood anymore (it's been prescribed to me for depression and mood dysregulation, for awhile it helped to rise me up from depression a little, but then it stopped suddenly). I don't know if it's relevant, but both the rash and the "lamictal failure" happened around the same time, which is something I never tought about until now.
I eventually came off of lamictal and, I don't know if it's just coincidence, the rash disappeared too (I was also bitten by lots of mosquitoes one day and had no reaction at all). My depression on the other hand got worse, so my new psychiatrist told me to give lamictal another try. I'm now on it again since two weeks and yesterday I noticed three new little blisters on one ankle.They're nothing like what I had months ago, they barely itch, they're neither swollen nor red, but they look entirely similar to the blisters I had before (very small, with a protruding relief in the middle), just not sore/inflamed.
I'm really torn at this point. I don't want to give up on lamictal so soon, since the rapid up and down has already affected my mood a lot. It's not working yet, I don't feel any better, but I'd like to get to a therapeutic dosage before deciding it's not for me anymore.
Sadly I no longer have pictures of the rash (my legs are covered in scars though) and the three current blisters are so small they don't even show in picture.
On the understanding that I'll also talk to my psychiatrist and make another visit to the dermatologist, my only question is, is it possible to get a rash from lamictal after many years of taking it at the same dosage? It doesn't sound likely to me and I'm prone to think it's just coincidence, that my rash is caused by something else, but admittedly it puzzles me a little that lamictal worked well for me until November, which is when the rash just as suddenly appeared.

46y, white female 5’5” 150lb Meds - Lamictal and Ativan Zyrtec and cortisone both yesterday Occasional drinker - had two glasses of red wine Thursday night Midwest US Not using anything new No allergies Don’t remember touching anything
Hllo, I have this small skin rash on my forehead. For the past two days, evident on Sunday. I don’t know how to describe the feeling. At first it felt like I was going to get a pimple, like a teeny sharp pain when I rubbed the spot, as if I pulled a single tiny hair out. A day later I had a line of teeny dots, sort of itchy but def annoying. Yesterday I started seeing the little spots, like pimples or blisters and the area was bigger. Used Cortisone yesterday evening and before bed. Took Zyrtec at dinner as well. This morning I can feel the area without feeling for it, if that makes sense. And it’s more pronounced but I can’t really tell if it’s spreading or just getting less inflamed and the bumps are more obvious. Any ideas? I don’t think I’ve touched anything or used any new products. First pic is from just now, second is yesterday.
https://imgur.com/a/qaNYgdL
https://imgur.com/a/W00pWxj

Hi, so I somewhat recently started a job at a fast food place and we have to wear gloves when handling food, which is all the time. So I'm wearing plastic gloves almost nonstop for like 6 hours at a tine with short breaks when I take them off if I'm cleaning. I change them about every 20-60 min, but the sweat still builds up and creates a humid environment in the gloves. And after about a week of me working there, I've noticed these patches of skin that look like blisters but aren't? They don't hurt or puff up, and instead of blister liquid (idk the correct term), it's just a small layer of air i guess? So sometimes I get small patches (maybe like .5 inch by .5 inch) where the top layer of skin has just become detached from the bottom layer of skin. This has only caused one real problem- a blister thing on my knuckle that I tore started to bleed a bit. I peeled it last week (I know, wrong thing to do, but the loose skin bugs me), and the remaining scab hasn't reduced in size at all. And the other weird blister spots are mostly on my fingers, and don't bleed or hurt at all, but the skin that remains under the peeled-off layer of skin is more sensitive to heat, which isn't a huge issue, but it's still annoying.
I've tried googling this, and I can't find anything that matches my situation. I don't have any pictures of these blister things, but when I see one before i peel it/before it gets ripped from any friction, it looks like a patch of skin a bit lighter than normal, and about .5 inch by .5 inch. I have no allergies or skin conditions, my hands are never especially dry, and the gloves are latex-free. None of my coworkers have had this happen to them.
So basically what I want to know is 1. what are these??, 2. do they come from a lot of plastic glove use?, and 3. is there anything I can do to prevent these?
mandatory "detailed information" as per sub rules: 19 afab, no skin conditions or family history of skin conditions, and I take wellbutrin and lamictal for mental health issues

Hey everyone,
I’m relatively new here but have an interesting story. This post is tagged with “need support” but I would like it to also be very much an opportunity for others to learn and find solace in their experiences.
In 2012, at 20 years old, I experienced rapid onset of the most debilitating feeling I have ever known. It started as hypochondriasis (I had a blister from basketball get a blood infection which my lymph nodes isolated. They felt weird and, as I was studying medicine, I thought too much about them being cancer). This line of logic became inescapable over the duration of two weeks. During my return home over the holiday season, I experienced the first of what could be described as severe panic episodes. This train wrecked me for the next 8 months.
I can remember lying in my bed during those days and hoping and praying that it would be like the flu. That I would just wake up one day and things would feel different, but better. I had quit eating, I went from about 170lbs of the best shape I could possibly be in, healthily, to 80lbs. I was 20 years old and before I regained weight I could fit into size 14 boys jeans in all but length.
Around the 6 months mark, I pondered life and experience long enough to recognize that I no longer recalled what it felt like to feel “normal”. It was at this moment I experienced the most freeing and debilitating paradigm shift. Despite fears of my physical health being poor due to the somatic repercussion of panic, I had all but conquered it and could push past the thoughts. However, with recognizing my win over this aspect of thinking, I also inadvertently created a vulnerability. I failed to guard my flank against the fear of psychosis.
At the 7 month mark I was so haunted by my experiences and fear that I checked myself into a hospital to analyze what psychosis looked like in others. My secondary intent was to get the help I needed. I was institutionalized for around a month by my election (I was always 00 code meaning I could pretty much do what I wanted) during this time I would received the diagnosis of GAD.
The major symptoms calmed down, I was able to regain some semblance of poise and move forward. I had been prescribed anti-depressants and trazadone for sleep. Nearly 3 years went by without much thought of what had occurred until I ended up in jail 2 or 3 times (it’s hard to remember). I would later talk to my doctor about stopping the medications as I thought I was okay, this led to another episode similar to the first. I was diagnosed as, and rather fittingly, with Bipolar 2. A month after my re-ignition of the most painful of symptoms I, again, prevailed.
Naturally I was placed on a variety of psychotropics following these occurrences. I was so terrified of falling into psychosis that I pushed to stay on Seroquel despite the extremely negative impacts on health it was causing. Despite all of this, somehow o managed to adjust my degree from ophthalmology to clinical mental health counseling and psychology and achieve my masters. I got married. I found friendships that forged memories and bonds that I will never be able to express how thankful I am for them.
3 years went by and I recognized the toll seroquel was having on my life and decided to work with my family, friends, wife and doctors to discontinue it. I was terrified but it worked. I can remember driving home from work one night and hearing the crickets and how it felt emotionally. How I had missed out on so much due to fear. How, now that I could feel again, I would take back my life and fight for the improvement of the treatment of mental health. Unfortunately this hope convinced me to speak with my doctor about attempting to try to be medication free. He seemed genuinely supportive and remained a constant factor in my experience. I made it 6 months before I crashed again. This time for a week. I was devastated, but got back up and continued on.
Today marks four years since that moment. I had been placed on Lamictal, Effexor and Klonopin (PRN). I took them religiously, avoided all substances, began my doctorate and continued to be an avid supporter of my clients and a vocal contributor to mental health communities.
4 months ago I moved to a new state with my wife. I had to get a new psych in this process. I was feeling lower than normal (bipolar 2 is characterized by nearly consistent depression). I began to recognize that Effexor had probably ran its course for usefulness and my psych agreed. It’s been a month since then and around 3 medication shifts and it’s been absolute hell.
I feel more isolated than ever before. I have such terrible dissociation that it causes back to back panic attacks about falling into psychosis. My wife has shown a bit less supportiveness this time around due to the increased stress. All in all, even with a nearly complete doctorate in behavioral health and 6 years of counseling experience, I am at a loss.
My hope here is that, for those in the early stages, you can learn from my experiences and hubris. For myself, I am hoping to find some sort of message that resonates or stories to help me feel less alone in my experiences. I hate that it feels like I’m trapped here for eternity. Despite logic and evidence of previous success, this monster, in its worst form, has not become easier to manage.
I wish you all a peaceful evening.

42/f 5’8” 240lbs Non drinker non smoker Current meds: AM meds Lexapro Lamictal Adderal XR Berberine Fexofinidine PM meds Lamictal Birth control Clonidine D3 + k2 L lysine Hydroxyzine (starting tomorrow night) Acyclovir (starting tomorrow)
Once weekly trulicity
Mid January I started having pustules on my scalp that itched something fierce. They were constantly leaking and itchy. They would scab over and be back the next day. I also was breaking out in itchy rashes on my elbows and hands. I went to my PCP the first of February and she put me on a dose of antibiotics and a round of steroids plus ketoconazole shampoo. At the end of the 10 days I was getting some relief but within days of finishing the medications it was back raging and the scalp was worse. My pcp then called in a topical clobetasol (sp) for the scalp and hydrocortisone cream for the arms. She referred me to a dermatologist and they did a biopsy on the arm and scalp. My scalp was bothering me so bad that I shaved my head. It would hurt for my hair to move, be brushed, wear a ponytail. The main area of irritation was across the back side of my scalp but a few random blister like places pop up at random on my scalp. The biopsy was very vague and the derm is now trying the valcylovir and hydroxyzine and I go back in 3 weeks. I AM MISERABLE. I want to rip my skin off. My scalp has gotten better but still no where near clear. My arms, hands and elbows flare up daily. Nothing has changed, no new lotions, body wash, detergent, etc. not sure if it’s worth noting but I had covid the week before Christmas. Attached are the pictures from current to oldest. My hands swell when I have blisters pop up. My pcp did run labs for lupus and rheumatoid and they all came back clear. I have really bad arthritis so we wanted to rule out that possibility. I need relief. I’ve also recently gained unexplained weight in the last 4-6 months. And just as I was posting this my bottom lip started itching and is puffy so I am taking a dose of benedryl before bed.
https://imgur.com/a/BBQIg5m

I was on Gabapentin for almost 5 years when suddenly it stopped working and instead of chilling me out at night so I could sleep, it was making me have hypomanic episodes. My therapist suggested Lamictal and I had read so many good things here about it so I made the switch and was excited. Everything was going fine during my titration period until I hit 100mg.
Suddenly I noticed that my hands, feet and sometimes even my lips would be swollen or feel tight in the morning. Then a knot showed up on the lymph node in my neck. I've had swollen glands before due to illness but never a knot. Additionally I had a rash pop on my legs and of course that awful dry throat. So I called the Nurse Line and told them what was going on, she said it didn't seem like an Emergency but to go to an Urgent Care clinic just to be sure. My provider network doesn't have a Clinic so I had to use a different hospital and LEMME TELL YOU - I was not impressed.
First of all, the PA felt my neck and then told me that I have "acne" and that was what's causing the knot on my lymph node. For starters - I do not have acne. I do however have large pores and use a shit ton of hair products so yeah - the pores get a little clogged, but its not pimples (like an infection) and I've been dealing with these large pores my whole life and have never gotten a knot on my lymph node due to it. I used to see an esthetician, but that didn't really help so whatever.
Then - I showed her the rash on my legs and she said they were just ingrown hairs. I wish I could show you this rash. It is NOT ingrown hairs!!! Its all over my legs!!! In spots where there is no hair and also you can feel a damn ingrown hair. These are flat and larger than a hair follicle. But at this point this lady wasn't listening to me at all so I just gave up. I told her I would go back down to 75mg of the Lamictal, she said that was probably fine, gave me an antibiotic and I went on my way.
I noticed the next morning (yesterday) after going back down to 75mg the swelling in my hands, feet and lips didn't happen. It also felt like the knot was gone too (could have been the antibiotic) but suddenly there was now a blister in my mouth. Additionally the rash was still on my legs, possibly getting worse. I tried to just ignore it because I assumed my psychiatrist would call me this the morning, but she didn't. So about 2 hours ago when I hadn't heard from my psychiatrist I called the nurse line again and now they want me to go to the ER.
I am just so pissed off. I'm annoyed that my psychiatrist didn't call me. I'm annoyed that the PA didn't listen to me and most importantly I'm annoyed that this medication isn't going to work for me (at least that's what I assume). I feel so failed by fellow women doctors who I would expect wouldn't treat another women the same way most doctors who are men do. Wasted money going to Urgent Care and now I have to go to the ER on top of that on a busy Monday evening after work.
I'm just screaming into the void right now (its also PMS time) but I guess I just expect better in 2024.
Thanks for reading (Edited for Typos)

I have Lamictal here in Switzerland and I have a lot of medicines I need to use for my weekly refills. I know it may sound lazy or annoying, but my fingers legitimately hurt by the time I’m done filling the boxes, all from squishing/popping out the pills from the plastic blister packages one by one. So! Has anyone seen lamotrigine available in a bottle format? I use lamotrigine for seizures, so the fast-activation from dissolvable pills isn’t super important due to the regularity and the dose I take (I have a higher dose due to my “drug metabolism”).
Thanks!

Hello all. I was prescribed Lamictal a few weeks ago. (BPD, MDD, C-PTSD). For the last few days I have titrated up to 50 mg per day. I know that that's not a lot, but we are going slowly, with the goal dosage currently set at 100 mg.
I am I already taking 225 mg of Effexor a day. Trials with Wellbutrin did not go well to help me maintain focus during waking/working hours (aggression/anxiety issues from that med).
The last few days I have had the start of blisters under my bottom lip and on the sides of my cheeks on the interior of my mouth (corresponding from moving upwards from 25 to 50 mg). Have other people had similar experiences, and if so, will it go away? I am not feeling like this is doing anything for me yet, So I guess I'm just trying to ask the forum whether or not I should take the side effect and hope for what it will do for me as a medication.

So I've been on Lamictal (Lamotrigine specifically) for just over six months, up to 150 mg, and it's stabilized me really well compared to how I was prior to it. I am wondering if anyone has experience taking it with birth control however.
Birth control does interact with Lamictal, and can make the effects of it reduce, but doesn't count as titrating down, exactly (I spoke to both my OBGYN and my psychiatrist about it, but neither could give concrete answers.)
I was taking the pill for about three weeks before I developed a rash on my breast, which I immediately went to the ER for. They confirmed it wasn't SJS, but likely something hormonal, eventually evolving into weird blisters that have since begun to heal. The actual issue cropped up a few days later.
I started having withdrawals that I can only compare to those when I've gotten off benzos, but faster and more intense. Tremors, nausea, panic attacks, paranoia, chills, body aches, disorientation - the whole deal. My doctor freaked out, instructed me to stop the birth control, and I stopped. Two days later, I'm back to being fine.
Has anyone successfully managed to be on the pill and taken Lamictal? It's not for contraceptive purposes, but for debilitating cramps, which worsen my fibromyalgia, and therefore make working and existing in general rather painful.
I'll be upping my dose over the next few weeks to 200 mg, but I'm hoping I can at some point get back on the pill. Is anyone taking both things? If so, what brand? I was taking Nikki prior to my little catastrophe. Any advice or experience from others would be greatly appreciated!
TL;DR: Nikki (birth control) and Lamotrigine were disastrous, I'm trying to see if anyone has had better luck combining a contraceptive pill with Lamictal.

I started lamictal a week ago and got the dreaded "rash". My psych had told me to watch for any skin changes but didn't mention any other symptoms.
I'm pretty sure I had a Stevens-Johnson syndrome type reaction: first I had flu like symptoms, then a persistent sore throat that felt unusual along with a stuffy nose. My snot was really thick, and some chunks felt...fleshy. Thursday night, an hour or two after I took my dose I got a burning sensation over a lot of my skin, and a couple spots on my thumb. I was so sleep deprived (bipolar) and it was vague enough that I decided to sleep on it. Later that day my lips peeled (they weren't dry). Went to the ER, they dismissed me saying I had nothing to worry about. I waited a day to make sure it didn't get worse, then took my next dose on Saturday.
Hours later my hands and feet were burning, with a deep red color and some purple areas. I get my ass to the ER, this time a different one. As I'm waiting for admission the rash gets worse, and some little skin spots I can only describe as "loose" show up. Only a few small ones. Mainly though, I'm focusing on the hellish burning sensation.
They take me to an exam room, not a bed, and make me wait for ~1 hour between short visits from the PA who says "yeah this doesn't look like anything bad". Meanwhile I feel like my hands and feet are being slow roasted. I start to feel generally ill, and my face starts feeling warm. After about four hours the actual doc comes in, looks at me for like 5 seconds, and says "you're fine, go home and keep taking your meds". I'm feeling like I've lost my mind at this point.
I just knew something was wrong, deep down, so I managed to get a weekend appointment with my PCP's office. The burning reaction has died down by now, but still she takes one look and tells me absolutely do NOT take the lamictal, stop it and talk to your psychiatrist ASAP. Since it had improved a bit over the day she said I could go home, but watch it closely and if anything changes go to the ER.
Sorry for the rant, I'm just pissed about two ER experiences where they dismissed my concerns entirely.
I trust the last doctor, but it's also a rare condition and it's not her specialty. I'm still anxious that it looking "better" is actually a sign of something worse, e.g. it stopped burning because skin has died and it will start blistering and falling off soon.
I'll add photos in a comment. Does anything look alarming, or can I continue to monitor it at home?
It's tough, I know I may be freaking out over nothing. The nature of mental illness is that I may literally be seeing signs that aren't there. However a non-ER doc confirmed that there's something, she's just not worried. She affirmed that it could be the same underlying reaction as SJS, just way milder.

F/33, 5’9”, 130lbs, no known illness, non-drinker, non-smoker, no drug use, no risky sex. I take Zoloft 100mg, clonazapam .5-1mg as needed. I vape nicotine salts—and have for 4 years.
A month+ ago I was prescribed lamictal for mood stabilization. No reaction to starter dose of 25mg. Doubled dose to 50mg 2 weeks later. Around 3 weeks in began having flu like symptoms (fever, severe ache in all joints, congestion, exhaustion, one sore taking up half my tongue, back pain that I realized was my kidneys.)
I Finally realized it was possibly related to the new med and stopped it. Called Dr. Still took 2 days (and calling a friend for help) to get to urgent care for steroid shot. Also got 6 day (21 pill) methyl-prednisone 4mg pack. Felt pretty normal with steroids (if not like a koolaid man full of steroids) but would feel symptoms return as steroids wore off.
I’m now 5 days without steroids and using ibuprofen. PCP ordered blood work and chest X-ray. Also muscle relaxers that I’m only taking before bed? (Muscles hurt but everything hurts at this point.) Post-steroids, the fevers, joint pain, exhaustion have returned but on and off. I never feel good for long, just getting by. New symptoms—sore on tongue never returned but I’ve now got one directly above my anus. It’s shiny and looks like an exposed blister. I have two angry bumps on the edge of my labia that I really want to believe are ingrowns from shaving.
I’d try to avoid the anal blister but as of yesterday I am having regular bouts of severe diarrhea. Shit myself at the dog park yesterday morning. Really. New low.
The chest X-ray is for pleurism. I can’t take deep breaths or move or cough/ sneeze without uncomfortable pain on my left side under my rib. Sometimes it’s randomly stabby. Starting to feel it a little on right side too.
Overall, I feel like I’m getting a couple more good hours in during the day as long as I then crash out for like 15. Im exhausted. But last week was much worse.
Drinking a lot of liquids—morning pee is caramel colored then light yellow rest of day.
Idk what else to add. I’ve almost gone to the ER 4 times and then seemed to get well enough to not go. Or assured by doctors that it would pass, and I’m alive so they aren’t wrong.
Can someone please help me? Is there anything else that comes to mind? I’ve tested for covid, bloodwork is scheduled tomorrow morning.

I'm writing this for my sister since she is completely out of it from medications and how scared she is and I want some reassurance that she is getting better and not worse.
About a month ago, my sister (early 20's, no history of seizures and no family history of epilepsy afaik) was switching to a new antidepressant (I forgot the name of it). Her doctor did not really taper her off the last medication properly, and to boot my sister wasn't sleeping, or eating enough and still going to work. Long story short, she had a seizure, fell and got hurt pretty bad and had to go the ER. (She is still waiting to see a neurologist)
They put her on depakote XR for a week or two but she noticed it was making her hungry 24/7 so she asked to be put on something else. So they switched her to lamictal 25mg, she took that for about 2 weeks, then I believe the 3rd week she was told to double her dose from 25mg to 50mg. A few days later, She had begun having an on and off fever, a bit of dry cough, and what we thought was basically a cold or something. A few days passed and this progressed into a very mild rash on her face, and slightly swollen lymph nodes, still a light cough and intermittent fever. I told her to report to her doctor that she might be having an allergic reaction but her doctor had gone on vacation. I told her to be more aggressive with them and they eventually forwarded her message to the doctor at which point he said stop taking the medication immediately. For some reason, I guess out of fear of having a seizure, my sister took one 25mg pill before she stopped for good, I guess she assumed if she went back down to the dose she was on prior to symptoms appearing that she'd be fine. She stopped completely after that. I began researching lamictal and learning about Stevens-Johnsons Syndrome. Meanwhile, her face and arms became now visibly quite red (but thankfully not itchy, peeling or blistering) I became very scared understandably and kept emphasizing to her she needed to urgent care or an ER immediately before anything more serious happens. She did not have any blisters, any vision issues, or any of that type of thing at this point thankfully.
She takes a benadryl for the rash earlier that evenibf... but finally she goes to the ER that night as her face is visibly red and slightly swollen. I fear the potential seriousness wasn't revealed because of the benadryl but I digress. I didn't get to go with her so I don't know the exact treatment they gave her there, they told her she may have Stevens-Johnsons syndrome, then she was told if her symptoms became worse she would need to go directly to a burn clinic. However, as her symptoms were quite mild relative to example photos, they told her they had sent worse cases than hers to the burn clinic and they had been denied entry. She was given a prescription of Zyrtec, Prednisone, Banophen (generic benadryl), and Keppra.
That was yesterday. Her rash has greatly improved in terms of color and swelling (to my eyes it looked like it was gone entirely), though she says she has new symptoms today, namely 2 small blisters on her lower lip and itching in her vaginal area. The rash she had on her body and face looks like it's gone (at least in terms of redness) but she showed me she had a bunch of unraised tiny red dots where her rash had been. They're small like flea bites so I don't think they're blisters . She still has a little cough and she had a fever this morning but otherwise has been having less fevers.
I know this probably means she is recovering and just metabolizing what's left of the lamictal out of her system but she is very agitated from the prednisone so I want to calm her down and reassure her she is simply healing. Of course, I have no experience with this so I'm reaching out.
TL;DR Sister had a bad reaction to lamictal 50mg, possibly a mild case of Stevens-Johnsons. Off and on fever, very mild dry cough, chills, rash (without hives/blisters), slightly swollen face. No vision issues and no blisters. Her psych's on vacation but tells her to stop the medication immediately. Out of some fear, she takes one 25mg lamictal and takes an OTC benadryl for the rash, then later that night goes to the ER as the rash has begun to look worse and she's been having some high fevers.
There she's prescribed prednisone, generic benadryl, keppra, and zyrtec. The next day she takes them, then today (the day after) she had a lower fever in the morning but afaik hasn't had any more fever the rest of the day. Her skin is no longer red but she has some tiny unraised red dots where the rashes had been (maybe remnants from the rash she had yesterday?), along with two new symptoms: two quite small blisters on her lower lip, and is complaining of vaginal itching.
I assume this is just the last of the lamictal leaving her system, but I just want to ask to be safe. Should we be concerned?
Thank you.
​

I'm looking for perspectives on a spot on my finger I've had for two weeks. Derm is not my specialty! I'm a 28 F, 5'7, 205 lb, white. I'm in Michigan and have bipolar disorder, on lamictal, prozac, and Flonase for allergies. No history of skin conditions. I'm a nurse who has direct patient contact at work in an OB and postpartum setting.
For context - I work the next three overnight shifts, and won't be able to get into urgent care during business hours. That's why I'm coming here first. I can grab an OTC antifungal cream on my way home from work this morning though.
About two weeks ago I noticed a red spot on my R index finger that was raised and a bit tender. I thought it was a burn from touching the oven door while making pizza a couple days prior. It started getting scaly and peely after using harsh hand sanitizer during two shifts at work (I couldn't keep it protected in the way I usually would). Now when comparing the first picture I took to today, it's gotten quite a bit bigger and isn't fully healing. It isn't itchy, isn't painful necessarily, just burns when I put sanitizer on it. It isn't raised anymore, and isn't as peely but feels scaly to the touch. It never was a typical burn blister and never had any drainage. I only have the one patch on my whole body. I touch patients sometimes without gloves, since they're healthy moms having their babies (as long as there's no possibility of body fluids of course) so I could have picked something up from a pt.
Essentially, what I'd like some thoughts on is: does this look like classic ringworm, or could it be something like a spot of eczema? If I start using an antifungal and use gloves at all times at work, is that safe enough? I know it becomes less contagious after 48 hrs of antifungal treatment.
I'll include the first pic and the recent one. Thanks in advance!

if i have a rash from lamictal, will i have other symptoms? i have had a rash for a couple days that i think it may be from a soap, but i've been worried about it being a lamictal rash. i raised my dose about 6 weeks and havent had any problems. the rash isnt too intense or blistering and i dont have any other side effects, but im paranoid
edit to add: gonna go to a walk in urgent care before work tomorrow + call my neurology office to let them know. i dont go to work until the evening and hope im not advised to go to the ER bc i just started this job and don't want to call off😅 (obviously if that is what im advised to do, i will) thank you all for the responses. im hoping it's not the lamictal because im scared of changing meds, but it's important that i know

So I posted a couple days ago about swollen lymph nodes. It doesn't seem like it's that common of a reaction. So I wanted to make one more post in case someone is searching in the future. I have stopped Lamictal because I got such a bad reaction. To be clear I was taking 25mg of Lamotigine (generic brand Lamictal).
Here's the symptoms: Within a couple days of first starting my lymph nodes started swelling. Lightly at fist but by the end of day three they were so severely swollen it was very painful. I was almost in tears and even rotating my neck was painful. Swallowing was uncomfortable and even my airway felt a tad bit compressed (not enough to obstruct breathing but I could tell my swollen lymph nodes were pushing on my windpipe). I should have gone to he ER tbh. But I had no rash or any of the other crazy symptoms that would have indicated SJS (that I knew of). Just lymph swelling and what I thought was some facial acne/breakout... no body spots or rash.
However, red "zits" were appearing around my nose and forehead. In retrospect.. They may have been rash blisters because I never get acne on my nose the way that I did. Also, they peeled after some healing and that's not normal for acne - at least not for me. So be aware, though Lamictal can cause acne, if you just started taking it or recently changed dosages, it could be rash that just looks like acne. Ask your doctor to be sure.
There were some other weird things. I kept finding my hair on my keyboard... as in strands would just randomly fall out. I found it odd but didn't put two and two together because Lamictal can cause hair loss. I also got the random "bug crawling" under your skin feeling all over my body (mostly legs) on day 3 which was bizarre. And last, dizziness, wooziness and a low-grade headache all three days (my scalp also tingled a lot).
Day 3 I took quite a bit of Benedryl and ibuprofen and went to bed early. Slept about 10 hours and woke up with my lymph nodes doing a lot better, but I was completely and utterly wiped of energy. Felt shaky and weak when I woke up. I still hadn't heard from my doctor but decided I was not going to push it and did not take my dose that AM. Later he finally got back to me and told me to stop immediately (shocking). Two days after stopping, no acne (or blisters?), no swollen lymph nodes, no headache, energy level almost back to normal. : )
So just wanted to throw this out there for anyone searching in the future. Even if it's not quite deadly rash level, there are other severe symptoms that can indicate a serious reaction and probably best to consult a doctor before continuing.
Happy for those that this drug works for pain and symptom free (or tolerable) - because it sounds like it could really help and be awesome! Wishing everyone good health!

I unfortunately started to get the blistering/rash from lamotrigine (lamictal) while on a trip and was advised to stop taking if this happened. I got it towards the 2 week mark. I was on 25 mg. I do plan to call my provider ASAP but wanted to hear other experiences as well. Is the rash ALWAYS serious?
I am bummed because at the end I think I started to feel it and like it :(
ETA: the rash has since gone away! Just wanted to know other’s experiences

tl;dr: Is there any coming back for my voice from chronic acid damage and suspected partial paralysis of a vocal chord?
Hi! I've been suffering from gastroparesis for a while now (over a year confirmed, not certain when it started) which has led to a lot a lot of acid reflux that has really fucked with my voice. It's between scratchy and nonexistant and sounds really stretched out recently. It's worse when I have acid reflux problems. I've tried gargling saltwater a few times a day and gargling alkaline water when I feel acid jump up, which has helped some, but it's not as much improvement as I would like or expect (I've done it in the past with better results). When I first started treatment with PPIs my voice improved tremendously, I was basically talking normally, but I've not gotten back to that point since.
I saw an ENT on the advice of my doctors, as I suspected I might have a vocal node: They did a scope though my nose to look at my throat (I'm not sure what it's called offhand, sorry). My throat was blistered to hell, but there was nothing on my vocal chord. (I could probably grab pictures if needed.) However, my ENT noted that it looked like I had partial paralysis in my right vocal chord. I was referred to a voice specialist, but trying to wrangle them for an appointment has been awful, and it's been a few months since my referral and not having my voice is pretty distressing.
My main concern is whether my voice will ever get better. I know that, if gastroparesis treatment is successful, I will have less acid damage, which will improve my voice; however, this doesn't address the potential partial paralysis. Is there any coming back from this? Was it the acid that caused it? Could something be mistaken for partial paralysis?
Any insight would be helpful. If you know what kind of things I should bring\* to the voice specialist when/if I finally see them, what kinds of questions I should ask, or something I can't even think of, I would really appreciate that as well.
CHART
AGE/SEX: 25F
WEIGHT: 220LB/100KG (Note: I haven't weighed myself in a bit, but I believe this is more or less accurate within 10lbs)
RACE: White
No smoking, drinking, or recreational drug use
MEDS: Pantaprozole Sodium 40mg x2 daily; Pristiq 100mg; Lamictal 100mg; Pregablin 25mg*; Adderall 30mg; Ferrous gluconate 324 (38Fe); Trellegy Elipta (I haven't taken it in a bit, need to reup); Albuterol Sulfate rescue inhaler; Cetirizine 10mg; Famotidine 20mg (I normally take with my pills, as they can be hard on my stomach. Also take as needed.)
EXISTING CONDITIONS: * Gastroparesis
* GERD
* Asthma
* IBS
* Suspected atypical anorexia
* I take those psych meds for a reason, but I'd rather not disclose all of them publicly! Please PM if you really must know.
Thank you so much for reading!!! And thank you even more if you decide to help :\^)
​
\*(Insert joke about "you should always bring your wallet")

Medical info: 25f, 5'8", 165lbs. History of migraine headaches (with and without aura) from 19-22, an eating disorder (ARFID that progressed to anorexia) from 12-15, very severe motion sickness as a child/teen, panic attacks from ages 8-18, and also I was dropped on my head around 2 years of age, and stopped recognizing faces after that (never had imaging done on my brain though, parents were both poor and medically neglectful). Currently I have moderate asthma (excercise and cold are main triggers), rapid cycling bipolar 1 with psychosis & ocd features (no episodes in almost 2 years now thanks to medication), PTSD (very mild these days but used to be severe), ehlers danlos syndrome (subtype unknown), POTS, and ADHD-C. I am also very near sighted and wear glasses. Meds are 2mg aripiprazole, 20mg Adderall XR, an inhaler as needed, and generic nuvaring. Some marijuana use as a teen. These days I have 1-2 drinks/week on average, a cigarette maybe a few times a year, and no other drug use. I have a shellfish allergy and I can't take lamictal due to developing all of the warning signs of SJS (incl. skin pain, eye burning, swollen lymph nodes, & fever) about 3 years ago, but I was told I never technically had sjs because I stopped the med before the blisters arrived.
The problem: Since November, I've started having very strange episodes, roughly every 1-2 months. It starts with my ears feeling weirdly full and itchy, and then several hours later I suddenly dissociate very severely (my brain and my body feel entirely separate from each other, like during a PTSD flashback or a panic attack, but there's no anxiety present) and speech, while possible, is difficult and stilted. After 30-50 minutes, I start to "zone out" I guess, where I basically just stare at a wall and I can't process anything happening around me or move. I can force myself out of this state after about 10-20 seconds. If something touches me I snap out, but if a body part starts hurting on its own from the position I'm in, I won't generally notice. This happens repeatedly for around 15-30 minutes, with me going into this state, forcing myself out, and then going back in & forcing myself out again.
Then, a wave of physical symptoms: hot flashes, nausea, gas pain, back/neck/abdominal muscle pain, and severe blood pressure drops where I get dizzy and lose vision (and once, my hearing turned to loud ringing) without a position change, but if I lay down it normalizes.
The gas pain slowly intensifies, as does the nausea (which is entirely separate from the dizziness). Sometimes at this point I get vertigo from moving my head or scrolling on my phone, but not always. My memory of these episodes then gets fuzzy. For the most recent one, I remember retching but not vomiting in the bathroom at some point with no memory of actually moving to the bathroom. I took my temperature for some reason and it was 98.0 fahrenheit. My next memory is being confused on my bed, trying to figure out where I was and how I got there -- I was able to talk myself through it out loud. My stomach hurts a lot during this time -- the gas pain coalesces just below my belly button and does not move until after the episode is over. The few times I've tried to go to the bathroom during these episodes I have retched, lost vision and hearing, and then lost balance/nearly fainted.
Sometimes I get very hungry, but consistently if I try to eat I get one bite down, feel incredibly full, and then a couple minutes later I am very hungry again. It cycles like this until I give up on eating and just deal with being hungry.
After between two and six hours of this (they've been getting longer on average as I've had more of them), I will slowly return to a normal mental state. The gas starts to move, and I burp/fart endlessly for like an hour & it hurts. I generally end these episodes both exhausted and unable to sleep, and my ears return to feeling vaguely full, itchy, and/or like they need to pop for a few more hours. Once I itched them so much on accident that I broke skin & had a scab in my outer ear canal for a few days. My neck is stiff and my back and abs are sore that night and the next day.
The episode (meaning the dissociation onwards) happens consistently after 7pm. I never seem to realize what's happening until the physical symptoms start -- I know something is wrong but believe it to psychiatric in nature until that point. It seems to have no relation to any substance use or exercise. When this first happened, I had just received my booster, but obviously it's been months since then so I think it's just a coincidence with the timing? My medications had been stable for over a year before this started so I don't believe it to be a side effect.
My best guess right now is "something neurological" and "maybe stress related". I'm moving at the end of the month to a new state and will be asking my new doc what they think once I have my first appointment with them, but I'd still just like to have some idea of what in the hell this could be in the meantime because it's both scary and extremely inconvenient. I'm entirely nonfunctional when this happens.

I am seeing my doctor at noon. However it’s currently 6am and I have not slept at all and really need some reassurance until I see my dr.
To preface: I am day 13 on lamictal- 25 mg. About 10 days ago I tested positive for COVID. My symptoms: fever, chills, body aches, congestion, cough. All of this went away about 5 days ago. The only thing I had left was a slight lingering cough. Then, yesterday, I woke up with swollen glands and a sore throat. I have also been extremely nauseous. I thought it couldn’t be COVID because I was already out of the thick of it. I also woke up with 3 canker sores in my mouth and two blisters on my lips.
At first I didn’t think anything of it. But then I remembered SJS and started freaking out. A lot of the symptoms match mine.
Anyways, I have not slept at all. I also feel sick to my stomach (probably from anxiety) and just need some reassurance. My doctor only does telehealth and I do not have a primary care physician I can see so I’m also on edge about that. Like I could go to the ER but I feel like I would wait until I knew for sure it was SJS but thennnn it could be too late and get severe. I’m just having all these racing thoughts. Please help