Lamictal and immune system

[dirtywonderful]

I recently increased my Lamictal from 400mg to 500mg. It's been about a week and I haven't had any bad side effects. They are all tolerable anyway.

I had what felt like a cut under my armpit and I didnt think anything about it. Then I noticed I had tiny blisters on the back on my arm around there. My friend and I looked at it but I told myself not to worry about it. I am sick of going to the doctor for every single thing. So, I blew it off. Then, my friend looked at it again and had a bad look on her face. I freaked out. Overnight, it doubled in size. Needless to say, I ended up going to the doctor the very next day. He thinks it's shingles. But, I dont have any of the other symptoms like headache, nausea or fever. I can't seem to find anything on the internet that even relates the two together.

Does Lamictal mess with your immune system or is my past finally catching up with me?

[Velvet Elvis]

Did you have chicken pox as a kid? It's the same virus so if you've had chicken pox you can't get shingles.

What kind of Dr. was it and did you tell him about the Lamictal and are you sure he knew to look for the "the rash?"

Lamictal is known for causing various kinds of rashes, one of which can be a sign of a life threatening side effect.

Um. If nobody has more to add I'll dig around some more.

[Unregistered]

Whoa, VE! Chicken Pox and Shingles are caused by the same virus, but you can most certainly get Shingles if you have had Chicken Pox. The virus can lay dormant in your system for years. I had Chicken Pox at age 5 or 7, then came down with Shingles in my early 20's after looking after a friend who contracted Chicken Pox as an adult. "Oh," said I, "I've already had Chicken Pox as a kid, I'm immune." And so I was, at least to another dose of Chicken Pox.

[dirtywonderful]

He was a GP and he knows about me being on Lamictal. This is more like chicken pox cause I itch like crazy. He is testing some of the junk inside of the blister to see what it is.

I dont think it's SJS because I dont have any of those side effects either. I just made a call to my Pdoc to let him know. Maybe I jumped too high on my dose too quickly. My mom says my dad had chicken pox as an adult (more than once). Who knows? I have been reading so much about rashes that I am getting more and more conused.

[AirMarshall]

Good call Unregistered on the virus!

The herpes virus of chicken pox hides out in nerve cells deep in the body after the initial infection. It can re-emerge years later, often when the immune system is weaker or under stress, as "shingles". Our immune system grows weaker as we age, hence the reason shingles is more common amoung seniors in their 60's and beyond.

Dirty, sounds like you have read up a bit on SJS. Other symptoms would include fever, flu-like body aches, sores on the mucosa and hands/feet, with fairly rapid development into worsening conditions. Your pdoc should definitely be called, since she prescribed the lamictal.

Many pdocs are extremely cautious and will either drop the dosage, or discontinue the med. The manufacturer says it should be discontinued, but recent published studies show that the med can often be restarted safely with very slow titration in small increments.

The biggest danger with SJS is that it is extremely difficult to predict which cases can be controlled and which will be fatal. There is no specific treatment though massive steroids are usually given, with supportive care for other symptoms.

The approved incidence numbers in the US are 1 in about 1,000 users. Germany's national med database shows a rate of 1 in about 5,000 users.

To address your titled question, I don't recall any studies related specifically to Lamictal and any effect on the immune system, though there may be some. More generally, Lamictal is widely known for often worsening skin conditions, though not specifically immune related.

a.m.

[Velvet Elvis]

Whoa. That's good to know.

[dirtywonderful]

Thanks. Yep. My doc said back down to 400mg. I hope I dont have to get off Lamictal completely. When I was leaving his office, my GP asked if I was under any stress. Eventhough he said people of all ages get it, I still feel like an old person. These meds have the weirdest side effects. If I have to stop Lamictal, I wonder how my doc will want me to do it.

[AirMarshall]

Don't go off Lamictal cold turkey!!!!! See the pinned topic above for a first hand experience. Since Lamictal is an anti-convulsant, it is possible for people who aren't epileptic to suffer seizures. Not a huge chance, but hey, you don't want seizures. If you have risky rashes that pdoc may have you go cold turkey, but otherwise you taper off.

a.m.

[dirtywonderful]

I won't. I've read that post and I am scared to do it that way. I will see my doctor and he can tell me the right way to do it. I think he will want me to taper it too.

This sucks, because until recently Lamictal was helping in every area of my life. The depression is slowly coming back. (ya know how you can feel it coming on.) I am starting to get irritated at people's innocent mistakes. I dont want to get sick again. My family is finally coming around me again. It's been about a decade.

I really appreciate your help, everybody. I think I kinda have an idea of what is going on. If I stop the Lamictal, maybe my spelling will be good again!

Edit- Maybe I can add Topamax or something to help augment the Lamictal.

[Loon-A-TiK]

i used to take lamictal and topamax. i felt that for me, topa was better at the lower levels (50mg) and made me agitated at over 75mg.

if you ever want to spell again, don't take dope-a-max, as you'll lose IQ points just looking at the bottle.

[crazynotstupid]

if you ever want to spell again, don't take dope-a-max, as you'll lose IQ points just looking at the bottle.

Really? Hrm, thank God for this spell checker we had installed...wait, we *didn't* have a spell checker installed! Guess different meds do different things for different folks, yeh?

I rather think blanket condemnations of meds based on one's own personal experiences are improper and, erm...stupid. Because one's demon med is another's savior--you'll take my topa from my cold, dead hands...actually, no, because I'd kill anyone suicidal enough to try to take it. See, it works, and it is at this point the only thing proven to work for the particular issue i take it for, and it has little in the way of side effects save for that little issue re: lithium...

[Loon-A-TiK]

my experiences are just that- my experiences- and even without Topamax i still can't spell.

[dirtywonderful]

Funny Loon.

I think I took the Valtrex early enough for the rash to go away (1 or 2 days). But, I also lowered my Lamictal at the same time. I still have a few red sores that itch and burn but it's in a small section. It never grew. So, I only had to deal with it 2 days, I think. But, when it was there.. it really sucked. And I dont even think I got to the worst part of it. Thank goodness. I still want to know what caused it.

Since I cant spell now, maybe the Topamax wouldnt hurt any more. I thought add Adderall would help, but my IQ is still the same. I keep doing things like... half way to work and realizing I dont have shoes on or, better yet, a bra!

[LikeMinded]

Funny this gets mentioned.

First of all, my immune system likes to attack everything, which may be how I've gotten all of 5 major infections the past 6 years (down from my prior rate of oh, 10 every single year).

Second is that my chronic episodic low fevers didn't start to become very significant until a few months ago. Although, rash was not involved in this.

I wonder if SJS/The Rash can present itself 8 months after you start Lamictal.

In any event, just another reason for me to talk with my Pdoc about dope-a-max, I could use a little long-term memory pruning anyways. If the stuff works in PTSD, it might work for IRTMUOTSD (I Remember Too Much, Oft-Traumatic Shit Disorder).

[herpie]

In any event, just another reason for me to talk with my Pdoc about dope-a-max, I could use a little long-term memory pruning anyways. If the stuff works in PTSD, it might work for IRTMUOTSD (I Remember Too Much, Oft-Traumatic Shit Disorder).

Topamax doesn't prune long term memory. As far as I know.

[LikeMinded]

Topamax doesn't prune long term memory. As far as I know.

Ah shit. I was really hoping to turn into my happy-go-lucky 21 year old cousin, who after suffering a car accident 13 years ago, has no anecdotal memory for anytime more than 6-12 months ago (anterograde amnesia). The accident is about when she had a major personality change, from moody and melancholic to bouncy and happy.

I just saw that it may be effective in PTSD and wondered if it helped people "forget" about what happened, or at least decreased their recall of it.

I understand that if you have temporal lobe issues anyways (as per neuropsychology exam, I do), that Topamax won't hit you that hard with the stupidity quotient, as far as reducing attention span and short-term memory.

[AirMarshall]

I wonder if SJS/The Rash can present itself 8 months after you start Lamictal.

Yes, per the PI sheet.

[LikeMinded]

I wonder if SJS/The Rash can present itself 8 months after you start Lamictal.

Yes, per the PI sheet.

Then it's time I talked to my doctor about Topamax.

I have regained my verbal fluency that I'd lost during attacks of psychogenetic MS in October '05 and March/April '06, and didn't even have major cognitive symptoms during my latest attack 2 weeks ago. (Well, save for the time I went to work and had left my front door wide open!!!)

Giving Topamax a try might be in my best interest.

Though I'm worried that if that doesn't work, I'd have to go back to Lamictal, and I do believe that "restarting" that med greatly increases the risk of SJS?

If nothing there at all works, I might have to get completely off of mood stabilizers, as much as they'd removed the sand from me. I don't think any of the more sedating anticonvulsants would get along with my neurological condition (psychogenic MS)-based fatigue.

Lithium has been linked to hypertension, and I normally clock in at 140/90 as it is, so I'd rather not dork with that stuff. Worst off is that it's been linked to depression, and since hypomania isn't a huge symptom of mine anyways...

More on that in another post.

[Loon-A-TiK]

herrfous-

they're doing actual clinical trials right now to see if they can market Topamax as a PTSD drug. personally, when i took it, i recognized that it helped a lot with my PTSD. it did little for my mood and lowered my IQ, but damn if i could look at the past and not flinch.

since i stopped and it has cleared my system, i'm more traumatized than while i was on it, but stll more detached. maybe it still effects me, or maybe it taught me something.

loon