Catnapper Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I have noticed that this year my skin seems to be more sensitive to the sun and I'm burning more easily than usual, which is bad since I have always burned easily anyway. I always wear sunblock, and add a hat if if I'm going to be outside for more than ten minutes, so I am taking all the precautions that I know of besides the basic one of staying out of the sun. Have you had experience that any of the following meds aggravate your sun sensitivity? The most recent addition is the Gabapentin, which I started last year sometime. Wellbutrin XL 300 mt Lamictal 200 mg Gabapentin 600 mg Atacand 32-12 (for hypertension) Potassium 20 MEQ (to counteract diuretic) Ambien 10 mg Fish oil and vitamins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancesintherain Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I haven't taken gabapentin, but you noted that it was for hot flashes. Does that mean that it's some sort of progesterone/estrogen combo or homones in general? If so, I've noticed that my birth control change has caused some increased sun sensitivity. So I don't know for a fact--but that would seem logical, at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isis Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 I live in Australia which is... the best place to be if you want to get sunburnt, and i found that lamictal made me burn much easier - i had to put sunscreen on even for 5 mins outside. Once i had to wait outside for half an hour and i thought my face was going to burn off completely... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etkearne Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 All of the newer anticonvulsants carry a risk of photosensitivity. Gabapentin and Tegretol are notorious. I am a tawny skinned Euro-American who barely ever burns, but I was on Trileptal for awhile and got horrible sunburns. Now, I do not take it, as it did nothing, and I burn no more (despite taking Lamictal- another anticonvulsant). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Lamictal increases burning. It did for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etkearne Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Lamictal increases burning. It did for me. Man, I'd be able to get dark as someone from India if I wasn't on Lamictal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Several anticonvulsants have that as a not-too-uncommon side effect (although not all of them, and not all to the same degree...but I forget which ones are the worst off the top of my head). Lamictal causes enough other skin issues that it wouldn't surprise me, although it never bothered me. For me, the really brutal one was Trileptal. I went to a baseball game and forgot sunscreen, and I managed to acquire permanent skin damage from a rather severe sunburn in only a few hours. My dermatologist was not amused when I got home from vacation. I stopped being lazy and looked it up, and it's a possible side effect listed for both lamotrigine and gabapentin, somewhat uncommon but not rare. Possible but unconfirmed for Wellbutrin, low but not unheard of for Ambien. My guess is the ACs, just going by the numbers and what I've heard from other people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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