fatigue/needing extra sleep

[dancesintherain]

I had a pdoc appointment today where one of the things we talked about was this excessive fatigue I've been having...something both my fiance and I have noticed. It seems disconnected from any other symptoms, fortunately. And isn't thyroid b/c that's been checked. Life is busier, but I don't think it's much busier than it was this time two months ago, when I didn't notice any sleepiness. So the thought was that it might be a side effect...

Out of everything I'm taking, his first guess was to try to take the lamictal from 250mg back down to 200 and see if that makes a difference. Ativan's mildly sedating for me, but that's intentional (i.e. to handle anxiety). And obviously the sleep drug causes sleep, but it doesn't seem to have a hangover effect.

Does lamictal, even if taken at night, cause fatigue for people? Or if on too high a dose, can it have that effect?

[jarn]

I have heard of Lamictal/Lamotrigine causing fatigue. It hasn't been my personal experience of it.

Was the 250mg dosage new for you? It seems odd that it would come out of nowhere but I have had side effects show up over time so I suppose it's possible.

Could you be anemic? How has your diet been in general? Any sleep changes, more restlessness or something that might be causing you to be tired?

[AirMarshall]

Lamictal is well known to cause fatigue, muscle aches, soreness. Some people find it slightly sedating, others slightly energizing.

You can adjust your dosing to fit the effect. If it energizes, take in morning; sedating, take at night.

I found the effects to be worst the first week after increasing dosage, then fade with time.

a.m.