new to lamictal, please help!!

Hey guys, I'm a little freaked out..haven’t posted on here in awhile but thought it's worth a try if it could help me out. My doctor is having me try Lamictal, and being the worry wart that I am, I looked up possible side effects online. Well one of the side effects is this SJS rash and I'm pretty much terrified. I don’t know how often it occurs because when you look it up you get 39 possible answers and it's hard to figure out what the actual answer is. Then other people say they had been taking it for like two years and then suddenly get a rash, are hospitalized, had to have skin grafts etc. I also have heard really good things about this drug helping people so I don’t know what to think but I'm beginning to freak out, convinced that I'm going to get this rash and have to be hospitalized. I have been on it for two days at 25mg and I am convinced I am itchy, no rash, maybe I'm just freaking out?

Hi there Brittygirl. I recently started on lamictal as well. I took my first dose of 25mg Sunday morning. I can tend to also be a worrier and excessively anxious about certain things, like medication for instance. I had some bad reactions to random things as a child, so I worry a lot about any new medicines now. I of course read all about SJS and TENS before my first dose, and have been worried about it ever since. I'm downright scared, actually. However, it's my understanding, even though it's hard to come by any real numbers, it is extremely, extremely rare. So just try to keep that in mind. As for your itchiness, I have read that itchiness is a possibility, and I have actually been itchy off and on myself. Whether it's just all in my head or not, I don't know, but it does scare me. I just keep reminding myself that it is very, very rare, and I shouldn't spend my days obsessively worrying. I think the benefit lamictal offers the both of us far outweighs a dangerous, but exceptionally rare, side effect.

Anyway, best of luck to you. I see you posted this last Tuesday. Any updates? How are you feeling, did the itchiness go away? I'm curious to know what lies ahead for myself, lol.

My sister went through both SJS and then onto TENS (it got a lot worse) not from lamictal but another sulfa medication. It is a terrifying experience. The majority of people do not experience this reaction on lamictal. (Feel free to look at the bipolar/ forum and see how many people are taking this medication) If you do notice any type of rash however, call your doctor immediately.

I did choose to take this medication knowing that my sister had TENS. I was definitely freaked out, so I understand where you're coming from. I did get a bit of a rash, my doctor said that this wasn't the SJS type rash, but I decided to stop the medication anyways.