lamotrigine
CMI, dosage, igredients, description, price, photo
What LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN is used for
Lamotrigine (the active ingredient in LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN tablets) belongs to a group of medicines called “anti-epileptic drugs”.
LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN tablets are used to treat epilepsy, including partial or generalised seizures, in adults and children. In general, it is initially used [in addition to other medicines] for treatment of this condition.
An epileptic seizure, fit or turn results when abnormal electrical impulses occur in nerve cells in the brain. These abnormal electrical impulses are believed to be due to altered levels of some chemicals in the brain. It is thought to work by changing the levels of some of the chemicals associated with seizures.
Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN has been prescribed for you. Your doctor may have prescribed it for another reason.
This medicine is only available with a doctor’s prescription.
There is no evidence that it is addictive.
Before you take it
When you must not take it
Do not take LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN if you are allergic to lamotrigine or any of the ingredients listed at the end of this leaflet. Some of the symptoms of an allergic reaction may include skin rash, itching or hives; swelling of the face, lips or tongue which may cause difficulty in swallowing or breathing; wheezing or shortness of breath.
Do not take LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN if the expiry date (Exp.) printed on the pack has passed.
Do not take it if the packaging shows signs of tampering or the tablets do not look quite right.
Before you start to take it
Tell your doctor if you are taking any other medicines that contain lamotrigine.
Tell your doctor if you are allergic to any other medicines or any foods, dyes or preservatives.
Tell your doctor if you have or have had any of the following medical conditions:
- a history of allergy or rash to other anti-epileptic drugs
- liver or kidney disorders
- Parkinson’s disease
- If you have ever developed meningitis after taking lamotrigine
- If you are taking any other medications for epilepsy. This is particularly important for medicines containing sodium valproate.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant. Your doctor will discuss the risks and benefits of taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN tablets if you are pregnant or intending to become pregnant, including the risk to mother and foetus of uncontrolled epilepsy, when deciding on treatment options.
Tell your doctor if you are breast feeding or planning to breast feed. Lamotrigine can pass into breast milk and may affect your baby. Your doctor will discuss the risks and benefits of taking this medicine if you are breast feeding.
If you have not told your doctor about any of the above, tell them before you start taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN.
Taking other medicines
Tell your doctor if you are taking any medicines that you buy without a prescription from a pharmacy, supermarket or health food shop.
These include:
- valproate and carbamazepine, used to treat both epilepsy and mental health problems
- any form of hormonal medicine, e.g. “the pill” or HRT
- other anti-epileptic drugs, e.g. phenytoin, primidone or phenobarbitone
- OCT2 substrates such as dofetilide
- rifampicin, an antibiotic, which is used to treat infections, including tuberculosis
- medicines used to treat Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection
- risperidone, used to treat mental health problems.
These medicines may be affected by LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN or may affect how well it works.
Your doctor can tell you what to do if you are taking any of these medicines.
Your doctor and pharmacist have more information on medicines to be careful with or avoid while taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN.
How to take it
Taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN for the first time
You may notice that you feel dizzy, tired or unsteady in the first few weeks of treatment with LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN tablets. During this period you may also notice that you have slight problems with your vision. As your reactions may be slower during this period you should not operate any machinery or appliances and you should not drive a car. If any of these effects do not go away or are troublesome you should see your doctor.
Contact your doctor immediately if you develop any skin rash (e.g. spots or hives) during LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN treatment. There are reports of severe, potentially life-threatening rashes associated with LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN treatment particularly in children. It should be discontinued at the first sign of rash unless the rash is clearly not drug related.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions about taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN.
How much to take
It may take a while to find the best dose of LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN for you. The dose you take will depend on:
- your age and weight
- whether you are taking it with other medications
- whether you have any kidney or liver problems.
Do not increase the dose more quickly than you have been told. Your doctor will prescribe a low dose to start with and gradually increase the dose over a few weeks until you reach a dose that works for you.
Women taking hormonal contraceptives, such as the birth control ‘pill’ may need a higher maintenance dose of this medicine. Your doctor will usually decrease your dose once you stop taking hormonal contraceptives.
Tell your doctor if there are any changes in your menstrual pattern, such as breakthrough bleeding whilst on the ‘pill’. Your doctor may need to change the dose of LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN as the ‘pill’ may not work effectively for contraception whilst taking it.
How long to take it
Do not stop taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN or change the dose without first checking with your doctor. Your doctor will advise you if you need to stop taking this medicine and how to do this gradually over a period of two weeks.
Use in children
Children’s weight should be checked and the dose reviewed as weight changes occur.
How to take it
LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN may be swallowed whole, chewed or dispersed in a small volume of water (at least enough to cover the whole tablet).
It can be taken with or without food.
If you take too much (overdose)
Immediately telephone your doctor or the Poisons Information Centre (telephone 13 11 26) for advice, or go to the Accident and Emergency Department at the nearest hospital if you think you or anyone else may have taken too many LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN tablets. Do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning. You may need urgent medical attention.
If you take too much LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN you may be more likely to have serious side effects which may be fatal.
Symptoms of overdose can include rapid, uncontrollable eye movements, clumsiness and lack of coordination affecting your balance, impaired or loss of consciousness, fits or coma.
While you are taking it
Things you must do
Contact your doctor immediately if you develop any skin rash, like spots or hives, during LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN treatment. There are reports of skin rash associated with LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN that may need hospital treatment or drug withdrawal; rarely serious skin rash may cause death. LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN should be discontinued at the first sign of rash unless the rash is clearly not drug related.
Tell all the doctors, dentists and pharmacists who are treating you that you are taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist that you are taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN before starting any new medicine.
If you require a laboratory test, tell your doctor or hospital that you are taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN. It may interfere with some laboratory tests to detect other drugs.
Tell your doctor immediately if you become pregnant or if you are planning to become pregnant.Your doctor will discuss the risks and benefits of taking this medicine during pregnancy.
Talk to your doctor if you are breast feeding or planning to breast feed. Lamotrigine can pass into breast milk and may affect your baby. Your doctor will discuss the risks and benefits of breast feeding while you are taking it.
Tell your doctor if, for any reason, you have not taken your medicine exactly as prescribed.Otherwise, your doctor may think that it is not working as it should and change your dosage unnecessarily.
Things you must not do
Do not stop taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN, even if you feel better, or change the dose without first checking with your doctor. Stopping this medicine suddenly may cause your epilepsy to come back or be worse. This is known as “rebound seizures”.
Your doctor will advise you if you need to stop taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN and how to do it gradually over about 2 weeks.
Do not give this medicine to anyone else even if their symptoms seem similar to yours.
Do not take it to treat any other complaints unless your doctor says to.
Do not take a double dose to make up for any that you may have missed.
Things to be careful of
Be careful driving or operating machinery until you know how LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN affects you.As with other anti-epileptic medicines, LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN may cause drowsiness or dizziness and affect alertness in some people, especially after the first dose. Make sure you know how you react to it before you drive a car, operate machinery or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are dizzy or light-headed. If this occurs do not drive. If you drink alcohol, dizziness or light-headedness may be worse.
Children should not ride a bike, climb trees or do anything else that could be dangerous if they are feeling dizzy or sleepy.
Tell your doctor immediately or go to the Accident and Emergency department of your nearest hospital if you or someone you know has any suicidal thoughts or other mental/mood changes. All mentions of suicide or violence must be taken seriously. Families and caregivers of children and adolescents who are taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN should be especially watchful for any changing behaviour.
Anti-epileptic medicines such as LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN may increase the risk of suicidal behaviour (including suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts).
Side effects
Tell your doctor as soon as possible if you do not feel well while you are taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN. All medicines can have side effects. Sometimes they are serious, most of the time they are not. You may need medical treatment if you get some of the side effects.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist to answer any questions you may have.
The most commonly reported side effects of LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN are:
- dizziness
- movement problems such as tics, unsteadiness and jerkiness
- tremors
- skin rash
- headache
- nausea
- vomiting
- feeling drowsy or tired
- blurred or double vision
- rapid, uncontrollable eye movements
- trouble sleeping
- feeling sleepy
- irritability, aggression or agitation
- hallucinations, confusion
- increased activity in children
- joint, back or stomach pain
- respiratory or lung problems
- depression
- loss of memory
- liver problems
- diarrhoea
- dry mouth.
In general, these side effects usually happen during the first few weeks of treatment with LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN.
Tell your doctor immediately or go to the Accident and Emergency department of your nearest hospital if you or someone you know has any suicidal thoughts or other mental/mood changes whilst taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN.
All mentions of suicide or violence must be taken seriously. Families and caregivers of children and adolescents who are taking this medicine should be especially watchful for any changing behaviour.
Anti-epileptic medicines such as LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN may increase the risk of suicidal behaviour (including suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts).
Potentially serious skin reaction
A small number of people taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN get an allergic reaction or potentially serious skin reaction, which may develop into more serious problems if they are not treated. Severe allergic reactions are rare.
These symptoms are more likely to happen during the first few months of treatment with LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN especially if the dose is too high or if the dose is increased too quickly, or if it is taken with a medicine called valproate. Serious skin reactions are more common in children. Symptoms of these serious allergic reactions include:
- any skin reaction, e.g. rash or ‘hives’
- wheezing, difficulty in breathing
- swelling of the face, lips or tongue
- sore mouth or sore eyes
- fever
- swollen glands.
Tell your doctor immediately if you notice any of the above symptoms.
Liver and blood problems
Tell your doctor if you notice any of these symptoms:
- drowsiness
- itching
- abdominal pain or tenderness
- feeling very tired
- easy bruising or unusual bleeding
- a sore throat, or more infections such as a cold, than usual
- yellow skin (jaundice).
Your doctor may decide to carry out tests on your liver, kidneys or blood and may tell you to stop taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN if you experience these rare symptoms.
Tell your doctor as soon as possible if your seizures get worse or if you have a new type of seizure. You may need urgent medical attention or hospitalisation. Serious side effects are rare.
Tell your doctor if you notice anything else that is making you feel unwell, even if you think the problems are not connected with this medicine and are not referred to in this leaflet. Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some people.
Do not be alarmed by this list of possible side effects. You may not experience any of them.
After taking it
Storage
Keep your tablets in a cool dry place, protected from light and moisture, where the temperature stays below 25°C.
Keep LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN where children cannot reach it. A locked cupboard at least one-and-a-half metres above the ground is a good place to store medicines.
Do not store this medicine in the bathroom or near a sink. Do not leave it in the car or on window sills. Heat and dampness can destroy some medicines.
Disposal
If your doctor tells you to stop taking LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN or your tablets have passed their expiry date, return any unused or expired medicine to your pharmacist.
Product description
What it looks like
LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN tablets come in 5 strengths; 5 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg & 200 mg.
The 5 mg strength is white to off-white oval tablets, embossed with “L” bisect “5” on one side and plain on the other side. The other strengths are white to off-white, round, flat faced bevelled edge tablets, plain on both sides.
Available in blister packs of 56 tablets.
Ingredients
Active ingredient:
Each LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN tablet contains 5 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg or 200 mg of lamotrigine.
Inactive ingredients:
- povidone
- mannitol
- microcrystalline cellulose
- colloidal anhydrous silica
- croscarmellose sodium
- magnesium stearate
- trusil blackcurrant S4468 (PI).
In addition, the 5 mg tablet contains saccharin sodium and purified talc.
In addition, the 25, 50, 100 & 200 mg tablets contain aspartame and crospovidone.
LAMOTRIGINE ASPEN tablets are lactose, sucrose and gluten free.