Lamotrigine

I've been on Lamotrigine for over a year for bipolar with wonderful results, however, recently my mail order company sent me a new generic made by Zydus Cadila, (I had been taking Lamotrigine made by Teva out of Israel). Within a week I had digressed to the point I had to take a day off of work. I had heard that the FDA was concerned about the drugs coming out of India (where Zydus is out of), but since they have no jurisdiction there, they cannot stop the importation of the drug without legislation.

I am currently working with my doctor and insurance company to get me back onto the Teva made Lamotrigine. (By the way, my nurse knew of the problem with drugs made in India and was completely sympathetic.) This is a serious issue in which I am going to contact my representative to inform him of the speed in which legislation barring prescriptions from India needs to be done. The difference of the pill in looks is that Teva makes Lamotrigine now in a small blue round pill while Zydus' Lamotrigine is a larger round white pill. Anyone who suddenly receives these large white pills, beware!

I too am having the same problem with zydus cadista, completely does not work like teva or the brand name lamictal.

Hi i recently heard on npr that some problems keep popping up with some generic brands of lamictal. I had been through a very bad depression and my meds had to be doubled. I had gone 15 years without a major episode and because of what I heard on the radio I checked my med history and discovered that shortly after my generic brand was changed to zydus cadista my mood started dipping and it was down hill from there.

I am now very glad to say my insurance has changed and I'm now on another reliable brand generic. When I've gone 6 months without a problem I will tell my doctor about this and maybe my he can lower the dose. He's the man and I don't do anything without his guidance. So we'll see. I'm back on the track and feeling well, If my meds are change back to ZC I'll fight to stop it. I'm not going down that road again. Those ceo's don't know what it's like to claw their way out of the tar pit.

Has anyone come across a Lamotragin generic from a company called Cipla? It's also a larger white tablet and made in India, but not the one referred to in the earlier comments from Zydus Cadila.

I am surprised to see that people are liking the Teva. Just 10 days on it and I was into a full-blown mixed state, something that I hadn't done for 3 years on the brand name Lamictal. I had to be hospitalized for 2 days.

These generics are just not being regulated effectively.

My wife has dealt with seizures and bipolar for 30 years and was reasonably controlled with the brand product of Lamictal. She too received the large white generic tablets from our mail order pharmacy manufactured by Cadila (Zydus) and has been having too many seizures and mood swings to count. She has now reached the point of being afraid to go out of the house and in public because of these problems.

I am very glad to find out others have also had this problem so I will be contacting her doctor tomorrow and having him rewrite the script for the brand product with no exceptions.

I started to take generic Lamotramigine made by Taro for a mood disorder and had great results from it. Medco refused to pay after the third prescription through a retail pharmacy and offered a 90 day supply for $39.00, I was thrilled. This was made by Zydus and have never heard of it before, I contacted a few local pharmacies and was told they don't use this manufacturer often. I had no choice with a 90 day now and tried it.

Day 1 I took a 1/4 tablet, day 2, I took a 1/4 tablet and each day within one hour after taking it I felt a little sick and had stomach pain. On day 3 I took a 1/4 in the a.m. and a 1/4 in the p.m. which was recommended initially. On day 4 I couldn't move or talk in the morning. My lips, tongue, eyes and throat were swollen and I was choking. Couldn't roll over to call 911 and passed out until 11:30 a.m. got up, took shower and was able to function as usual still feeling bit sluggish.

I went back on Taro with an override fro Dr. and felt fine so I insisted for Medco to get paperwork going for BRAND ONLY. After doing that and doing research, I found that Brand had the same inactive ingredients as Zydus. No one can answer to me weather or not one of the fillers could have just been extremely high in this generic and that may have caused it.

My hands are tied because local pharmacies get in cheapest bulk month by month and won't special order.

I have taken Lamictal for over 3 yrs with great results for Bipolar II mood swings. I noticed the sudden depression before I realized that the brand had been replaced by a generic (Teva)--so there was no way that this was just my imagination, or due to my expectations that the generic wouldn't be as effective. Again, I didn't even know there had been a switch!

When my mood went into the pits I never associated it w/ any change in the lamotrogine. Then I heard an unrelated PP prog on NPR and I checked out this website. I looked up the various medications I was on and that was the first time I discovered there was a problem with the generic lamotrogine. Definitely a light bulb moment! My Dr was able to get me back on the brand (I have a higher co-pay but it's still covered so I'm fortunate). There IS a difference in the generics--legally they can have a + or - % difference in the amount of the active ingredient--on top of that, the same ingredients could be processed differently so it would look as if the medication is the same in terms of ingredients but actually the end product is different.

Bottom line is these generics aren't controlled for quality and aren't regulated adequately so when anyone says that the generic is EXACTLY the same as the brand name either they're ignorant of the facts or deliberately lying about it.

I have been taking Lamotrigine 100mg X 2 a day for several months with great results. However, after reading comments from above I want to make sure my pills are being filled correctly. Mine are by Teva but they are triangle light pink pills, and the comments above say they are blue pills if are by Teva and white by the india company. Please clear this matter with me.

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: YOU CAN CHECK THEM OUT HERE:
http://www.drugs.com/imprints.php?action=search&drugname=Lamotrigine

My daughter age 42 has a brain injury and is bipolar with a lot of ataxia,
her doctor upped her from 200 mg of Lamictal to 300 mg and she could not walk, see and server ataxia in her whole body. She is now hospitalized and I noticed the Med change was the only addition change to her life style.
Have you heard of this before? any suggestions?