Foods To Avoid When Taking Lamotrigine

Foods To Avoid When Taking Lamotrigine

There are many medicines that treat serious medical or mental conditions. It is common for medicines and foods to react with one another affecting the absorption and effectiveness of the medicine. In that case, it is important to avoid consuming all those foods that react negatively or affect the working of the specific medicine. Let’s see, what food items react with the medicine Lamotrigine. 

What is Lamotrigine Used For?

It is a medicine of the anti-elliptic class that is used to treat seizures of epilepsy and helps with depression in people with Bipolar disorder.

Lamotrigine also works as a mood stabilizer for Bipolar disorder patients. Epileptic seizures are due to imbalanced brain electric rhythms and sudden bursts of electric activity. This medicine Lamotrigine helps with these seizures by slowing down the signals of electric activity.

Every medicine should be taken at the recommended dose, continue reading to know about the dose of Lamotrigine.

How Much Lamotrigine To Take?

The usual dose of Lamotrigine ranges from about 25 to 400 mg. The accurate dose will be prescribed by your doctor. Normally, this medicine should be taken 1-2 times a day.

Now, let’s see if this medicine interacts with any food items or not.

What Foods To Avoid When Taking Lamotrigine

Normally, Lamotrigine is not known to have any interaction with any food item. There aren’t any specific food items that should be avoided. You should eat a healthy diet. Just make sure to avoid a few things like some herbs and alcohol.

1: Some Herbs

It is advised to avoid taking those herbs that are related to causing any tremors, skin rash, shaking, or affecting sleeping.

  • Ginkgo Biloba: 

High doses of this herb are known to decrease the effectiveness of Lamotrigine.

2: Alcohol

Avoid consuming alcohol while taking Lamotrigine, as it might increase side effects on the nervous system like drowsiness, problem in concentration, and impaired thinking. It can also increase seizures in epileptic patients.

Read below to know the side effects of the drug.

Side Effects Of Taking Lamotrigine

Common side effects linked to Lamotrigine are:

  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • Dry mouth
  • Dizziness
  • Drowsiness
  • Diarrohea
  • Tremors
  • Backache
  • Insomnia
  • Blurry vision
  • Loss of appetite
  • Stuffy nose
  • Fever 
  • Anxiety
  • Sore throat

This medicine can also cause some serious side effects:

  • Irregular heartbeats
  • Chest pain
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Skin rash or allergy
  • Jaundice
  • Painful mouth sores
  • Strong muscle pain
  • Swollen glands

These side effects are rare and serious. If any of these happen to you, immediately consult your doctor and them about your condition. 

Conclusion

Lamotrigine is a medicine of the anti-elliptic class which treats seizures of epilepsy, helps with depression in people with Bipolar disorder, and acts as a mood stabilizer for them. This medicine should be taken on prescription by your doctor. Lamotrigine does not interact with any specific food item and there is no evidence in this regard. Still, It is important to avoid certain herbs that are related to causing any tremors, skin rash, or shaking and avoid taking alcohol with Lamotrigine as it increases the side effects of the medicine.

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