I'm on 200 mg per day, (I think it is the standard amount) and have Hep C and a extreamly swollen liver due to the hepatitis. I did not see any increase in my liver functions due to lamictal. It is always a good ideal to keep a eye on your liver with any drug your taking. My blood is tested every six months. Glad the lamictal is working for you it is the only thing that will stop mine. With any drug you take there is always risk and YOU with your doctors advice need to decide whats best. My biggest problem with lamictal is it makes me tired. One thing about lamictal, if you have not been told, it is a 12 hour medication that does not stay in your system, its very important to take it every 12 hours. Not doing so may lead to a seizure.

Hi from kc61! Thank you, dave13 for the insight on Lamictal. That's one of the drugs my neuro was considering, but he ultimately put me on Trileptal. If he ever changes me to Lamictal, I'll be sure to remember your advice.

I'm pretty new to this. I've only been on Lamictal for a year and a half, but I'm on 500 mg. I'm getting more blood tests tomorrow, but so far everything has looked good. Most medications affect the liver since, unless the medication is IV, it is metabolized in the liver first, before it goes to where it's needed in the body. This is why, with any long term medication, they generally check on your liver a lot. Good luck with your Lamictal. (I'm jealous of your lack of side-effects!)

Hi Flicka,
I don't know much about Lamictal but I can offer some advice since my past med (Depakote) made my liver enzymes really high. I was taking Depakote for 14 years, and it started affecting my liver like crazy. Your liver can be repairable, but if you let it go for too long, the damage can cause cirrosis of the liver..which is a scared liver that can't repair itself. But definitely see a GI specialist even if your neuro says you don't have to. I had a doctor who was my regular family doctor (who wasn't a neurologist)who was also giving me my epilepsy meds, and she would check my liver levels, and would simply say "you're liver is a little elevated, but nothing to worry about".

Well, about 2 years later, I got new board certified doctors, and both suggested I see a gastro-intensitinal specialist immediately. I did, and now things are going well. The GI specialist told me that I needed to change my meds and I needed to help my liver lose some fat by losing about 25 pounds. So, I changed my meds from Depakote to Keppra, and I lost the weight. Miraculously, my liver enzymes are back to normal. No seizures, and liver is regular. I just have to work on keeping the weight down.
Goodluck, and invest some time in finding board certified doctors! Just call your insurance provider and ask them to send you a directory of all their doctors and specialists!
Take Care

I only joined this site yesterday (my first blog thingee!) and I can't believe how responsive and supportive you all are!!!! Thank you so much! Interesting about the 12 hr thing - I think I was told it was 24 and sometimes I take one in the morning and one in the night and sometimes I take them both at night and then in the following morning. Wow - I'll be more careful and regular from now on, thanks!

i take 700mg daily (i know, that's alot of meds) and i have never had any liver problems. what has your doctor said???

Hi Flicka, I have been taking lamictal now for about 2 years and started on a dose of 200mg and have worked my way up to 500mg which I take daily in 2 divided doses of 250mg morning and night, 12 hours apart. As Dave13 mentioned they do need to be taken 12 hours apart, roughly the same time of day, as a delay can cause seizures. Trust me when I say it can. It happened to me while on a flight from AUS to Toronto Canada and I miscalculated the timing of my dose by about 5 hours, add to that extreme fatigue (which is the main trigger for me on Lamictal) and I had a seizure on the plane just 3 hours out of Toronto. I was devastated. How are you taking your doses? Twice a day? There is another once a day formulation but it doesn't seem to be as effective in seizure control.

There doesn't seem to be any link between abnormal liver function tests (LFTs) and lamictal. I know when I was taking tegretol (for 10 yrs) my LFTs were quite abnormal due to the tegretol. That was one of the reasons why my neuro wanted to change me to lamictal. Lamictal is not supposed to cause abnormal LFTs, but with any drug people do react differently to it. Have you voiced your concerns with your neuro? Careful monitoring I think is a good idea esp. for us as our meds have the potential to cause problems. In your case, it would probably be a good idea to check your LFTs regularly. Also see if anything else has changed in your diet, perhaps increased alcohol consumption, importantly contraindications with other meds you might be taking. See if there is a pattern anywhere. Good luck with it and make sure you let us know how your next blood tests go.

My Dr has decided to blood test me every three months for a while and if it continues to rise then will look at reducing my meds. I have just booked in with my neuro for one month away to see what he has to say.

I have not been especially careful with times and even missed some by accident, but I am VERY LUCKY (very lucky) to not suffer any consequences, however I'm going to be more careful from now on thanks to your enlightenment.
Thanks for the info on livers calimommy2b, very interesting. I don't drink very often and it appears as that lamictal is the most likely cause. I am quite happy to reduce my meds because during the period I was titrating up, at about 150mg I did an all-nighter for uni (foolish I know) and if my meds hadn't been working I WOULD have definitely had a seizure so I can afford to drop them a bit.

Wouldn't it be awesome not to have epilepsy?! I'm going to manage myself carefully and habitually and get in the mindset that I don't! Who's with me!

hiya im on 400mg a day and my livr function tests always come back abnormal with lamitcal in my system... apparently side effect of the drug! My GP isnt overly concerned as no other tests for liver plus a scan have always come back normal... just makes the test unreliable at times.

Coming from a neuro, the standard dose to start Lamictal is 50 mg. Starting at a higher dose causes Steven Johnson's in about 85% of users. Working your way up slowly is usually a must for this medication. 50 mg works for seizure control in most cases, but some do need more. For those who use Lamictal for bipolar disorder usually work their way up to the 200 mg. Doing routine liver cleanses often is very helpful with liver function. Turmeric and raw garlic are very useful in liver cleansing and functioning.

Take Lamictal every 12 hrs. Skipping a dose can cause seizure activity. It has a 19 hour half life, but taking every 12 hours is recommended for seizure control.