Lamotrigine associated with insomnia
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Updated: Oct 24, 2026

Generation of Local CA1 γ Oscillations by Tetanic Stimulation
Published on: August 14, 2015
1Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Purpose:
To review the incidence of lamotrigine (LTG)-associated insomnia in an adult tertiary care epilepsy outpatient clinic.
Methods:
The records of all patients who had received LTG were reviewed to identify patients who had experienced insomnia after introduction of this drug. Patients were included if they had experienced a sleep disturbance of sufficient severity to require a discontinuation of LTG or a dose reduction.
Results:
Among 109 patients exposed to LTG, seven (6.4%) had a sleep disturbance of a severity to required a change in therapy. The descriptions of the sleep disturbance were similar among the patients, and the LTG-induced insomnia appeared to be dose dependent. Unlike the few previous descriptions of LTG-induced insomnia in the literature, no factors predisposing to this adverse effect were identified.
Conclusions:
The results of this retrospective review suggest an association between LTG and intolerable insomnia in a small proportion of patients. Physicians should inquire about sleep disturbances in patients treated with LTG.
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