Dear All,
Hope you have been having a peaceful and blessed Eastern!
@heal33, did you tolerate well all the AEDs you have tried before Lamotrigine? Why am I asking that? Because I and many other people have difficulty tolerating those medications, having I tried Lamotrigine, Tegretol, Trileptal, Gabaneurin and last Vimpat. Some of them did in fact eliminate my seizures, but the side-effects I had were terrible. Others medications increased my seizures. Nowadays, I am taking CBD (medical cannabis) and can tolerate it well. I still have 2 to 3 seizures (focal complex) seizures a month, but I do prefer to have those seizures rather than to be seizure-free and have all the side-effects I have experienced with AEDs. It is a trade-off! If you are a person that adapts well to AED medications (I am not, I am very sensible since childhood), I would try to be seizure-free with another medication. But if you have some sensibility to AEDs, think carefully before changing medication.
I understand that all AEDs are controlled medication, at least here in Brazil. Controlled means you have to show a prescription that is retained by the pharmacy. Are some AEDs not controlled in the US? What do you mean by controlled medication @heal33 ? Perhaps my understanding is a bit different.
Santosha