Drug Comparison
For educational purposes only — a decision-support tool, not a substitute for clinical judgment.
Side-by-side rubric across 96 psychiatric medications. Every rating traces to a verbatim primary-source quote — click any cell to see it.
How to read this tool ▾
Rating scale
– Favorable / lower than class baseline
± Minimal / equivocal
+ Low / uncommon
++ Moderate / common
+++ High / very common
++++ Very high / class-outlier
Frequency vs severity
F = frequency, S = severity. Each gets its own pill colored on the same traffic-light scale: green → blue → yellow → orange → red. Click any cell for incidence percentages and NNH.
Evidence tier
A Network meta-analysis / RCT / FDA label
B Cohort / registry / pooled label data
C Expert review / textbook / case series
Sourcing
Click any cell to see the verbatim source quote and citation. Missing data shows n/a.
Data depth
++ Graded — frequency + severity, primary-source traces
+ FDA label — §6 frequency only (dashed border). Click for sub-types.
Blank — not yet checked (not “absent”)
–±++++++++++ABCF = frequency · S = severity · Dashed border = FDA label only · Click cell for details
1 drug selected — Lamotrigine(click to collapse)
1/4 selected
Lamotrigine
Lamictal · Subvenite
Anticonvulsant/Mood Stabilizer
FDA-approved indications
- Epilepsy — adjunctive (partial-onset, PGTC, Lennox-Gastaut; 2+ years)
- Epilepsy — conversion to monotherapy (partial-onset; 16+ years)
- Bipolar I maintenance — delay mood episode recurrence (adults)
Off-label uses
- Treatment-resistant depression (unipolar)
- PTSD
- Borderline personality disorder
MechanismAnti-epileptic Agent
Half-life25 hours (14 hours with enzyme inducers; 59 hours with valproate)
Decision GuideWhen to pick each / when to consider an alternative
Lamotrigine
Consider when
- Bipolar depression prevention — strongest evidence among mood stabilizers for preventing depressive relapse; FDA maintenance indication
- Weight-neutral mood stabilizer needed — no significant weight gain; advantage over valproate, lithium, and SGAs
- Bipolar maintenance in women of childbearing potential — lower teratogenicity than valproate; category C vs valproate's D
- Cognitive preservation important — minimal cognitive side effects vs valproate, lithium, or topiramate
- +1 more
Consider an alternative when
- SJS/TEN risk — dose-dependent serious rash; mandatory slow titration over 6+ weeks; risk highest in first 8 weeks
- Rapid mood stabilization needed — 6-week titration to therapeutic dose makes lamotrigine inappropriate for acute episodes
- Acute mania — no evidence for acute antimanic effect; lithium, valproate, or SGAs preferred for acute mania
- On valproate — valproate doubles lamotrigine levels; requires halved dose and even slower titration; complex co-prescribing
| Axis | Lamotrigine anticonvulsant-MS |
|---|---|
| Boxed Warnings | |
Suicidality (boxed warning) | |
DRESS / multiorgan hypersensitivity | |
| CNS | |
Sedation / somnolence | |
Activation / insomnia | |
| Metabolic | |
Weight gain | |
| Autonomic | |
Anticholinergic burden | |
| Cardiac | |
Cardiac conduction / AV block | |
| GI | |
Nausea / GI (general) | |
| Dermatologic | |
Rash (including SJS/TEN, pruritus, hypersensitivity) | |
| Interactions | |
CYP interactions / DDI profile | |
| Pregnancy | |
Teratogenicity | |
| Drug-specific / distinctive axes | |
Axis 12 — Blood dyscrasias only in Lamotrigine | |
Axis 13 — Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) only in Lamotrigine | |
Axis 15 — Aseptic meningitis only in Lamotrigine | |