lamotrigine vs rifampin
Side-by-side comparison of lamotrigine and rifampin. Data from FDA drug databases (Orange Book, NDC Directory, recalls, shortages) covering 20,000+ approved drugs, plus CMS pricing; see our methodology.
minor Known Drug Interaction
Rifampin ↓ lamotrigine Decreased lamotrigine AUC approximately 40%. ( 7 , 12.3 ) Carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital, primidone, and rifampin decrease lamotrigine concentrations by approximately 40%.
Recommendation: Your doctor may need to increase your lamotrigine dose so that the medicine stays at a level that works for you.
Lamictal
Rifadin
Lamotrigine is a medicine that can treat seizures and bipolar disorder. It works by reducing irregular electrical activity in the brain.
Rifampin is an antibiotic medicine. It fights bacteria in your body to treat infections.
Lamotrigine can treat epilepsy in adults and children 2 years and older. It can help with partial-onset seizures, primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures, and generalized seizures of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. It can also be used to delay mood episodes in adults with bipolar I disorder.
Rifampin treats tuberculosis (TB) and helps eliminate the bacteria that cause meningitis from your nose and throat. It is important to use rifampin only for infections that are proven or strongly suspected to be caused by bacteria. This helps to prevent bacteria from becoming resistant to the medicine.
Lamotrigine affects how nerves in the brain send signals to each other. It is thought to work by decreasing the release of certain chemicals. This helps to stabilize electrical activity and prevent seizures or mood swings.
Rifampin works by stopping bacteria from growing and multiplying. It does this by blocking a key enzyme that the bacteria need to make proteins. This helps your body fight off the infection.
- • Dizziness
- • Headache
- • Double vision
- • Uncoordinated movements
- • Nausea
- • Heartburn
- • Upset stomach
- • Loss of appetite
- • Nausea
- • Vomiting
- Skin rash 8,408
- Seizure 6,527
- Feeling sick to your stomach 6,151
- Tiredness 5,914
- Feeling lightheaded 5,771
- Drug Interaction 970
- Drug Reaction With Eosinophilia And Systemic Symptoms 727
- Nausea 628
- Condition Aggravated 550
- Pyrexia 541
Lamotrigine can cause a serious skin rash that may require you to go to the hospital. This rash can be life-threatening. The risk is higher in children. Stop taking lamotrigine and see a doctor right away if you get a rash, fever, or swollen lymph nodes.
Rifampin can cause liver problems. Tell your doctor right away if you have yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, or stomach pain. Rifampin can also cause blood problems. Tell your doctor if you have unusual bleeding or bruising.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Lamotrigine may cause harm to an unborn baby. There is a pregnancy registry for women who take lamotrigine during pregnancy. You can enroll by calling 1-888-233-2334.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Rifampin can make birth control pills less effective, so use other forms of birth control. Talk to your doctor if you are breastfeeding.
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How to Read This lamotrigine vs rifampin Comparison
lamotrigine is classified in the Anticonvulsant drug class, while rifampin sits within the Rifamycin Antibiotic class. Drugs from different classes work through distinct mechanisms, so a head-to-head comparison illustrates trade-offs rather than equivalence. Both drugs are prescription-only, so a licensed provider must authorize use.
Adverse event totals above are pulled from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). For these top-ranked reactions alone, lamotrigine has 32,771 submissions while rifampin has 3,416. Those figures reflect cumulative reporting volume, not per-patient risk, so older, widely dispensed drugs typically look worse on count alone. These two drugs have a known minor interaction flagged in FDA labeling, attributed to rifampin causes your body to clear lamotrigine out of your system much faster than normal, lowering the drug levels in your blood.. Serious warnings, pregnancy guidance, and contraindications can differ even when indications overlap.
A table cannot substitute for clinical judgment. Effectiveness, tolerability, drug-drug interactions with your other medications, kidney and liver function, pregnancy status, insurance formulary, and price all feed into a decision that only a licensed prescriber can make responsibly. Data here is sourced from FDA Structured Product Labels (SPL) and FAERS, both of which update as manufacturers and clinicians submit new information. This page is for educational purposes only, is not medical advice, and should not be used to self-switch between lamotrigine and rifampin - always consult your physician or pharmacist first.
Important: This comparison is for informational purposes only. Drug effects vary between individuals. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist for personalized medical advice.