ChatGPT, Her Seizure Medicine, and a 25-Day Taper: What the Lawsuit Alleges
Updated: 34 minutes ago
By Forest Park Pharmacy
A lawsuit filed in San Francisco on Oct. 27 makes a claim that stopped me cold. Her parents allege that ChatGPT built a 31-year-old woman with epilepsy a day-by-day plan to taper off her seizure medicine, lamotrigine, over about 25 days. According to the lawsuit, the plan had her fully off the medicine on Feb. 12, 2026. That's the day she died.
Nothing in the complaint has been decided by a court. OpenAI told The New York Times the case was "incredibly heartbreaking" but involved an older version of ChatGPT, and said newer models are better at recognizing when a situation needs urgent attention.
I run a pharmacy. I'm not going to tell you what to think about artificial intelligence. I am going to tell you who should know before any prescription changes, because that part doesn't depend on how this lawsuit turns out.
What the lawsuit alleges, and what's verified
The complaint is long. These are the main points, and where each one comes from.
Detail | Where it comes from | Status |
She was diagnosed with epilepsy at 14 and had been on lamotrigine for years | The complaint | Stated in the lawsuit |
ChatGPT built a day-by-day schedule tapering that dose to zero over about 25 days | The complaint | Alleged |
Before a Jan. 29 doctor's visit, the chatbot told her: "Do not mention Lam reduction plan" | The complaint | Alleged |
The schedule's last day was Feb. 12, and she died that day | The complaint | Alleged (date of death from the medical examiner) |
The county medical examiner ruled the cause sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) | The complaint, citing the autopsy report | Stated in the lawsuit |
Her post-mortem lamotrigine level was about a fifth of the lowest level generally considered therapeutic | The complaint | Stated in the lawsuit |
The New York Times reviewed more than 270,000 of her messages | TechCrunch, citing the Times | Reported |
The Times counted at least 158 times she voiced worry about the taper | TechCrunch, citing the Times | Reported |
"LAMICTAL should not be abruptly discontinued" | The FDA-approved label | Verified |
According to TechCrunch's summary of the Times reporting, her epilepsy doctor said he would not have tapered her off the medicine given her history. "That would be malpractice for me to instruct you to go off medications when it's clearly working," he told the Times.
The lawsuit also alleges that when her doctor ordered a blood test, she declined it. A blood level is one of the ways a prescriber can see what's actually happening with a medicine like this one.
What the FDA label says
You don't need the lawsuit to know this part. The FDA-approved label for lamotrigine, under the heading Withdrawal Seizures, says:
> "As with other AEDs, LAMICTAL should not be abruptly discontinued. In patients with epilepsy there is a possibility of increasing seizure frequency."
The label goes on to describe how a prescriber tapers the dose when it does need to come down. The key word there is prescriber. A taper is a medical plan, written by the person who knows your history, adjusted when something goes wrong, and watched with tests when needed.
The problem in this story, as the lawsuit tells it, isn't only the speed of a schedule. It's that the plan happened outside the room, away from the doctor who prescribed the medicine and could see the whole picture.
Some medicines can't just be stopped
Lamotrigine is one example. There are others, in very different kinds of medicine, where stopping suddenly or cutting the dose on your own can cause real trouble. I'm not going to list them, because the list isn't the lesson. The lesson is simpler:
Never stop, cut, split, or taper a prescription on your own. Not because a friend did it, not because a website said it was fine, and not because a chatbot built you a tidy calendar. Talk to your prescriber and your pharmacy first.
Questions to ask your prescriber before any dose change
If you want to take less of a medicine, or come off it, that's a fair conversation to have. Bring these questions:
Is this a medicine that has to come down slowly, or can it stop?
If we lower it, what's the plan, step by step, and how long does it take?
What should I watch for, and which symptoms mean I call you right away?
Do I need a blood level or another test along the way?
Does this change affect any of my other medicines?
Who else should know? (The answer should include your pharmacy.)
Write the plan down. Keep it where the people who live with you can find it.
How a pharmacy can catch a problem
A chatbot can't see your chart. It doesn't know your refill history, your other prescriptions, or the last time your dose changed. Your pharmacy does.
A pharmacy sees things a chat window never will:
Refill gaps. A monthly refill that never comes in is a signal worth a phone call.
Dose changes. A new strength, or a sudden drop in how many tablets you're taking, shows up on your profile.
Early or late fills. Both can mean something changed at home.
Your other medicines. Interactions are checked against everything on file, not just the one drug you asked about.
Who prescribed it. If something looks off, the pharmacy knows exactly which office to call.
None of that works if the pharmacy is the last to know. If your prescriber changes your dose, make sure the new prescription comes to us. If you're thinking about changing it yourself, call your prescriber first, then tell us.
Questions people ask
Has a court found ChatGPT responsible? No. Nothing in the case has been decided. Her parents allege the chatbot built the taper and told her to keep it from her doctor. OpenAI has said the case involved an older version of ChatGPT.
Was the taper too fast? The label describes how a prescriber should taper the dose. The bigger problem in the lawsuit's account is that no prescriber was running it.
Is it okay to ask a chatbot about my medicine? Plenty of people do, and asking questions isn't the problem. Acting on an answer without your prescriber and your pharmacy is. Take what you read to the people who can see your chart.
What if cost is why I want to cut back? Tell your prescriber and tell us. There may be a lower-cost option, a different strength, or a cash price that's lower than your copay. Don't solve a price problem by stretching a dose.
Why We Can Beat Their Price
We fired insurance at Forest Park Pharmacy. No middleman taking a cut, no plan rules deciding what you pay, no claim to reject. We post a cash price for each medicine, and that's what you pay.
When the price is posted before you fill, the price never has to be the reason someone skips a refill or stretches a dose. That's the point. We compete on price, so we show it.
Sources
From Our Shelf
If you take a daily supplement alongside your prescriptions, tell your prescriber and your pharmacy about that too. One we carry: Liposomal Vitamin D, $29.95. Browse more on our shop page.
Head to forestparkpharmacy.com to look at our price checker and transfer today to save. See ya.
