Epilepsy symptoms and conditions

My son has epilepsy. Last year I remember him being put on antibiotic and nasonex for his sinus infection, (Sept. 2008) he had 13 tonic clonic seizures in one day!
This year, he has been put on antibiotic and nasonex again (2 sprays in each nostril twice a day) and he had 4 tonic clonic seizures in one day!
I believe it is from the nasonex that his seizures has increased so much. He has been constipated, swallowing like his throat hurts, very swollen sinuses, acts like he is depressed, squints his eyes like he has a headache. The worse thing is he cannot tell me something hurts, he cannot communicate much at all because he is special needs. I can only go by his body language or if he is running a fever. This morning I did not give him the nasonex, I used only saline spray to rinse his sinuses. After reading everyone's side effects I went and threw all the nasonex in the trash!! My son will go to ENT on Monday and the ENT better not tell me to put my son back on nasonex because I will not do it!! I will only be using saline spray from now on on my son's sinuses.

I too have been taking 100mg Lamictal for about a year for rapidly cycling Bi Polar, and am very concerned about my short term memory loss. I lose my train of thought in the middle of speech, can't remember what I did on the weekend when asked on Monday in conversation, and generally wonder if I have to put up with this somewhat debilitating and frustrating symptom just to have the plus of controlling my mood swings...Also recently have notice trouble spelling words - this was my pride and joy that I could spell pretty much any word and now that seems to be going too. Anyone know if these symptoms will dissipate if I stop taking Lamictal?

I have been reading these posts for awhile now and am so glad to have found them.
I am a 25yr female with epilepsy and have been on lamictal for the past 4yrs. I changed from epilim because I was getting married and heard that lamictal was safer in case of pregnancy. Not long after I found myself getting very angry over small things and not being able to sleep. I thought this was just me so I tried to get myself together. It went on for some time before I gave up and got help. I was diagnosed with depression and given fluoxetine. This helped me get back on my feet but I did not want to be on it long term and have been of the fluoxetine 2yrs. I still struggle with my mood but is manageable which I am happy for.
I did not realize that the headaches and the memory loss I had were from the lamictal until I found this forum then it all made sense. I had always thought that I was staying up too late and hence getting headaches. As for the memory I often feel like a blithering idiot. Cant remember words and often the wrong ones come out its so embarrassing. So often I feel like I'm in a daze and life is passing me by.
After all this said I have not heard of any other drug that would be any better. I have found comfort in knowing that I am not alone in this. There are a lot of people that do not understand the effects of medication or take it seriously when I try to explain. If there is anyone out there that is keen to chat about epilepsy or lamictal I would love to talk.

I am on 75mg in the morning and 50mg in the evening (125mg/day total), for my seizure disorder. If I could get off of it I would because I know how bad psychiatric drugs are. I used to be on various antidepressants for about 4 or so years, until I learned that "mood disorders" are all a crock, and drug companies are making a killing off of all the psychiatric drugs. Did you know that it has never been proven that depression or bipolar or whatever is caused by chemical imbalances?? It has been proven, however, that psychiatric drugs mess up the brain. Do some research on this. Go to the sight ****** I am so thankful I am off antidepressants but my life will never be as good as it was before I ever put the first one in my mouth. I would encourage everybody who has been diagnosed with "bipolar" to slowly and gradually withdraw from your medication and don't give up until 6 months have past. It takes a very long time for the drugs to get out of your system and you will feel like you are going through hell as you withdraw but in the end it is all worth it. Back to the Lamictal, I have now been on it for about 4 years. It does not control my myoclonic jerks completely (I have Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy) but controls my grand mal seizures as long as I take care of myself. I have pretty much no side effects, except for possibly poor memory/forgetfullness/can't find the word I'm looking for/etc, and possibly some slight "ocd" tendencies. It is hard to distinguish from the leftover effects of being on antidepressants (which caused me a lot of anxiety, panic attacks, depression, etc), because I do have some mild anxiety left over from them, but has drastically improved. The man problem I am suffering now from the Lamictal is feeling the effects of it wearing off in the evenings. In the last few months I have been feeling that feeling on and off throughout the whole day!! And my myoclonic jerks are increasing. I really don't want to go up on my dosage due to the brain damage psychiatric drugs cause and all the bad side effects I could experience, but neither do I want to change medications because I am at a very stressful time in my life where I am already going through a lot of changes. No idea what to do. Just wish that God would heal me of my seizure disorder!!! (it is a kind I am told I will never grow out of) Even if I had to go through the withdrawal from the Lamictal it would be worth it! If only...

My good friend is on Topamax and Trileptal for epilepsy seizures. She has developed severe paranoia. We cant call her on her phone or send her an email as she believes that her phone, computer and house are all "bugged". I have written a letter to her doctor to let him know what is occurring in her personal life as Im sure that he is unaware of her behavior. She lives in a world of fear and her medication needs to be changed.

I have a seizure disorder (Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy) that started in 2000. I was on Valporic Acid till 2005 at which time I gradually switched over to Lamotrigine (Lamictal). My reason for switching to Lamictal is because it is a lot safer for an unborn baby than Valporic Acid and I got married in 2005 so just wanted to be safe just in case. Valporic Acid controlled both my myoclonic jerks and my grand mal seizures. I was on 1500mg a day (6 x 250mg). With the Lamictal I started at 100mg/day and now am on 125mg/day (5 x 25mg). I take 3 in the morning and 2 in the evening, exactly 12 hours apart. If I take my doses longer than 12 hours apart, I start feeling the withdrawal. My body just starts feeling strange. At first I thought this way I felt meant I was going to start having myoclonus jerks or a seizure but I now realize that it is withdrawal I am feeling. I hate how my body, my life, is controlled by the Lamictal. I hate the withdrawal feeling I feel almost every evening, and it goes away once I take my evening dose. Other than that I don't really know of any side effects I have. I know I am on a really low dose compared to a lot of people. My neurologist and family doctor want me to go up on my dosage to control my myoclonus jerks better but I keep refusing because I HATE HATE HATE being on any psychiatric medication. I have been on antidepressants in the past (Paxil, Effexor, Remeron, Cipralex at different times over 4 years) and I have been through withdrawal from them. I am so glad to be free from those drugs but I tell you the withdrawal is HELL. But if it wasn't for my seizure disorder, I would GLADLY go through hell again to be off of Lamictal. Recently I tried lowering my Lamictal dosage in hopes I could be on a lower dose. I cut one of my 5 pills in half which took me from 125mg to 112.5 mg. The first 7 weeks were fine - some minor hardly noticeable side effects. But then the withdrawal hit hard - panic attacks and extreme nausea being the worst, but also very weak/no strength, anxiety, trembling, etc. After 4 days of that I went back up to 125mg and after about 3 weeks was back to normal. The only reason I did not stick it out was because my myoclonus jerks were increasing and I did not want to seizure. I have stuck out half a year of antidepressant withdrawal torture and I would've stuck out the Lamictal withdrawal if it wasn't for my seizure disorder. Great book that really helped me if you want to go off Lamictal is Your Drug May Be Your Problem - How and Why to Stop Taking Psychiatric Medications by Peter R. Breggin MD and David Cohen MD. This book really helped me during my antidepressant withdrawal. Dr. Breggin also has a website which is ****** I do have some mild problems with anxiety and I have become a little OCD but I think that is left over from my years of antidepressant use as they both seem to gradually get better over time (I have been free from the death grip of antidepressants for 2 years now). If you decide to withdraw from Lamictal please do it SAFELY. Have strong support. Do it very gradually. Know the risks. I for one may have to be on this for life which is discouraging. After I am done having kids (I'm a 26 year old female, been married for 4 years, hoping to start a family soon) maybe I will switch back over to Valproic Acid.....it would control my jerks better but who knows if it would bring on a whole 'nother set of problems, right?

I was given Levaquin on February 14, 2001 for a sinus infection. I had taken a Claritin ready tab before I took the Levaquin. Within 5 minutes of taking Levaquin, I literally felt as if ants were crawling all over the inside of my skin. I was in the bathroom when this happened and I remember that I started to sneeze non-stop. It got to the point that every time I sneezed, I could feel my throat closing and blood would come out of my nose. I knew I was in trouble. I didn't have time to wait for an ambulance and my mom, who has epilepsy and doesn't drive went with me to the ER. By the time I got there, 5 min drive away from my house, I was covered in huge hives. My hands, feet and face were also blue and I couldn't speak! I had gotten there just in time. I got 3 shots of antihistamine (benadryl) and 3 of hydro cortisone. My doctor was in disbelief when I went to see him the next day to tell him what had happened. Apparently my reaction was "rare", but by the other stories on this page-I don't think it is. It was a horrible experience going into Anaphylaxis shock. I now watch everything that is an RX and ask a lot of questions. I found out a few years later that I was also allergic to sulfa based drugs, almost the same reaction (not as severe) but I was ready and I knew what to do. Thank God for Benadryl!!!

My healthy, active 55 yr old husband of 30 yrs was prescribed SIMVASTATIN in Aug. of last year. He started having pains in his legs & back and had an appointment in Oct. with the dr. to check on how he was doing with the new drug. When he went in to the office, he was having terrible pains in his chest, legs & back. The dr. immediately called 911 thinking he was having a heart attack. He was in the hospital for a week while they ran a multitude of tests. All came back clear for his heart. He kept telling the dr. that the back & leg pains were still there. They didn't seem to be concerned about anything except his heart. He was dismissed continuing to have pain. The pain steadly increased over his whole body, then in Feb. of this year, he suffered a major seizure and spent another week in the hospital. This time they wrote it off as epilepsy and put him on anti-seziure pills. After he was released, the symptoms increased, his memory, vision & balance are all effected, he has chest pains, depression, and is in constant pain. He's been sent for numerous MRI's, bone scans, blood tests,etc. He has been to neurologists, neurosurgeons, chiropractors, physical therapists, etc. The entire time, his health has declined because he was being poisoned by Simvastatin. Finally, after doing our own research, we found a neurologist that recognized the problem. He told us that this drug distroys muscle tissue and that the damage may be irreversible. My husband can no longer work, drive, or enjoy life. He walks without a cane or walker, and depends on pain pills because the pain is so severe. He stays in bed most of the time due to the pain and lack of energy. He has been off Simvastatin for a week now with no change. We are hoping & praying for improvement over time. PLEASE, if you are your loved one are taking this drug-STOP IMMEDIATELY. The results can be devastating. I can't imagine why the FDA would approve a drug like this that destroys quality of life.

I've been on Topamax (100 mg 2x per day) for 5 years as mono therapy for epilepsy. I switched over from Depakote which was a *nightmare* and it has been great, no seizures. I've had the pins and needles, diminished vocabulary and memory, and intermittent eye twitching but this week my right eye (why is it always the right eye?) has started twitching almost constantly. It is frightening and embarrassing and I am not sure what I should do.. I guess it's back to the neurological drawing for me because I am not sure why it's happening now. Has anyone else had the eye twitching occur after long term use?

Hi, I have been reading all the postings and my heart goes out to everyone. I been there, done that. Myself, I have a seizure disorder and been on Lamictal since 2003 (I can't recall/remember) - I had tried 5 other seizure meds that didn't work for me. For quite a while now I take 600mg a day and Keppra 250mg to control my seizures. I lost my driver's license twice so far (I know that is the rule in CA) , and once not long ago (I got my license back) I got totally lost in my town, which I used to know like the back of my hand. I thought I had lost my mind. I asked my doc if I was getting demenia and he said oh no you are too young (53). I have also learned doctor's (for the most part) are idiots too. They don't think outside the box for us. I can't spell anymore, get depressed easily. I really want to work, but I can't. I have tried time and time again, but (yesterday) it just about did me in...people explained to me how to do things on the job many many times but I couldn't retain any thing. People just looked at me as if to say what planet did you come from. I cried on the job so hard I wanted to disappear. I am so sick of my family saying "I know you can't - don't remember this or that..... I can hardly bare that. Now I have a potential kidney problem. Suppose it is from these meds? I am really scared.

I feel like I am walking on clouds; I feel light-headed; I can't think straight/logically; I feel drowsy; I see strange images that are not really there; my stomach is bloated and I have severe, disgusting gas; and my vision is blurred. All this to kill my carpal tunnel pain? It's high time I get off of this poison. I suggest all of you do too.

I thought that all the problems I've had the last 3 months that I've been on Yaz were unrelated....I thought between stress, IBS, my job as a teacher, and being a single mother, that all my problems are just stress. I've been on the pill for three months. I am taking the pill to help with adult acne and mood swings. I really think that it has helped both of those things. However, the last month I have noticed some symptoms and I think that maybe I can tie them all to yaz???? Here's the list:
Headaches
Weight gain
Muscle cramps
Extreme GI problems (worse than my normal IBS)
Blanking out (short time frames where I do weird things and I don't remember them). Is this a symptom? I haven't read about this one. I'm scared to death I have some mental disease or something! Anyone else have this problem? I am so scared that I've lost my mind and have gone crazy.
Night mares
Anxiety
Panic attacks (I think)
Abnormal heart beat

I had a Mirena put in a month ago and it was AWFUL.. I think it was misplaced, because within 15 minutes I could not walk, was sweating, dizzy, and shaking, and had the sharpest pain you can imagine.. it was expelling itself. So I went back (almost called an ambulance, went with a cab cause I hadn't gotten far down the street anyway) and got it removed immediately. Yesterday I had another one put in, by a different (more trustworthy) Doctor. Extremely painful process, ended up laying in bed all day downing ibuprofen. But today I am fine, just some mild cramping.

What I really wonder is who out there has compared Mirena with other birth control methods.. I had to get one because I had awful experiences with migraines and other side effects from pills. I have spent months researching different methods of birth control and reading reviews on all of them.. honestly, every method has hundreds of postings describing the exact same side effects. The best birth control methods are, by nature, hormonal, so it isn't surprising that people have similar reactions to them. Mirena is supposed to be better in that it acts more locally and does not have estrogens. Can anyone tell me how this worked out compared to other methods, or if they had migraines? I just get so scared reading all of these horror stories, and I cant tell if they are general reactions to hormones or specifically from Mirena. Thanks for your help...

I was diagnosed with peti-mal epilepsy aprox 17 years ago. I tried many different anti epileptic drugs and had many negative side effects from teeth problems to depression and none of which controlled my seizures. 12 years ago I went on lamictal (600 mg a day) and I haven't looked back, I feel I have my miracle. So far I have no side effects, am completely seizure free and I have a life. BEFORE lamictal some side effects were poor concentration ( when reading a book I could not remember what was written on the top of the page by the time I got to the bottom), little co-ordination with sports (most times I could not catch a ball when thrown to me, this caused a lot of social problems), forgetfulness and I was quite clumsy. I hope you all can one day find a medication that works just as well for you or even better a cure. My heart goes out to you all.

I am going on topamax for the second time. I think the drug is going to be the best choice for me, personally. I am on it to treat both, epilepsy and chronic migraines. The first time I went on it, I titrated partially to my dosage (400mg) and had to stop because my potassium dropped dangerously low and I was pregnant at the time. I have since had my daughter and am giving it another go. I am having the loss of appetite, redness and tingling of hands and feet, some irritability. I am up to 100mg now and am titrating up to 400mg. I hope that it will subside after a while. I already don't care for carbonated beverages and you are supposed to avoid stimulants if you have migraines and epilepsy anyways people! So figure it a blessing that you can't drink carbonated beverages that MOST contain CAFFEINE aka STIMULANT!!! HELLO!!! As for the other symptoms, i guess you have to weigh the benefits to the risks. I certainly hope it works for me and everyone else. Last time I took it, it could have caused heart failure. That was a biggie! So I would say, Get your routine labs and so long as you can withstand the side effects and the reason you went on the medication is being controlled...... Thank you topamax!

I was diagnosed with epilepsy thirteen years ago. I never had seizures where I would pass out; in the beginning I only had vibrations and this lasted a few days. After several occurrences and ignoring the doctor, I finally went on Neurontin and that worked fairly well for ten years. Over the last three years, however, I've been having periods where I become confused for twenty seconds or so and then come back to reality. I know it's happening and when I try to communicate it's mostly incoherent nonsense.

Since these seizures have picked up, I've tried every medicine in the book! Dopomax, Tegretol, Kepra; you name it, I've tried it. Finally I asked my doctor about Dilantin; I remember my cousin taking it when we were young. I remember him having to get his gums cut and stuff like that but I was out of options.

With the medicine, I seem to be doing okay. I still have periods of confusement, usually at night but when you teach 7th graders that's bound to happen! My question pertains to possible hemorrhoids or skin tags. Has Dilantin been evaluated in terms of causing such discomfort? I had the actual surgery years ago, so my rhoids have been under control for the most part, however, since I started Dilantin, it seems like my butt is always sore.

My daughter received her first shot on 6/20/2007 when she was 14 years old and second shot on 12/27/2007. During this time frame she complained of having headaches daily. On 1/8/2008 my daughter had a seizure. She had been a healthy, dancer and scholastic student. Since her shot she has had a total of 12 seizures and has been in and out of hospitals numerous times. She was diagnosed with epilepsy in March of 2008. She has been on Topamax, Keppra, Lamictal and Zonegran and continues to have seizures. The side effects from the medications that my daughter has suffered with along with depression has been tremendous.
We thought we were protecting our daughter and found that we have only hurt her. The doctors need to stop pushing the shot and it needs to be taken off the market. Because of this shot she has to be dependent on more drugs. She has missed so much school, which were important years (freshman & sophmore) that she will never get back. How many more girls need to suffer!

Grand Mal Seizure with injury. PT has no history or predisposition to epilepsy

Like most of you all I am on Topamax 100mg. I am a 27 year old female that has suffered from severe migraines for over 20 years that would last up to 2-3 days and completely debilitated me. I would bleed from my tear ducts from the extreme pressure and I would need to be in a quiet, cold, closed off room to be left alone until the migraine was gone to continue on with my life. It was ruining my life and taking over my day to day routine. I could never really commit to anything without the constant worry in the back of my mind about a possible migraine until I found Topamax. Now on Topamax I went from 4-5 migraines weekly to 1-2 monthly, it is truly amazing, however there is a catch. Although the medication is wonderful and I will never get off of it at the rate of success that I am at, I do have side effects. I have extreme tingling in my extremities, (hands, feet) along with my face. It feels like they are constantly asleep. I also have noticed the poor tasting carbonating drinks along with my taste buds changing with certain foods that I use to be so fond of. I also have a very smokey haze where it almost feels euphoric if I wake up in the middle of the night. I have horrible nightmares of people that I have not seen in or thought of in years, memory loss and spelling issues-all goes away after 3-4 months of uses. I had shortness of breath, however that subsides as well with the use of the medications along with several other side effects. I have lost over 30lbs that is along with diet, so I can't say it is all Topamax. I have noticed little nodules that have been showing up on my hands since I stared taking the medication that I am in ? about I have a call in to my neurologist to see if he has heard of any such thing. Other than that I love the medication, because if not having migraines is one of the side effects-lol I can handle the side effects. I hope that this will help anyone that might have anything similar to what I am going through. If you can shed some light on my nodule situation please let me know. Thanks

i have been on neurontin for nerve pain in my legs due to vasculitis for a few weeks now. i have only noticed a small increase in appetite. my eyesite seems to be out of focus, but its so bad anyway that i have no idea if its the neurontin or just my eyes, and minor headaches i had no pain relief either........absolutely no improvement at all. my doctor just raised my dose from 900 mgs a day to 1200 the other day. still no pain relief but i am now getting a bit dizzy. i guess we will see what happens!

since starting topamax in may 08, 50mg twice daily, i have had constant pain under my right rib, feels like something is eating a hole straight through to my back where the pain wraps around. also have some trouble breathing, constipation. have had gallbladder ultrasound, hida-scan of gallbladder, endoscopy, cat scan of chest and abdomen and chest x-ray, along with a zillion blood tests all showing normal. no one can find the source of my pain, the only thing is how the time corresponds with my pain and when i started the topamax. can anyone tell me of any similar side effects they have had, is it the topamax causing this? and should i stop. i'm feeling as if i'm poisoning myself. i need help. thank you for anything you can tell me.

My doctor prescribed me Neurontin today, and I heard that you can become addicted to it. I am scared to start taking it due that fact. I also read on the internet that it produce psychoactive effects, and I do not want any affects like that because I have a small child to care for. Has anyone experienced any effects like that? I like to feel sober and not drugged up. I have only taken 100 mg so far, but I am supposed to gradually up the dose.

My doctor prescribed 25 mg Topamax every evening for headache prevention. I had headache and nausea for several days before starting the Topamax, then after starting the Topamax, the headache pain got worse and I also had pain in my back and ears. I did not get the tingling in extremities but noticed some decreased sense of feeling in my face for a few hours after taking the medicine. The pain got progressively worse then I became depressed and suicidal. I was convinced my life was so bad that I wanted to die. I take 100 mg Zoloft daily for depression and still feel a little depressed and was hoping Topamax would help with this, too. I took Topamax to help with headaches and depression and it made both much worse to the point where I was seriously suicidal. I stopped the Topamax after only 5 days and the pains and nausea have gradually decreased to the point where today I have been virtually pain free most of the day for the first time in 2 weeks. I read on the internet that there is an increased risk of suicide while taking anticonvulsants, but it's rare. I am convinced I am one of the very unlucky people who becomes suicidal on this medication. I have 2 beautiful children, a great job, excellent health other than headaches and depression, and plenty to live for. I still can't believe that less than a week ago I just wanted to die and didn't care about seeing my children and family ever again or ever getting back to my job that I love. It's so hard to believe a drug can cause that kind of thinking. I'm pretty sure my doctor doesn't think the Topamax caused me to be suicidal and has no intentions of reporting my case to anyone. I suspect it's not as rare as they say to become suicidal on this med, it's just not reported enough. I wouldn't be typing this if I were still taking Topamax because I would be lying in bed suffering in pain, sleeping, thinking about how good it would be if I would just die. I went for a CT scan of my brain soon after getting off this med and I remember thinking that I hoped I had a tumor or anurism so I could die. I found out today I don't have a life threatening illness and I am happy about that now and can't believe I was thinking such bad things only a few days ago. I hope doctors take more care in prescribing this medication to people who have a history of major depression because I'm afraid people are going to feel like I felt and kill themselves on this med. I think this drug is great for some people and should be available, but people need to be warned that they may become suicidal and given instructions on what to do if that happens. I had no idea if I should go to the ER or call someone or what, so I just got people to watch my kids and called in sick to work and stayed in bed for a few days. I don't miss work often and am very committed to my job and my children are first in my life, so not being able to care for my kids or go to work made me feel so much more depressed. My doctor referred me to a neurologist and I hope to find some way to get relief from the head, neck, and back pain and the nausea. A few days ago I thought I would kill myself if my doctor couldn't find what was wrong with me and I felt terrible for no reason. Now I have hope. It's just not right that a drug can take away the ability to have hope.

my 4 year old daughter suddenly went in a coma.she has one change in her life that was using singulair.MRI was normal but EEG was abnormal.İn our family history there is no epilepsy.we stop using it and now all the things are ok.Today we are going to have EEG again.I wonder how will be the results.Reading all this made me shock.We were nearly loosing our baby.