Grand mal seizures symptoms and conditions

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...

I am trying to find out if anyone has experienced 5 minute delayed reaction from Lamictal. My 18 year old son has been on Lamictal for over 3 years. He started out at 200 mg, had a breakthrough seizure after 1 1/2 years and is now on 600 mg. Since they increased him, he has episodes about every two weeks where he feels really dizzy and then forgets what just happened five minutes before. His short term memory is getting progressively worse. You wouldn't know anything is wrong if you were talking to him, but since he has had four grand mal seizures, he knows something is up. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone, I had my mirena put in feb of 2008. Around June 2008 I started having dizzy spells, and headaches. Went to ENT and ruled out inner ear problems, went to neurologist and he said it could be migraines. I never had them before but have a family history. I have in the last couple months been having really bad dizzy spells and nausea, like 4-5 times a week. Has anyone else had any of these problems? Not sure if its the mirena or not, but have been to just about every doctor and no one can figure out why i have been so dizzy and nauseous> Any suggestions?????

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 first started on Topamax when I was 20 for seizures 100mg twice daily. But before that, throughout high/middle school, I was on Depakote 250mg twice daily to control my grand mal seizures, and Imitrex 100mg to control my migraines(about 3x monthly). When the switch was converted the only side effects I remembered was weight loss, I lost about 40 lbs in 1 yr. Also I was taken off the Imitrex and the Topamax also controlled the migraines. I am now 28, and in the past 8 yrs I have had only 1 migraine! I work in a health profession now and try to recommend Topamax for migraines as often as I can just from experience, but I can understand that everyone is made differently and it is not always going to work the same as it did for me. And one last note about Topamax, it just came out in a generic about 3 weeks ago(4/1/09) for anyone that is concerned about insurance copays and might want to give it a try.

My 17 year old son has been taking Lamictal for seizures for 2 1/2 years. He started out at 300 mg a day and was seizure free for a 1 1/2 years until November 2007. Since then his physician slowly increased his dosage to 500 mg a day. and he hasn't had another seizure . Unfortunately, Since the increase he has acne on his jawline and back. We are trying to find a way to get rid of the acne, but have been unsuccessful so far--decreasing his dosage is not an option as he has grand mal seizures. Also, he has these tiny red bumps all over his arms. His dermatologist say's they are a hair follicle problem, but I think it's quite a coincidence that they started when he began the Lamictal. If anyone has any suggestions, we would greatly appreciate them.

My nephew is 7 and has been on Singulair for probably 4 years. His symptoms developed over time but recently have exploded. He has epilepsy so most of the things that he has experienced has been blamed on that. However, today his doctor took him off singulair and said he believes his symptoms are caused from the drug. He started having head drop seizures, fell out of his desk and cut his face one day. He has also been depressed, had severe anxiety attacks for the past 8 months. Several months ago, he started having such severe nightmares that it is almost impossible to get him to go to bed and go to sleep. Recently he began "seeing dead people" and "monsters" that we trying to kill him even when he was awake. He has also cried many nights with leg cramps and severe stomach pain. I will update this page in two - three weeks to let you know if these problems go away now that we have stopped the singulair.

Singulair does interact with the astrocyte in the brain.

The role of the cysLT1 receptor (Singulair blocks this receptor) and the astrocyte in the brain has been studied. For anyone from Merck to say that there are no mechanisms by which Singulair can affect the
brain is ludicrous. If the Chinese researchers are correct, then Singulair very clearly affects the brain. Certainly, we don't know exactly how or when the effect would be good or bad. Under what circumstances would it be beneficial and under what circumstances would it be harmful.

For quite a while, researchers have been hypothesizing about the role of the astrocyte in brain function. If we go to look for theories, we will find them. Here is the theory of Dr. Dale Antanitus. I am no here to promote anyone's theory in particular but just to point out that they exist.

http://www.antanitus.com/hypothesis

We can see that the Chinese researchers have gone forward to look at potential links between the cysLT1 receptor (Singulair receptor) and inflammatory response in the brain. The 2008 study showed a link between the astrocyte and the cysLT1 receptor (Singulair receptor)

1: Glia. 2008 Jan 1;56(1):27-37. Links
Activation of CysLT receptors induces astrocyte proliferation and death after oxygen-glucose deprivation.

Huang XJ, Zhang WP, Li CT, Shi WZ, Fang SH, Lu YB, Chen Z, Wei EQ.
Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, People's Republic of China.

We recently found that 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) is activated to produce cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs), and CysLTs may cause neuronal injury and astrocytosis through activation of CysLT(1) and CysLT(2) receptors in the brain after focal cerebral ischemia. However, the property of astrocyte responses to in vitro ischemic injury is not clear; whether 5-LOX, CysLTs, and their receptors are also involved in the responses of ischemic astrocytes remains unknown. In the present study, we performed oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) followed by recovery to induce ischemic-like injury in the cultured rat astrocytes. We found that 1-h OGD did not injure astrocytes (sub-lethal OGD) but induced astrocyte proliferation 48 and 72 h after recovery; whereas 4-h OGD moderately injured the cells (moderate OGD) and led to death 24-72 h after recovery. Inhibition of phospholipase A(2) and 5-LOX attenuated both the proliferation and death. Sub-lethal and moderate OGD enhanced the production of CysLTs that was inhibited by 5-LOX inhibitors. Sub-lethal OGD increased the expressions of CysLT(1) receptor mRNA and protein, while moderate OGD induced the expression of CysLT(2) receptor mRNA. Exogenously applied leukotriene D(4) (LTD(4)) induced astrocyte proliferation at 1-10 nM and astrocyte death at 100-1,000 nM. The CysLT(1) receptor antagonist montelukast attenuated astrocyte proliferation, the CysLT(2) receptor antagonist BAY cysLT2 reversed astrocyte death, and the dual CysLT receptor antagonist BAY u9773 exhibited both effects. In addition, LTD(4) (100 nM) increased the expression of CysLT(2) receptor mRNA. Thus, in vitro ischemia activates astrocyte 5-LOX to produce CysLTs, and CysLTs result in CysLT(1) receptor-mediated proliferation and CysLT(2) receptor-mediated death. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

PMID: 17910051

The astrocyte has been studied to see how it functions in the brain. The astrocyte:

1. may perform a role in the physical structuring of the brain
2. may perform a role in providing neurons with nutrients
3. may perform a minor role in the maintenance of the blood brain barrier
4. may perform a role in neurotransmitters
5. may perform a role in the regulation of ion concentration in the extracellular spaces
6. may perform a role in neuronal regulation of blood flood
7. may perform a role in the protection and repair of neurons

TO LIE TO PEOPLE REGARDING THEIR HEALTH IS CRIMINAL AND SHOULD BE PROSECUTED. PEOPLE OUT THERE ARE GETTING SICKER IF THEY ARE EXPERIENCING SIDE EFFECTS BECAUSE MERCK IS LYING. SOME PEOPLE MAY NOT EXPERIENCE SIDE EFFECTS BUT WHY NOT TELL THE TRUTH AND SAY THAT THERE COULD BE SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE PSYCHIATRIC SIDE EFFECTS BECAUSE THERE IS A PATHWAY FOR THAT TO HAPPEN.

My name is Candyce Donovan and I am a healthy 38 year old ---healthy except for an occasional cold or sinus infection. A few years ago I was put on the drug Singulair to help cure an allergy type infection. I was only on it for a few weeks and discontinued it myself because it was making me worse. Earlier last year, I went to a different doctor for the same type of thing and was put on the drug again. At time while on the drug I had a few "episodes" where my body was shaking while I was sleeping and I thought I was just having a bad dream. Then in August of 2007, I experienced 2 grand mal seizures while sleeping each one lasting about an hour from the time I had the seizure til the time I came out of it... and was in the hopsital for 2 days. I had numerous tests done and things like a brain tumor etc were ruled out, and it was the conclusion of the ER doctors that my seizures were brought on by a very bad case of sinusitis as that was the only thing that showed up on my tests. At that time my sister brought in the medication that I was on at the time...the Singulair...and the doctors said that that would not cause seizures. The Neurologist that I went to disagreed with them and said that we would never find a cause. I continued on the drug until early December , having another seizure in November. I have now since November, moved in with my sister for the 6 months or more that I have been with out my license as in NY state one cannot drive for 6 months after having a seizure....you have to be totally seizure free for those 6 months, and it was the advice of the doctors to not stay alone. I went to see another Neurologist who again said that there would never be a known cause for the seizures, and in fact he diagnosed me with having epilespy/seizrue disorder....up until August I had never had a seizure. An uncle of mine had seizures when he was a baby that lasted until his teens but the Neurologist stated that he didnt think that was passed on to me. With the recent findings with the Singulair drug that are on the website now...I am finding that I have had many of the side effects and I believe this was the cause of my seizures as my seizures co-incided with the frame time I was on the drug.

I have been on Topamax for four months for epilepsy and I love it. I do experience some of the above mentioned side effects but my seizures were not grand mal seizures they were absence seizures. so the memory loss thing is a non issue for me, as far as depression, didn't get that one, weight loss; glad to have it, tingling; not that bad; the coldness; really only bothersome at bedtime so I take a bath at night, a really hot bath. Confusion, I was confused a lot because of the seizures so, again don't know which is worse. For me I feel this is a miracle drug. I'm not sure about the abdominal issues that is my only concern right now, that is what I am dealing with constipation and maybe some menstrual issues??

I was recently taken off of 10mg of Lisinopril and put on 20mg/25mg of Benazepril/HCTZ. Is this medication the same as Lisinopril? I am also noticing that my heart does weird flips. Is this a side affect and is it something to be concerned about? I was also taking Seroquel and stopped a month ago. This is when I noticed that my bp has increased to 144/92 from being 120/75. I am having trouble sleeping and have more anxiety now and I also feel flushed and my legs itch when I get up like I am holding too much fluid. I also take Metoprolol 25mg twice a day. Are these a good combination? I have had three Grand-mal seizures since 2002 and I am now 40years old. I work out with cardioid for 45mins and do weights for 45min three times a week. I have also gained 20lbs in the past six months and I have had tests done on thyroid which I believe are inconclusive. I don't know what I should do?

gabitril oh what a lovely drug .... last year i put on gabitril, multitude of psychiatric problems here . started at 4 mg then 8 suddenly they bumped me up to 16 then 24 mgs a day, well all was fine or so it seemd.... i noticed the increased sweating the forgetfulnessand i lost a ton of weight about 60 pounds in a few months.....then one night while out at a club(i dont drink) i started to feel not so well. my friends walked me to my car and that is all i remember. i woke up in the hospital 2 days later, i apparently had several dozen petite and grandmal seizures associated with the gabitril. I had sense enough to pull the car over at a hotel and go in and ask for help and then i had collapsed . when i started to come around inthe hospital i was told what happened and that i didnt even know who i was and the only thing i was able to do was tell them my sister's phone number i couldnt even tell them her name . I have not had another siezure since stopping that med. I hope everyone on it will be careful and we beaware that seizures in patients that don't have seizures to begin with can and will happen. Good luck and god bless

After taking my 2 yr. old son to the emergency room 3 days ago with a high fever, was given Augmentin. They determined he had a red throat and shoved this awful medicine down his throat. They said it was a precaution incase he had an infection, so it wouldn't get worse. I have no choice but to continue to give it to him now.

He is normally an easy going kid. Since I have been giving Augmentin to him he has been very cranky, and miserable. He has diareah and is now developing a red rash. It's barely noticeable but it's spreading all over his body and it's a little darker than it was yesterday. His appetite is not as good as it was either.

Oh, one of its ingredients is aspertame. This sweetner has been known to cause grand mal seizures and migraines. What is this doing in a childs medicine? In any medicine for that matter? Is there an alternative to this medicine out there?

i've been on tegretol for well over 15 years now, for my Status Epilepticus (severe epilepsy). i was always on a small dose (600mg daily i think). but due to my epilepsy being poorly controlled, the dose got increased to 800mg - that was around 10yrs ago.

i am 6' 5", and used to weigh around 224 pounds. Since the dosage was upped to 800mg/day, i have gained around 84 pounds in weight, and have allways had drowsiness, lack of concentration, poor short-term memory, double vision and terrible balance. And still the epilepsy has been poorly controlled, still suffering petitmal and grandmal seizures.

So around a month ago, my neurologist was informed of my side effects becoming so severe. He told me they are "toxic side effects" of the tegretol.. Yet told me to increase the dose, by 200mg/day, increasing it every fortnight.

i.e. up to 1000mg/day, then 2 weeks later go up to 1200mg/day, etc.. he told me to keep doing this till i get to 1600mg/day. then possibly go as high as 2000mg/day.. !!

i have to tell you all, that since i started following his advice and increasing the dosage past 1000mg, i have felt absolutely terrible. I find myself needing over 13hrs sleep, then more sleep a few hours later. I also have difficulty reading (despite my eyesight testing ok), and unbearable migraine-style headaches.

at 30years old, my daily routine is not too good at present. And still no benefits have been noticed since upping the dose. On 13th October, i increase it to 1400mg/daily.. :(

Have been on tegretol for about 12 years now for grand mal seizures... I started when I was 12 years old. Main side effect has been memory loss- Can't remember much short term.. Also have bad joint pain in the knees and elbows since I was 16. Have had good success with the med stopping seizures, but don't really like the side effects.. Recently, have had bad dizziness and lightheaded feeling after almost having a seizure a few days ago .... Mostly ok with tegretol thou..

I gained 20lbs in one month. Stopped taking it on my own. At that rate I'd be obese in no time. Dr's have diagnosed me as skitzophenic, Bi Polar, and finnaly temporal lobe epilepsy. Any others with temporal lobe epilepsy? I get symptoms which are similar to other mental disorders. But since I've been on anti seizure meds, I have been much better. I get episodes periodically, sometimes I'm ok for 5yrs or more. It's triggered by stress. I've been takin Lamictal for it and no side effects. Anyone with a mental disorder should look into temporal lobe epilepsy. My Dr. is Dr. Braverman. His office is in Manhattan. He does a BEAM test to rule it out. The BEAM test involves putting a skull cap with electrodes in it to moniter changes in the brain. Flashing light and noises are used during the test. He found an area of the temporal lobe which was a hot spot. It seems that there is a bundle of nerves there which fire during a seiaure. These trigger other nerves to fire in the brain and it escelates until I get racing thoughts and begin to act abnormally. I've taken many different drugs and all have side effects. Most make the problem worse. When I realize I'm getting worse, I refuse the medication and in each instance, I get better. The first time it happened, I was 18. They put me in the mental ward in the hospital and gave me drugs for skitzophrenia including Thorazine which is the worst drug of all. I finally realized that the only way to get out of the hospital was to hide the medicine under my tongue. I came out of it after I stopped taking the drugs. Everyone told me I had to stay on them, but I refused. I was fine for four years without any meds. Then it happened again and the same thing happened as the first time. I am very leary now about taking any drug. The Lamictal has been the best one for me so far. I only have a problem if I'm under severe stress. Alcohol can also trigger it. I don't get Grand Mal seizures. Dr's don't know all that much about the brain. They give these drugs by trial and error. If one doesn't work, they try another one. I feel best when I exercise, take vitamins, and eat healthy. I also begin to smoke when a seizure starts. I can't sleep during the seizure. Dr's try to get me to sleep whith various meds. But I always stop taking them when I feel better since thay all have side effects.