Seizures symptoms and conditions

I am decreasing my topamax meds now after taking it for 6 horrible months..
topamax? rather call it dopamax..
I took 100 mg daily
now i'm building of the topamax I can allready feel the difference..
I hope I become the joyful smart person again I once was before..
I lost weight during this six months, wonder if i'll gain it back.. but don't care. I must get rid of this drug.. I'm so sick and tired of the side effects!!
For me it wasn't a good solution for my migraines
They didn't stop.. the first month i took topamax, my god i could bounce my head against the wall due to the outstanding headaches i got; even worse then my normal migraine seizures..
i'm not gonna look for a replacer for topamax, i'll just take my migraine as i did my whole 22 years long.. That's life and I want MY life back
good luck to you all!!

Has anyone ever heard of this drug causing tremors or seizures?
My 16 year old had a seizure out of the blue and we're wondering if the prescribed "use it when you break out" use of this drug may have contributed.
Any input is welcome and appreciated
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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.

In reference to my Sept. 20th posting, I have been asked to describe the
"warning signs" of oncoming seizures that I have. To review, I was struck by lightning while serving in the Marine Corp in 1977 and have had seizure disorder and myoclonic jerks and inner ear problems since that time. As I stated in the post on the 20th, I have been tried on "all" of the seizures control medications and they all make it difficult to function as an educational administrator. The best medical advice I ever received was to keep a diary of everything I could remember leading up to a seizure. This included any activities I had been doing, what I had eaten, what time of day it was, any stress or problems that I was having. We are all different and probable all have different triggers. In my case, I learned that as a seizure approached, I would become more light headed or dizzy (I have inner ear problems all of the time secondary to being struck by lightning, I just recognize when they are getting worse) The ringing in my ears increases, (I also have tinnitus all of the time also from the lightning, and over time you get use to it, but I can notice when it increases) When these signs start, I stop what I am doing regardless of what I am doing, If I am in a meeting, I take a break, if I am driving (I drive locally or with someone with me) I get off the road. (In 30 years, I have never had a seizure while driving and actually have never had a traffic ticket in that period, I try to be very carefully with what driving I do, knowing that one occurrence will cost me my licenses.) I try to rest and be quiet, if the dizziness and tinnitus continue, I take two ten Mg Valium tables and lay down. If I am by myself, I will call some and let them know where I am and how I am doing. The valium probable stops the seizures about half of the time and I believe that it always make them less sevier. I have warning signs once or twice per week, and have to take valium on the average of once per week, and will have a gran mal seizure once or twice per month. With Lamictal, I believe the seizures are less frequent and less sevier as long as I keep the dosage low enough to not block my warning signs. I believe everyone's seizure disorder is different and some may be like mine and be able to learn warning signs by keeping good records of what you can remember leading up to the seizure. Always do everything under the direction of a Dr. that you trust and have faith in. The more information you can give your Dr. the better your individual treatment can be developed. If you can develop warning signs, the seizures are much easier controlled and you can live a much better quality of live.

I'm on Lamictal for minor bipolar, with Adult ADHD, OCD and anxiety. I went on Lamictal around 2005. It has been 4 years. At first I did not like how it made me feel. It made me feel like euphoric almost like all my emotions were caged up inside, both good and bad. When I say good I mean, the normal emotions of happiness and sadness were gone. I became more or less numb. I no longer cry when it is appropriate to cry, and I am no longer a happy outgoing person. Yet the "bad" emotions is what I mean by it holds in the extreme moodiness, outrages, anxiety and depression. Now my attitude is more like, yeah whatever. I accepted the good with he bad because this medication has helped me enormously and I would rather go without the good normal stuff than to have the extreme back. I am not a zombie, I am not high strung or low strung.....just a even keel which is how supposed to be how Lamictal works. It is the first thing since 1994 which has worked and a wonderful doctor who is top notch knew immediately what I needed. Unfortunately I had to go through years of BS and being a guinea pig to get to this point and finding the right doctor. She is a pharma psychiatrist which is better than a psychiatrist. She is a specialist in psychiatry but also pharmacology (medicine), so unlike most doctors that know how to treat, she is a expert in understanding medications.

Side Effects - If I forget to take it I immediately get agitated and get headaches, and twitching in my eye and lip area. Do not mess with this medicine. It can help with seizures, but if you forget, it can also cause seizures! The major side effect I am having is scalp pain, itching and HAIR LOSS . After 3 years of not knowing why I am losing so much hair (and I had a very full thick head of hair), and going to doctors and dermatologists, my psych dr. told me it is Lamictal! Finally I know the culprit. I very upset about this, and I need to seriously think about if I am going to stop it. I do not want to go bald!

Please note to all of you that are new to this drug also, do not drink grapefruit juice or take NSAIDS medications - eg. things with acetaminophen in it. NSAIDS can cause Stevens Johnsons Syndrome. A deadly side effect. If you make it a few weeks up to the right dosage without signs of Stevens Johnsons syndrome you will be ok. But be aware of the signs......... ulcerating wounds. Look it up on Google and google photos. Educate yourself.

This medications has done wonders for me, but at the same time I really have not had a choice. All the other drugs that work for adhd cause a lot of hypertension - causes more agitation, and the other drugs for bipolar and ocd can have side affects like early diabetes or severe weight gain. I wish there was something else out there, without all the side effects because Lamictal is great, but I am not going to be a 37 year old female walking around bald the rest of my life.

My daughter has had seizures for 20 years. She was on Depakote and Tegretol for about 15 years. We switched neurologists because of the continued seizures and involuntary movements that made her fall. She is now on lamictal (300mg) and topamax . Her seizures seem better, although she still makes the movements. But what is very different is her speech. She is speaking very nasally to the point I almost can't understand her and she repeats her sell constantly. Going to the neurologist next week.

My daughter has been on Sulfatrim for about 2 years, she was diagnosed with bilateral urinary reflex or (VUR) grades 4 and 5. I'm concerned for my daughter's health. I noticed that my daughter (about 4 months old at the time) had started having what looked like seizures, after being on the drug. She would and still does lay on the floor and draw her left leg up in to her side, while her right leg is straight out and stiff. She puts her head down and sometimes she headbutts the floor. She sweats when she does this. She alert though. We went to doctor and she had a test done to rule out seizures. We keep going back and they can't seem to find out what is wrong. This is not a normal thing or "tick" that my daughter does. I would like anyone else with these systems to come forward and talk with me please. V

I was prescribed this medicine by my back doctor as I have a herniated disk in my lower back. Injections didn't seem to be doing anything and since this medicine which is intended to treat seizures, has the side effect of blocking nerve pulses to the brain. I thought I would give it a try and see if I could get through the day. I had been on Hydrocodone but that stuff made me dizzy and nauseated if I didn't lie down after taking it. I don't remember the exact dose but I don't care to one way or the other. I had auditory hallucinations and a migraine headache for 3 days. I ended up missing two days of work and could barely function. Maybe that was the idea as a seizure medication it would dope them up and they wouldn't need to function.

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 too have memory loss. It is humiliating not to recall events with friends and family and people I have been introduced to. I cannot conversations, movies and names of bands. I am 43 and have been taking this drug for seizures. The seizure disorder is gone due to the drug. I have gained weight, awaken with a severe headache on several occasions behind my right eye, feel tired and dizzy after an hour of taking the drug and blurred vision. I thought it was early onset of Alzheimer ( i forget how to spell it though I am in the medical field). My generalized Doctor and my Neurologist say this is not from the medication but from age and normal. The quality of life is not as I would like. I feel like I am missing out on my own life. Thank God I came across this blog! I have been researching this drug on the net and NOWHERE does it state this as a side effect. This is the only med I take.

Hi, my name is M. I just got up with my son Jo Jo as usual about 2:00 pm. Nightmares--severe. Leg and foot pain. In fact I thought he was having restless leg syndrome and the doctors had him tested for seizures. His moods are horrible. Tantrums have been out of this world. After two years of sleep deprivation for both of us, something said look at side effects of Singulair. Actually, I believe that something was God because as I massaged my son's legs I prayed. I came to the computer, found his website and saw my son's symptoms written out clear as day. We are done with Singulair. Forever. I just walked back to the room and apologized to my sleeping son. I can not tell how horrible I feel as a parent for my child to have suffered so. I also can not begin to describe the relief I feel right now. My son has enough problems without medication causing him to suffer. I have suffered as well. As a single parent I have to work but I am often sleepwalking through my days. Thank God for all of you who posted. You have saved my son's health and quality of life. And mine. Thank God!

My son has been taking Keppra since his first seizure last year when he was 18, starting out with 500g. He kept having the seizures (all grand mal) off and on and because he was planning on going into the military, he was told that because of the seizure disorder, he could not serve. Given a medical discharge and coming home, he still had them, but the cause was because at times he forgot to take his meds or he worked out over exerting himself, stuff like that. From the end of April until July 6th, he did not have a seizure (his Keppra was increased to 3000g a day), and that seizure was not as bad as the previous ones he had.

We ended up switching doctors because the original doc did not want to do an eeg on my son, so with my husband and my decision plus our primary care physician agreeing, we starting having my son see a new doc. This doc seems to really care about his patients, and after talking with us, he gave my son a prescription for Depakote, 500mg three times a day along with the Keppra. A day and a half after taking the drug (the first day he took it at night then taking it as prescribed daily), he started vomiting. He would eat, later on lay down, wake up EXTREMELY nauseous, and start throwing up. This happened for four and a half days, and the doctor told him to stop taking the meds immediately. He did blood work again and said that his Depakote serum levels had dropped drastically and he wanted to put my son back on the Depakote, but at half strength; 250mg three times a day. Our answer to that? HELL NO!!! My son was miserable; he has a job and hangs out with his friends and not being sure if he would start throwing up again, he minimized going out except to go to work. It is frustrating as all HELL, took that crap for six days and four and a half of those days he was vomiting, unsteady on his feet, eyes were red looking like he was a zombie, and had starting messing with his memory in ONLY SIX DAYS! Yes we all want him to be free from this demon, and so far for these past few months of this year, (from end of April to July 6) he has had one seizure. He has not had another one since that day. As far as we are concerned as his parents, he will never take that crap again, I don't care WHAT this doctor says. And I am going to say that I believe that my son will not want to take it again either, even at a lower dose.

I took the time to call the company who manufactures the Depakote, and one of the reps I spoke to said that even if my son took a lower dose, it could still have the effects of vomiting as with the higher dose, and her concern is that when he is throwing up, he is also throwing up the Keppra which could cause him to have a seizure. NOBODY wants that!

I was on 100mgs of Topamax a few years ago for migraines and lost about 15 pounds. It worked okay for the migraines, but I backed off on the dosage because of the side effects. But recently, the headaches returned so I increased back to my full dosage.

So now I feel exhausted all the time. I run a lot and have trouble getting energy to exercise. This morning at a meeting it took me about 30 seconds to remember my secretary's name. I feel like I have to push through this mental wall to concentrate, and on my job I need to concentrate. My mouth feels dry all the time. Some days good food just tastes like crap.

Now I'm remembering why I quit taking this drug in the first place. I don't have seizures, which is why they made it. I have migraines. There are other medications to fight headaches, and this drug just isn't worth the side effects.

My daughter has been in Hospital due to a side effect from using Nuvaring birth control. She started using this BC on July 13, 2009 and by Wednesday evening she was put in hospital because DR. thought she was having a seizure. My daughter discontinued the nuvering do to a conversation I had with her on Friday morning. Doctor's. say it takes 72 hours to get bc out of system. Now it is Monday 72 hrs later and daughter is better. She may not get out of hospital for a couple more days byt ladies what it. The drs. had to run all kinds of test before figuring out it was the birth control. This is very scary because at first her systems reflected a stroke and then seizures and then drs. did eeg testing over last weekend and discovered not seizures. Any one else have this problem?

anyone on Flovent experiencing seizures/tremors?

I am taking a very small dose of Lamictal (along with Keppra) for absence seizure disorder. When I first started taking it I was feeling slightly dizzy and nauseous (that has since gone away for the most part.) The worst side-effect for me is horrible insomnia and night sweats. It does seem to be helping my seizures though so I'll probably stick it out and hope that the insomnia goes away.

Im taking lamictal since 2004. So far so good no seizures. As far as the side effects, well, I have VERY vivid dreams! Always bizarre! Sometimes really bad, but most the time just strange. Every once in awhile I will get the night sweats but not on a regular basis. My short term memory is shot, I've developed anxiety and also ocd even though that hasn't been diagnosed yet. Im on Zoloft for the anxiety which has brought on its own separate list of side effects! I also have dealt with hair loss, Im not balding or anything but have def. noticed a gradual increase in the hair loss. Cant grow my hair out anymore. Ive gained tons of weight! This has also been gradual. I wonder how long I can deal with this. I started out on carbatrol (is that how you spell it?) That was a nightmare! For two weeks I walked around in a dream, a haze! So when the doc switched me to the lamictal I was glad I didn't feel so terrible. Now Im terrified of switching meds. Im half tempted to get off of both of them all together. Does anyone have any suggestions? Im a 30 year old mother and newlywed and dont want to let my life pass me by while I struggle with these side effects! Help!!!!

I had my Mirena put in back in June of 2008 right after I got married. I, too, was lead to believe that the effects of the progesterone were purely "localized" to the uterus and would not cause any symptoms at all.

Since then I've experienced SEVERE migraines and dizziness, loss of libido, greasy skin and hair, weight gain (size 6 to size 10/12), numbness/tingling in my feet, crying, irritability, and SEVERE brain fog. For the migraines, I went to a neurologist who wanted to prescribe me topamax and said the only major side effect is cognitive difficulties! HA!!! I already have the worst brain fog, can't remember anything, am tired.... rather..... exhausted all the time, and can't function.

This Mirena surely works well as birth control, seeing as I have NO SEX DRIVE at all! LOL. But seriously, it's great not to have a period, but I knew something was wrong when I was needing medication (antidepressants for the mood swings, provigil for the fatigue, botox nerve injections for the menstrual migraines) for this medication IUD!

Since no OBGYN believes me when I say I think it's the Mirena, I've began to think I was crazy and this was all in my head. So I started on the internet and all my symptoms sounded like MS. So I had thousands of dollars in testing including a full body MRI/MRA. Negative. Had ENT see me for the vertigo. Lots of tests. Negative. Anemic? No. Thyroid? Normal.

HOW MUCH MORE DO WE HAVE TO SPEND ON HEALTH CARE TO FIND OUT WE ARE "FINE" WHEN WE FEEL THE WORST WE'VE EVER FELT???

Then I found this site!!! I think it's the Mirena now! So I want to get it out. But then on the other hand, I feel SO GUILTY that my husband paid $900 for it and I only kept it 1 year. That's expensive birth control! But then again, all the tests, doctor's bills, and feeling lousy cost more! (Not to mention that my doctor cut my strings too short so we can't "check" them each month so to be certain that my IUD is in place he makes me get an ultrasound every 6 months for $250!!!)

My ONLY FEAR is that I will have this out and the symptoms WON'T go away and it was NOT the Mirena after all. Then I will have gone through the pain of putting it in, taking it out, and the cost of "throwing one away" and then what am I supposed to do? I'm 29 but in school and can't get pregnant for a few more years. I don't want to go back on the pill because the mood swings were terrible. But I never had migraines or anything on those, so why is the Mirena causing problems?

Any feedback or encouragement would be helpful right now. I need advise!

My husband has been on remicade since Sept, 2008. He started having what we thought were mini-strokes and had a major one on May 25th, Memorial Day. He was given a clot buster because all along we thought he was having a stroke. After have a specialist examine him, we learned he did not have a stroke but is having seizures and it is medicine related. We are not sure if it is the remicade of some other medicine he is taking for his Crohns. His doctor and another doctor told us they had not heard of Remicade causing seizures but it is listed as one of the side effects - has anyone every had this side effect or know anyone that has - this scared us beyond belief. His doctor is contacting the makers of Remicade but who knows if they will respond. Please let me know!!

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?

I started taking Lamictal for a seizure disorder a little under 1 year ago. It was difficult to tell how it effected me because I was going through xanax withdrawal at the same time, which I am sure is the reason I had the seizure to begin with. I did not realize this was the case at the time and so i cannot really tell you what my initial reaction to Lamictal was. Now I am noticing some side effects. Difficult to fall asleep (but that's always been the case.) Nightmares (they have gotten less intense, though). Occasional nausea, although never to the point of vomiting. I recently cut my super-long hair b/c it was falling out a bit. It' not as bad now that I got some of the weight off of my hair. I definitely have trouble finding words and often find myself feeling embarrassed when I'm in a social or professional situation and I'm not able to contribute as much to a discussion. I will probably stay on the med til I have been seizure free for a couple of years. I only had the one grand mal seizure. I am 31 and trying to decide if I want a child within the next couple of years, but have to consider the risks associated with the Lamictal. Good luck to everyone. Just do your best to be healthy and take care of your body.

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.

Hello everyone..I have many great things to say about Neurontin. It has been a miracle medication for me. I was in a car accident in 2000 as a passenger my face and head hit the windshield at 80mph. my jaw was broke and the back of my teeth were broken.
Little did I know it was extremely traumatic! My MRI's came back fine and I moved on with my life. About 6 months later my life began to change a brown spot covered my eyesight in the left eye. I began falling all the time and having seizures.
I had another MRI's of by brain done it came back negative. Not one Doctor could seem to understand what was wrong with me. I was put on Topamax for bad headaches that seemed to help. I began loosing weight and continued having seizures(Granmal) where you lose ur vision and it began to effect my speech and i would become confused.
My life was like this for 5 long years. Life didn't get better, I began to be soo tired and felt exhausted all the time. One day out of no where , I couldn't raise my head to get out of bed for work, my whole right side was burning and i was in pure agony!!! i will never forget that day. I had to have my Daughter help me up and i could barley walk...I pushed myself to keep going thinking this is all in my mind!! theres nothing wrong with me.. The MRI's are negative. I proceeded with my day in so much pain and limping all day.
It finally went away and I was fine again fo a small amount of time, I started not being able to remember things ....and forgetting from one second to the next and getting lost when I would drive...i began to panic and have anxiety, I felt like my life was out of control. I called my Mom and she said she had noticed a change in me, things I guess I didn't even know. She said I couldn't hold a conversation as before and i would slur my words and I couldn't recall what she would tell me.
My attacks moved to 4-5 times a week sometimes having seizures 2-3 times a day. I ended up having to be taken care of and moving where my Mother was so she could watch over me. I didn't get better. I couldn't work and I couldn't do much of anything.
My Mother took me to a MS specialist and he was the one who noticed there was something wrong! My face and legs would jerk and I couldn't sit still ..I had so much going thru my mind what could be wrong? I had 2 Sets of MRI's this time and it wasn't fine this time...My Spinal Cord was barley attached to my Brain Stem and CV 5-6 in my neck.
I was at the stage of being in a wheelchair not that I hadn't been using one from time to time and needing a cane.
I was sent to ER Surgery and had a stay in the Hospital and really thought I was a lucky Person to have made it for 5yrs without dying. It has been 4years and I still have soo many problems, I'm held together with a steel plate in my neck that holds mt together.
I'm now 41 years old and I wonder what my future holds. I'm not the same girl I used to be and probably never will be. I have to have Neurontin 600mgx4 a day and 1000mg Keppra a day...Without it I would not want to live the pain is unbearable for me! The only negative side affect is my hair falls out and I have severe Insomnia. Neurontin is a Miracle for me!

I wish all of you the BEST! Prayers for all of you.....

I'm 23 years old and I've been on the Nuvaring for 4 months. I have been having really bad migraines almost everyday. I have had light bleeding ever since I started the Nuvaring 4 months ago. My doctor said I never had to have a period if I used Nuvaring, but I've never STOPPED having a period ever since I have been using it. My doctor told me I couldn't take a pill because I get migraines and if they prescribed me birth control pills they could be liable if it caused me to have seizures or something. So she suggested Nuvaring. If I can't take a pill, and I hate the Nuvaring I don't know what else to use?

I am a 40 year old female. I have had several sinus infections and had been placedo n Avelox before. The doc kept asking me if I had any plans on pregnancy and continued to stress the strength of the drug. However, I had NO idea what would become of this last time. I had been taking it for about 4 days and went to the ENT and was told to stop taking it because my sinuses looked good. That day I struggled to breath and had to literally gasps for air. I developed a bruise on my left arm that looked as if someone had pinched me. I didn't think much of it until I woke up the next morning with another bruise on the right arm. I continued to develop these bruises until there were 6 altogether. A few days later my body began involuntary jerking. I felt like I was having seizures. I became tearful and so afraid. This med needs to GO AWAY!!! I cannot imagine what would have happened if I continued to take it. BE CAREFUL if you're daring enough to continue it. Thank God I have a praying partner and family that would NOT let me go!