December 4th
2008
3:41 PM
I had Januvia and developed Siezures, but the doctors did not believe it came from this medication. I kept telling them there was something wrong.
No avail. I was diagnosis with Epilisey.... no I don't have that either. I don't know what Januvia did but I did not have these issues til I took that medication.
I don't trust doctor's anymore because I have become sick from this medicine.
June 29th
2008
4:42 PM
I got all those problems but the higher the dosage the more attacks i had.Another neurologist think that i just have pseudoseizures-paranoia attacks.Anyways the doctor screwed me up,he gave me 5 years ago something different and my seizures started daily than switched me to lamictal.I must say that sometimes i have or HAD electricity in my left hand all the time and once a women touched me and got stunned lol.anyways lamictal is bad,i didn't have any side effects like loosing hair but i did have A LOT of head hecks.I must share something with you,when i read epilepsy.com it seems that my seizures called myclonics in the end they are not but they similar in effects.Myclonics its seizures that happens only in the morning.Heres the catch for me,i figured out that if i won't close my eyes the first hour after i got up and went to the sun outside than i didn't have seizures.Its not a real solution so i decided to raise the lamictal from 175 which was ok for me to 200-250 like the good doctor said,just made me worse.Now i started dropping it by 25 mill each week and i must say i feel better only a little tired after 5 years that my body got used to it.Anyway if any of you have myclonics than don't close your eyes.BTW i have AURA-feeling before the seizure but luckily for me after a second if i open my eyes nothing will happen although i don't always take notice of it.In midway it would happen if i seat in front of computer and will lose attention if someone will call me or whatever but its a mill-sec seizure,barely noticible if at all and i never get "disconnected" from reality!!!
the ONLY thing which is bad for me is that except that im sick now my blood pressure is huge-140/82 and pulse 106 which is being like that for couple of days but i will get trough that.Since i lowered my dosage my midway seizures stopped,now im on 100.
P.S=Check yourself with the neurologist with a different one preheps.IF you can describe the whole seizure it means you don't dispatch from earth which mean it might be psydo seizures which are psychotic and not epileptic,the most important thing is that if someone takes lamictal or any anti apileptic drug even tho he doesn't have real seizures the medicine can do this.I got screwed and now i try to get over it,the doctor trowed me on woods with tablets after having a first seizure WHICH IS WRONG because you sepused to get tablets only after 3 attacks and after describing seizures and doing eeg tests to make sure that you DO have the problem.
Anyways remember what i said about the closing eyes in the morning part,if you close your eyes and feel weird keep them open at least those that have them after they wake up,that was a solution for me and it can help you to...MY doctor said everyone like me but i think he is laying,the other neurologist said my doctor was wrong probably about the seizures,i think i have both but i do know that believing and saying that you don't have anything WILL help you and lower your seizures,after speaking with the doctor i actually started to believe i don't have anything and walla i have almost NADA,today i had zero!!!! :D
OF course don't lower dosage without first consulting with someone expert,but since i know i can control basically every seizure i have and i know what to do to avoid it i let my self start dropping dozes!!!
GOOD LUCK my friends believe in yourself and if you want some personal info leave your msn i will add you and try to answer you the best i could,i was researching my self trying to figure out the core of the problem for 5 years but after 6 months knocking my head in the pipe when i washed my face i learned what i should avoid to minimize the chance!!!Try that
-- By kostareyna | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
September 14th
2007
7:08 AM
My 14 year old son began Lamictal 2 weeks ago for absent seizures, starting at 12.5 mg at night for one week, then 25 mg for one week and then will increase by adding a morning dose at this rate; ultimately to titrate up to 100 mg at night and 100 mg in the morning. The slow increase in dosing is supposed to avoid the life-threatening Stevens-Johnson syndrome (indicated initially by a rash).
I have noticed he is moody, angry and tearful now. I find this concerning since it is also prescribed for mood stabilization. He complains of body aches and especially leg pains/soreness. I think his short-term memory difficulties are worsened. He has made comments that he doesn't care if he lives or dies.
I noticed that his lymph nodes in his neck and just below his skull are a little enlarged, though he saw his pediatrician yesterday and they are not big enough to be considered outside normal range.
I am a nurse, and drew blood work at home today to rule out infection and look at liver function. There are no tests which quantify a therapeutic range for lamictal--it's very individualized.
I want to take him off of the lamictal and am looking for alternative ways to minimize seizures, such as exercise, diet, vitamin supplements, omega oils, perhaps neurofeedback, massage therapy, music therapy--any and all things which may help.
I feel like my child is sliping away from me with this personality change; I want to find out why he is having seizures rather than just treat symptoms which are the siezures. I'm reading--night and day and will not give up until I am convinced there are no natural approaches which are better than drugs. It's exhaustive to put the work into it, but I think it is necessary.
It is recommended that Lamictal be tapered off over about 2 weeks, to prevent siezures--whether you are taking it for this or not. I don't know how his neurologist will respond to this request to take him off. I think it's important to have a good working relationship with your doc. However, in my view a good doc is open to individualized concerns and alternative treatments.
My heart goes out to all of you who are struggling with your own problems and suffering side effects. I wish I could do something to help you. In my journey to learn, I will post any things which I discover to be helpful to my son, though they may not pertain to your particular problems, they may also be of help to you.
I have learned that seizures cause oxidative stress to tissues, just like an apple browns once you have bitten into it--it does so due to oxidation. Vitamins C, E and selenium may help, since they are antioxitants. Siezures disrupt the metabolism of essential fatty acids, so supplementing with omega 3 and 6 oil may be helpful--these oils also stabilize cellular membranes, because cell membranes are constructed of phospholipids derived from these essential oils. At minimum, I would do these things.
Exercise may help, and also a modified Atkins diet. I have always struggled with depression, and nothing helps me other than exercise and eating a diet restricted in simple carbs and sugars. I think this is important for everyone, as this is the way to prevent and sometimes also reverse type 2 diabetes. Everyone should eat like this and exercise--this is the best mood stabilizer of which I know.
I think that most illnesses are related to metabolism, and in this day, we are exposed to unhealthy foods continuously and our lifestyles/jobs make it difficult to get physical activity. I believe our bodies are screaming at us to make changes in this, and that is why we are having so many problems with illness in general.
I know it is hard to exercise when you are depressed, but if you can do it, you will see the changes in the quality of your lives. Be careful though, becuase the meds you all are taking may put you at unknown risks for injuries that I have no knowledge of.
I wish you all well.
Sherry
I believe that it is best to try to find natural ways to help
-- By sherryrn | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
August 31th
2007
7:44 PM
I started with 25 mgs of topamax about 5 months ago for migraine prevention. I very gradually increased the dosage to 50 mgs and started having the usual side effects of tingling in hands, metal soda taste, concentration problems; but not bad enought to make me stop as my migraines were stopping as well! Then I upped the dosage to 75 mgs, and the side effects were sudsiding. My nurologist had me up the dosage to 100mg, and that very night I awoke from sleep having my first partial conscious siezure. At the time I didn't know what the heck was happening to me and thought I may be having a stroke. I am only 44 years old and I ran across the street at 2:30 in the morning to my neighbors house who is a nurse. Long story short, it took uppin the dosgae two more times and having this happen each time I upped the dose, to finally realize that it was the topamax that was causing the seizures. Now my nurologist is gradually decreasing my dosage to wean me off the topamax, and hopefully the siezures will stop! Has anyone had any experiences like this? Or am I the only one who get s siezures from an anti sewizure medication?
-- By babya514 | Reply | Private Message me
July 21th
2007
12:05 PM
100mg 2x daily for complex partial siezures.. Initially thought this was great after dealing with dilantin and feeling like a tired zombie. The only side effect I had was a chronic runny nose. I then started having low back pain, then nearly unbearable muscle spasms down the back of my legs. It was so bad I was setting alarms so I could take ibuprophen round the clock. I began having stomach issues from the ibuprophen, so I scaled back to only taking it in the am. Muscle spasms are now tolerable, but I've developed a new issue - I'm often dizzy and have random blurred vision. I waited 6 months to get my license back (after one minor siezure). Now I don't drive because of the side effects. I don't know whether cutting back the dose of lamictal would help, but I intend to ask.
-- By dquinn2600 | Reply | Private Message me
July 18th
2007
1:56 PM
I recently was given 200mg over the recommended pharmaceutical dose of Lamictal. My dr.'s partner prescribed this after a trip to the ER for a seizure to get me by until I could see my regular neurologist at the beg. of the week. The extra dose caused major blurred vision side effects, inability to walk, extreme sensitivity to light, and nausea. I am now at 400mg of Lamictal and starting Topomax with it so I hope this works. Any thoughts from anyone else taking this med combo?
-- By krusen | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
December 19th
2006
8:21 PM
I was given Topamax about 2yrs ago because I have epilepsy. It seemed to be working pretty well at first, all I had noticed was that I lost about 10 to 15lbs and that the medication seemed to be controlling my siezures fairly well-and who was going to complain about that right? As time went on both my family and I began to notice that my weight wasn't the only thing I seemed to be losing. I'm only 20 and I'm losing both my memory and my hair. At first I just seemed a bit more flighty than usual, and I was finding my hair everywhere-but at this point its really just impossible to deny the difference in me or the amount of my hair thats consistently in my hands, sink or tub. I don't care how thin I am, it's not going to be worth anything if I end up without any hair.
-- By empress_mercedes | Reply | Private Message me
July 28th
2005
5:10 AM
My husband and I had the pleasure of raising a beautiful, very smart grandson for the past 3 and a half years. Hunter had CP and epilepsy. Most of his siezures would last at least an hour which meant ER visits regularly. He took Keppra and Carbatrol and experienced few side effects from these medications,but still had siesures about once a month. Then he started having siezures more often. He was put on Topamax as an add on drug. He built up slowly to 150 Mg per day split into twice a day doses and still had two more siezures so 50 more Mg was added. During the time Hunter was on Topamax he suffered many side effects such as slurred speach, uncoordination, wetting his pants, agressive behavior, and lathargic. He was 5 years old and to young to discribe some of his symptoms. Everyone noticed that he was not the same child as he was before taking Topamax. We were very concerned and did discuss our concerns with his doctors. They felt that it was his body getting adjusted to the Topamax and that the symptoms would lesson when his systom leveled out. I did read that Topamax may cause nose bleeds and if he had a nose bleed to take him to his doctor. He had no nose bleeds till the morning of July 6,2005. I always slept with him because most of his siezures occured at night. It was just habbit for me to check him often if I woke up before he did. On the morning of July 6,2005, I got up at 6:A.M. made sure Hunter was okey and was getting things together for a trip to Magic Springs, an amusement park. Hunter was so excited the night before and all he could talk about was the fun he was going to have at Magic Springs. At 7:00 A.M. I checked on him. He was still asleep and okey. Again at 7:30 A.M. he was checked and was still sleeping and was okey. Twenty minutes later I went in his room to wake him and get him dressed for our trip. Hunter was laying at the foot of his bed face down in a pool of blood. When I turned him over blood was coming out of his nose massively, his face was blue. 911 was called, I did CPR on him till they got to our home, the EMT's did CPR and transported him to the ER. The doctors in ER tried to save him also. Hunter died July6,2005. When Hunter had his first nose bleed it was so massive no one could save him.
-- By conniedougan | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me
September 19th
2004
11:28 PM
I was prescribed this drug for pain when I had a severe urinary tract infection. After taking one pill, I had a grand mal siezure. Up untill that time, I had been siezure free for over 5 years. I told the doctors that I have siezures and am on Depakote. I wouldn't recomend this drug for anyone with any history of siezure disorders.
-- By susannebalesphillips | Reply | Private Message me
April 6th
2004
10:41 PM
I was taking 1mg.of Xanax 3x a day for 3yrs., I quit cold turkey at a Dr. advice (very stupid Dr.). After 2 days of hell I had 2 siezures in a 30 minute time span. The second almost killed me, I had 4 broken ribs and minor kidney damage. For 2 weeks my speech was slured and my mind was somewhere else.
-- By jendreasrj | Reply | Private Message me
March 18th
2004
5:37 PM
My husband is on Paxil cr. Has been for about 8 years. (Was on Paxil and then Paxil cr. He has a plasic heart valve. He had surgery in 1988 first and then in 1996 he had an angorizim (spell?) by it. He has always been hyper and anxious, but this scared him so much. He is on coumadin, metoprolol, digoxin, and colestoral medications. He also started having siezures. He has been on dilantin for about 5 years and still had siezures. The siezures can be from just dizzy, vomiting, to a full grand mal siezure. No one can find out why...Recently he had been put on lamictal, by his nurologist. He has been very anxious, and just angry at the world and depressed. He argues over everything. Could it be that he has been on paxil for a long time and it isn't working anymore or could the lamictal cause this? He deffinelty needs help and I don't know where to turn. He also has had irregular heart beats. went to cardiologists but they say it is electrical, not circulatory and not dangerous. I took him to emergency the other night and they said the same. He is misorable. do you have any advise????
-- By ann987 | Reply | Private Message me
December 1th
2002
1:22 PM
while having no siezures i am starving, i have been taking dialntin for 6 months and i find food to be revolting. i have had severe stomach problems and no sex drive since i started taking it.
-- By ricka49 | Reply | Private Message me
Lamictal (5) Topamax (3) Dilantin (2) Xanax (1) Januvia (1) Meprozine (1) Aricept (1) Paxil (1)
April 21th
2009
11:21 AM
I am on this medication for seizures. Besides all the other side effects being posted (typing, speech, spelling, forgetfulness, etc), I have EXTREME daytime sleepiness. To the point that I will not/cannot drive and have to stay where I'm at until I "wake up". I have been off work for 5 months, but had to go back for financial reasons. I work partial days and go home and take a nap, which the neurologist prefers I don't. Anyone experiencing daytime sleepiness (disorders)??? Thanks
-- By indygirl1963 | Reply | (1) replies | Private Message me