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Can too much medication make seizures worse?

Wed, 05/20/2009 - 19:46

Hi I have been on Depakote for the past 5.5yrs and over the past 9mths have been suffering from horrible side effects that have never occurred before. They occur about 1-2hrs after taking my AM dose, eg: dizziness, nausea, dirrorea, increased ringing in ears, vertigo, difficulty concentrating or focusing on anything. Sometimes I wake up like I am in a fog. All this leads to anxiety which automatically makes things worse.

Up until 9mths ago I was on 1500mg/daily and due to these side effects I have been slowly decreasing the dosage and am now at 750mg/daily. My previous neuro mentioned that too much meds can increase the likelihood of seizures. That totally freaks me out, so whenever this feeling comes on I worry about having a seizure and so I feel like I'm on a treadmill I can't get off of.

I recently tried switching to Lamictal but the side effects became even worse. My new neuro made me feel rather stupid by saying she'd never had anyone in 5yrs have any reaction to the drug and I should just try halving or quartering the dose. I told her no thanks. Apart from those 2 drugs I have also had an awful reaction to Tegretol.

I have 2 young girls and feel awful that I can't be a good mum to them when I'm doped up on medication. My husband is great but he has to hold down a job which involves travel.

Does anyone know of any meds that have few side effects and something that your body will tolerate when you are trying to get off Depakote? Or does anyone know of the smallest dose allowable for someone on Depakote? I'm not someone who has a great deal of seizures and I'm wondering whether the meds are really worth continuing on with. Any advice is most apprecited.

 

 

Comments

Re: Can too much medication make seizures worse?

Submitted by meems on Sat, 2009-05-23 - 05:25

Hey sweety

Ive just been diagnosed with epilepsy, and it scares me, AND makes me feel like a bad mum not being "in Controll" of my self all the time, but i've been taking valporate, 200mg in the morning and 500mg at night, i find taking the stronger 1 at night and the weaker 1 in the morning better, as it makes me drowsy and atleast at night i can sleep it off, BUT my Dr suggested I just take 1 500mg and 1 200mg both at night and nothing in the morning, and since i started taking that way i feel heaps better and brighter the next day. BUT WHAT EVE YOU DO HUN, DO NOT THINK YOU ARE A BAD MUM IN ANY WAY, WE HAVE AN ILLNESS HUN, AND THESE THINGS ARE SENT TO TRY US AND MAKE US STRONGER PEOPLE, AND I HAVE A COUNCELLOR THAT EXPLAINED SOMETHING TO ME, AND THAT IS THAT OUR CHILDREN WILL GROW UP AND BE MUCH MORE UNDERSTANDING AND CARING YOUNG ADULTS BECAUSE OF KNOWING WHAT THEY KNOW. HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH HUN, DONT GIVE UP, THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL, WE JUST GOT TO FIND IT~! NOT ALL Dr's REALLY KNOW IT ALL, THEY ARE GUESSING AT TIMES TOO, AS EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT, THEY CANT SAY THAT " HEY THIS DRUG HAS WORKED FOR EVERYONE ELSE, SO IT SHOULD WORK FOR YOU, THEY DONT KNOW HOW YOUR BODY WORKS, THEY ARE STILL LEARNING "ON US" UNFORTUNATLY. HANG ON IN THERE, YOU HAVE A GREAT HUBBY LIKE MINE SO IT SOUNDS LIKE, I OWE MY HUSBAND SO MUCH, HE HAS BEEN GREAT, BUT THATS WHAT MARRIAGE IS ALL ABOUT, THROUGH SICKNESS AND HEALTH, THROUGH GOOD TIMES AND BAD. GET BACK TO ME BEAUTIFUL. MUCH LUV

Hey sweety

Ive just been diagnosed with epilepsy, and it scares me, AND makes me feel like a bad mum not being "in Controll" of my self all the time, but i've been taking valporate, 200mg in the morning and 500mg at night, i find taking the stronger 1 at night and the weaker 1 in the morning better, as it makes me drowsy and atleast at night i can sleep it off, BUT my Dr suggested I just take 1 500mg and 1 200mg both at night and nothing in the morning, and since i started taking that way i feel heaps better and brighter the next day. BUT WHAT EVE YOU DO HUN, DO NOT THINK YOU ARE A BAD MUM IN ANY WAY, WE HAVE AN ILLNESS HUN, AND THESE THINGS ARE SENT TO TRY US AND MAKE US STRONGER PEOPLE, AND I HAVE A COUNCELLOR THAT EXPLAINED SOMETHING TO ME, AND THAT IS THAT OUR CHILDREN WILL GROW UP AND BE MUCH MORE UNDERSTANDING AND CARING YOUNG ADULTS BECAUSE OF KNOWING WHAT THEY KNOW. HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH HUN, DONT GIVE UP, THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL, WE JUST GOT TO FIND IT~! NOT ALL Dr's REALLY KNOW IT ALL, THEY ARE GUESSING AT TIMES TOO, AS EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT, THEY CANT SAY THAT " HEY THIS DRUG HAS WORKED FOR EVERYONE ELSE, SO IT SHOULD WORK FOR YOU, THEY DONT KNOW HOW YOUR BODY WORKS, THEY ARE STILL LEARNING "ON US" UNFORTUNATLY. HANG ON IN THERE, YOU HAVE A GREAT HUBBY LIKE MINE SO IT SOUNDS LIKE, I OWE MY HUSBAND SO MUCH, HE HAS BEEN GREAT, BUT THATS WHAT MARRIAGE IS ALL ABOUT, THROUGH SICKNESS AND HEALTH, THROUGH GOOD TIMES AND BAD. GET BACK TO ME BEAUTIFUL. MUCH LUV

Re: Can too much medication make seizures worse?

Submitted by Bri_Christine on Thu, 2009-06-18 - 08:30
Sometimes when you've been on a medication for so long, you get used to it and it can start to cause seizures instead of stopping them.

Re: Can too much medication make seizures worse?

Submitted by scorpio on Sun, 2009-06-21 - 15:12

Some drugs reduce the efficacy of other drugs taken alongside them.  This means one has to take a higher dosage of the latter for them to be effective.  One example of these drugs is Phenytoin/Dilantin and it might be the case that removing it from your drug portfolio - if you are having it - would make your condition better.  It was in my case.  With 400m/d Phenytoin and 400mg/d Lamictal my epi was  not perfectly controlled but removing the Phenytoin and taking just 200mg/d of the Lamictal - half the previous doseage - I no longer have seizures of any sort.  More is not necessarily better.

Chris

Some drugs reduce the efficacy of other drugs taken alongside them.  This means one has to take a higher dosage of the latter for them to be effective.  One example of these drugs is Phenytoin/Dilantin and it might be the case that removing it from your drug portfolio - if you are having it - would make your condition better.  It was in my case.  With 400m/d Phenytoin and 400mg/d Lamictal my epi was  not perfectly controlled but removing the Phenytoin and taking just 200mg/d of the Lamictal - half the previous doseage - I no longer have seizures of any sort.  More is not necessarily better.

Chris

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