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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

docs still are not able to

Submitted by OJ Madden on Fri, 2018-11-02 - 12:23
docs still are not able to find out what kind of seizures i'm having. I have different kinds... i'm so lost with this..  monoclinic jerks I have really bad. does anyone have tremors along with their seizures?

A neurologist should never

Submitted by Kimmy_5c1a692117b7a on Wed, 2018-12-19 - 10:52
A neurologist should never tell a patient they've never heard of anyone having a bad reaction to drug since they are limited in their data collection and analysis of patients who are non responders to a drug. How absurd for a neuro to state this. That said, DEPAKOTE can cause hyperammonia. Get tested for hyperammonia asap. If test positive for ammonia, ask the doctor for LACTALOSE and get off Depakote. Myoclonus is best treated with KEPPRA. Drop seizures (atonic) best treated with EPIDIOLEX or topamax. Lamictal can increase myoclonus in some patients. Your neuro is NOT an epilepsy specialist. Only an epileptologist is. IT's a higher training. Ask for one. 

Epidiolex is an FDA approved

Submitted by Kimmy_5c1a692117b7a on Wed, 2018-12-19 - 10:57
Epidiolex is an FDA approved drug for Lennox Gastaut. Ask your son's doctor. IT's safer than the toxic conventional, ineffective seizure meds that are currently available. Keppra is about the only one that seems legit in my opinion. My son has autism and epilepsy. We are currently pursuing Epidiolex, as I'm fed up with the madness and idiocy of current epilepsy medications. It's a sham and disgrace how ineffective these meds are for refractory epilepsy. Billions in research. Seminars. Symposiums, fund raisers, and here we are, still in hell trying to find answers and effective treatments for seizures. 

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