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Questions

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 17:32

I am a full time college student. I was hoping to get some feedback about some questions that I've had.

My dose of Zonisamide went up to 400 mg. After upping the medication I was always tired, my hair noticeably started falling out, and just didn't feel myself. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this kind of side effect? 

I also noticed that during the day sometimes I will experience feelings (do they call it an aura?) like I am going to have a seizure. This makes me really start to freak out, because I think I should tell someone I feel something coming on (but what if I'm too late and it just happens or what if nothing happens) If I get these feelings does that mean that my epilepsy is not controlled?  Or has anyone else experienced this?

One last question: I feel like since I've kind of grown up with epilepsy it might be changing as I mature into my 20s. Has anyone experienced their epilepsy change as they grow up?

 

Comments

As th body changes your

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 2014-12-07 - 10:34
As th body changes your medication dosages may need to be increased ot devreased. I say that because medications are set with the weight of the person taking it. So weight gain can effect the way it works. The same with hormone changes. If you go to women with epilepsy you would shh a lot of posts regarding a womens time of month and seizures increasing. In those posts some have had dosages increasedd and even medication changes. Af ro hair loss many medications have a side effect of hair loss. You might want to contack your neurologist if the dosage increase was done within the last month and a half. Any medication might have side effects while the body gets used to the increase and the dosage level gets to where the doctor wants it to get.As for funny feelings those could be auras which some people think or feel are warnings of a stronger seizure going to happen. To give you some information on a change of dosages I had mine change 4 times in less then a year. I wen't from a 85 lb kid to a 135 lb teen. I grew almost a foot in height in about 12-14 months. I was having more seizures and the dosage changes helped reduce th seizure count. Control is a word that can be used in differrent ways. What do yo uconsidered as controlled? With some or many people it is no seizures what so ever. With others it is havign a few seizures a year. I know that there will be many people that will not get complete control meaning no seizures ever. I can consider myself controlled since my seizures are seconds in length. I can be in a crowd and the people around me would not know I had the seizure. The number of seizures I have is minimul compared to other people. Some people have what today is a tonic clonic seizure (grande mal) I have had 1 of those. I have also had focal seizures that generalized (covered the entire brain). In those seizures I would go into a convulsion which looked like a grand mal but in those seizures I never lost conciousness. I have been blessed to not have a convulsive seizure since 1970. I have a seizure every 10-14 days. I will go like this without any problems. Oh and I know about the hair loss since I take a medication which has hairloss in the side effects. I would rather have no hair then have seizures. Life is a give and take experiance in many ways. My hair has always been one of the things I was always talked to about. I was a hippy and it was below my shoulders. It did stay in place and I knew how to keep it looking the way I wanted it to. Like I said you need to contact your neurologist and discuss this issue with him. If you have a good relationship your questions can be handled in a phone call Joe

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