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Unneeded Increase In Medication?
Fri, 04/14/2017 - 23:35Hello Everyone, I am new to the community and hope that I'll be able to communicate successfully with others who have epilepsy. I would like some feedback on the following situation. I haven't had seizures in almost 15 years, and had currently been on 200 mg. of lamotrigine, daily. I've been able to live my life normally (seizure free) with very few side-effects, up until now. I moved and had to find another Neurologist who after assessing an EEG, pushed me to increase my medication to 300 mg. of lamotrigine because she said I've had absence seizures. I was shocked. When I did so, I had initial side effects (mostly nausea, headaches, and loss of appetite) from he increase. After 3 months I've noticed the following issues: loss of balance, feeling dizzy, and even having this "aura" feeling like I might have a seizure. I'm so scared. Could I be taking too much? I've never had this issue until this doctor upped my dosage. Can someone please give me some advice?
Comments
WelcomeShocked??? Was it
Submitted by just_joe on Sat, 2017-04-15 - 10:39
WelcomeShocked??? Was it because of the increase? Or was it because you didn't know you had been having absence seizures? The person you need to be talking to is the neurologist. The side effects are gone. But this issue could be something else cause by the increase. Yes too much medication is just as bad as too little. IF the increase is causing your issue then the increase could be reduced a little at a time. All of this can be done in a phone call.
The EEG showed abnormalities
Submitted by mereloaded on Tue, 2017-04-18 - 17:21
The EEG showed abnormalities that you did not notice, but you are now noticing. It is quite obvious that you needed the increase and the dr caught it early enough. If you are experiencing worsening symptoms you may need even further increase in dosage.
my daughter gets those
Submitted by Amy Jo on Sat, 2017-04-15 - 02:15
my daughter gets those symptoms ~1-1.5 hours after taking an (immediate release) dose she can't handle - so we switched her dosing to three times a day instead of twice a day and that fixed it. So if she could take pills (currently takes the dissolving tablets), we could have switched her to extended release and that would have been easier. lamotrigine stops our child's atypical absence but does not always work to stop absences.