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16 month old ripping out her hair.
Sat, 01/06/2007 - 12:52Topic: Parents & Caregivers
I need help, ever since my daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy (complex partial seizures) and started on topamax she has been ripping her hair out in handfuls. Has anyone else seen this in their children? It is only her 3rd day on topamax, she was just diagnosed this week with it. She was suffering from up to 20 seizures a day, but is now down to 3 to 5 a day. Is this a side effect of the topamax? I also wonder if it has to do with when she had the Video EEG done, she had to have the gauze/electrodes on her head for about 20 hours. Is she clawing at her head because of that?
-Maggie
Comments
Re: 16 month old ripping out her hair.
Submitted by Mom with two on Fri, 2007-01-19 - 19:55
My daughter was 17 when she was put on topamax. She didn't pull her hair out, but said she felt like something was crawling on her head at times. Her doctor, an eplitomologist said it could be a side effect from the topamax. She also had hallucinations with this drug, so we stopped it. Oddly, the feeling of something crawling on her head stopped once we discontinued the topamax. Her doctor said it could have been a side effect of the topamax, but that that certain side effect was not listed in the study. I am not saying that that is what your daughter is experiencing, but it could be something to consider. My son (age 24) was on topamax for a short time as well, but it wasn't helping him, so they changed him to two other drugs. He also had hallucinations with it. So, I don't care for the drug. But, if it is helping her seizures, you might want to continue it for at least two weeks and see if she stops pulling her hair out. Some side effects go away after 10-14 days.
Re: 16 month old ripping out her hair.
Submitted by epileptic teen on Fri, 2007-01-19 - 18:49
Hey I'm 14 and I've had seizures since I was 5. I have EEGs every 2 years. Make sure you washed out all the sticky junk, it's very uncomfortable and it makes you want to rip out that section. Also talk to your doctor. The hair ripping out shouldn't be a side effect of the meds. Your doc may have a solution.