Community Forum Archive
The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.
monthly seizures? is effexor related?
Sat, 11/13/2010 - 17:01My husband has had six seizures this year. In March, he had his 26th birthday and drank heavily. Two days later, he had his first seizure. It was a complex partial seizure and secondary generalized. After being perscribed Trileptal, he was seizure free for three months. He began Effexor for his anxiety in June. Ever since then, he's had a seizure EVERY MONTH. (June, July, August, September, October). It always seems to happen on the weekend at 9pm around the same time of the month. Every one was a complex partial seizure and secondary generalized expect for one, which was just complex partial.
We originally thought it was related to alcohol consumption (first three). Then he had his fourth, which was not secondary generalized, but had no alcohol. His fifth one was on boat. He had ONE beer the day before. In September, he then switched medication to Keppra and stopped Effexor thinking that could have been the cause for the monthly seizures. One month exactly since his last seizure in September, he had another one. We are stumped. Could it be the slow withdrawal of Trileptal that he is getting off of? Could it be half of a bottle of Corona that he drank that night (sixth seizure)? Could it be the Effexor withdrawal?
He doesn't want to tell his work because he'll have to wait three months to drive again, but i don't want him to risk his life or anybody else's anymore. He doesn't think it's a huge deal and wants to get back to work. Has anyone experienced monthly seizures at night or anything related to this?
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Comments
Re: monthly seizures? is effexor related?
Submitted by 74chev on Sun, 2010-11-14 - 18:02
I agree with all the confusion between drugs. We originally were seeing a neurologist, but it disturbed me that she wasn't specialized in epilepsy. She was the one who told my husband to go on Effexor for his anxiety. After reading about this med on-line, we realized it wasn't worth the risk, and my husband started seeing a new neurologist, who specialized in epilepsy. He was then given a plan to start getting off of Effexor. This new doctor also switched him from Trileptal to the generic version of Keppra. He said that Trileptal is an older drug and he's found more success with Keppra. We are seeing this doctor in a couple weeks and I had seen earlier this month about the extended release- we're definitely going to ask him about this because it makes sense to take this rather than the other.
My husband's seizures typically occur between 8-9pm. He is not sleeping yet. It is usually when he is not actively doing something however.
Thanks for your insight. It's much appreciated. Best to you as well.
I agree with all the confusion between drugs. We originally were seeing a neurologist, but it disturbed me that she wasn't specialized in epilepsy. She was the one who told my husband to go on Effexor for his anxiety. After reading about this med on-line, we realized it wasn't worth the risk, and my husband started seeing a new neurologist, who specialized in epilepsy. He was then given a plan to start getting off of Effexor. This new doctor also switched him from Trileptal to the generic version of Keppra. He said that Trileptal is an older drug and he's found more success with Keppra. We are seeing this doctor in a couple weeks and I had seen earlier this month about the extended release- we're definitely going to ask him about this because it makes sense to take this rather than the other.
My husband's seizures typically occur between 8-9pm. He is not sleeping yet. It is usually when he is not actively doing something however.
Thanks for your insight. It's much appreciated. Best to you as well.
Re: monthly seizures? is effexor related?
Submitted by zealot on Sun, 2010-11-14 - 03:02
Ok. Effexor is not an anxiolytic. It is an antidepressant and it has a significant seizure risk because it is an SNRI. That means it raises norepinephrine levels, which means that it acts as a cholinergic agonist in the downstream signal cascade, which means it can cause seizures. That also means it can cause anxiety because norepinephrine is the precursor to epinephrine, more popularly known as adrenaline. Most people I know couldn't stand effexor because it made them so anxious. I find it extremely disturbing the number of people I'm reading about who have been prescribed Effexor for anxiety when it causes it. The med withdrawal could definitely be a contributing factor. Titrations are tricky. Cross titrations are trickier. This is an example of bad polypharmacy. There are too many variables to figure out what is causing the problem. It could be any or all of them or some or all of the above. That's confusing. That's why you can't figure out what's going on. Effexor withdrawal is nasty. It makes some people really sick. I was one of them. It was a few days of pure hell and then it started getting better. I'd give it a couple of weeks. The Trileptal withdrawal sounds like a problem. Why is it being withdrawn? It is the medication of choice for treating complex partials. I think the monthly cycle has to do with the phase of the moon. I'm not kidding here. It is a known fact that people are sensitive to tidal forces. The Romans didn't send the Lunatics to the Lithium Springs for the "cure" for nothing. Now that I'm no longer menstruating I think I'm noticing that my seizures are the worst in the week approaching the full moon. So call me a lunatic. Lots of people already do. You also don't say if he's taking Keppra or Keppra XR. If it's plain Keppra, I'd switch. If you can't switch I'd take half the dose, four times a day. I take it every six hours. You can't get stable blood levels with twice a day dosing. You don't say what time of day your husband has the seizures. If he only has them at night when he's sleeping that's very different from having them during the day when he's active. If he's having seizures during the day, he should not drive until they're under control. You should be aware that even if he's only having them at night now, there's still a risk and if he should have an accident and it comes out that he has a seizure problem that he knows is not under control, it could have very serious consequences. Most of my really bad seizures are at night now, but my seizures are not well controlled. Most people have more nocturnal seizures because of what happens in our brains when we sleep. This is "normal." Women have seizures related to their monthly cycles. I'm not cycling anymore so my seizures seem to be related to the lunar cycle rather than my menstrual cycle, which is no more. There are many men on this site with monthly seizure cycles. You might want to take a look at some of the men's fora to see what the guys have to say about this. I wish you and your husband all the best. Baruch Hashem. Hoshia na. Devorah Zealot Soodak http://psychout.typepad.com/ the zealot needs help! P.S. Please read my blog. Thanks. P.P.S. Please click here to read my latest post.