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.

Ethosuximide treatment

Tue, 01/06/2009 - 18:24

I am writing hoping to find out a bit more about the treatment of Ethosuximide.  My 7 year old Son was diagnosed 1 month ago with Childhood Absence Seizures.  His Neurologist started him on 250ml a day of Ethosuximide and after 1 week 250ml twice a day.  He is on day 15 and my husband and I have seen a huge decrease in the amount of seizures he has a day but we are still noticing that he is still having them. They seem to last for just a split second and I have noticed that they occur when he is tired.  Usually early in the morning or in the evening time.  I told his Dr that he was still having them (less frequent) after the first week on medication and she said that was to be expected.  So I guess my question is Ethosuximide suppose to stop seizures completely or just decrease the amount that you have a day.  Or is it still too soon on the medicine to see a difference?  Any answers on this subject will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

Comments

ethosuximide 2 years gaps diet

Submitted by FaithN on Mon, 2018-03-26 - 03:29
Hi, my son just turned 5. He started with little stares as we tried other meds, his seizures started getting more severe and longer lasting.He has been on ethosuximide for 2 years. Nothing we tried for the 1st year stopped his seizures. We tried combining it with other meds with horrible results. He is currently down to 4 ml twice a day. We did add 1/2 a pill of depakote only at bedtime. We started the gaps diet almost a year ago. The doctors wanted us to do the ketogenic diet, but I felt strongly that gaps was the way to go. I am glad we did, otherwise we wouldnt have realized dairy was an issue, because you dont cut that out with ketogenic, same with nuts.1 month into the diet he started having grand mal seizures. The grand mal seizures were caused by us adding apples back into his diet. We stayed strictly on the gaps diet, not adding even the allowed dairy,nuts or fruit. We have not seen a seizure since last April. His eeg shows seizure activity still at night but not near as much as before the gaps diet. We did add a b6 vitamin. It had to be a special kind because he cant have sugars or fillers like brown rice. My son no longer has angry outbursts. He is talking and interacting. I continue to pray for all you parents and care takers. My son and I pray every night for the children/ people who are dealing with this every day. You are not alone. Every person is unique, I wish one thing would work for everyone! My hope is that someone can use the gaps diet, and it helps them.

ethosuximide 2 years gaps diet

Submitted by FaithN on Mon, 2018-03-26 - 03:32
Hi, my son just turned 5. He started with little stares as we tried other meds, his seizures started getting more severe and longer lasting.He has been on ethosuximide for 2 years. Nothing we tried for the 1st year stopped his seizures. We tried combining it with other meds with horrible results. He is currently down to 4 ml twice a day. We did add 1/2 a pill of depakote only at bedtime. We started the gaps diet almost a year ago. The doctors wanted us to do the ketogenic diet, but I felt strongly that gaps was the way to go. I am glad we did, otherwise we wouldnt have realized dairy was an issue, because you dont cut that out with ketogenic, same with nuts.1 month into the diet he started having grand mal seizures. The grand mal seizures were caused by us adding apples back into his diet. We stayed strictly on the gaps diet, not adding even the allowed dairy,nuts or fruit. We have not seen a seizure since last April. His eeg shows seizure activity still at night but not near as much as before the gaps diet. We did add a b6 vitamin. It had to be a special kind because he cant have sugars or fillers like brown rice. My son no longer has angry outbursts. He is talking and interacting. I continue to pray for all you parents and care takers. My son and I pray every night for the children/ people who are dealing with this every day. You are not alone. Every person is unique, I wish one thing would work for everyone! My hope is that someone can use the gaps diet, and it helps them.

MY son was diagnosed back in

Submitted by KLbogs on Tue, 2017-03-28 - 13:19
MY son was diagnosed back in August 2016.  he has been on Ethosuximide started at 5ml twice a day and we are now up to 10m twice a day.  he is still have them though much less infrequently (went from about 30 a day to maybe 1- a day)  But I have noticed he has these terrible tantrums now and will go from screaming and saying he hates stuff throwing himself on the floor to a little while later being back to his normal sweet loving self.  He also seems to not be following directions as well as he used to be, almost like he just isn't paying attention to me and other people and in his own little world.  Has anyone else noticed any side effects like this?  I'm not sure if it is from the medicine or just him.

Sign Up for Emails

Stay up to date with the latest epilepsy news, stories from the community, and more.