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Has anyone had success with medication
Mon, 01/23/2006 - 18:18Topic: Parents & Caregivers
My son is 15 and just started Lamictal. (First med treatment/started seizures approx 1 month ago)
I have been reading a lot re: Lamictal and Epilepsy online and have not run across anyone stating they are on meds and in control of their seizures.
Are there any success stories?
Thanks, Kelley
Comments
Re: Has anyone had success with medication
Submitted by chrissy m on Tue, 2006-01-24 - 14:39
I hope this helps you
I have had epilepsy since I was 3, I am now 25. You can get controll and have a normal life. The first medication I was on did not work at all. But then I switched to Carbamezepine it worked great. I did go through times where I had a episode here or there but as I have gotten older I have learned to read my body. I can feel if I have not enough med or even if it is to much. I cant imagine myself being seizure free. I mean I still have epilepsy. There is always going to be things that effect it like the flu, if you throw up, your meds are effected. I feel so lucky I live a normal life and I do not let my disorder bring me down. The one thing I always had in my life is that my family did not treat me different,Thank God. All I wanted was to be normal. I am so lucky, So many people have really bad epilepsy. I mean like a seizure every other day for example. Do not let the information you read scare you. The doctors are obligated to tell you every possible side effect. This does not mean your son will have them all. I personaly have stoped reading info on the internet about side effects.
I hope in some way this has helped you
Re: Has anyone had success with medication
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2006-01-24 - 17:24
Ditto to Chissy's comments.. Think of epilepsy as a 'spectrum' of disorders - lots of different types, that can have different consequences and courses throughout a person's life. Some forms are generally benign and can be easily treated , others not controlled at all or very difficult to control and can affect all parts of one's life. In many situations, the earlier seizures can be controlled the better but every person/situation needs to be evaluated differently, and individually, by someone who you can talk to and who has expertise in this area.
In the early stages of learning about epilepsy, it's hard to know where you/your loved one fits in, but keep asking questions,learning and sharing. Remember that epilepsy is a family affair, your child may experience the seizures, but everyone will be affected and can benefit from support and learning... Hope you find lots of support here and welcome aboard!
Epilepsy.com Resource Specialist
Re: Re: Has anyone had success with medication
Submitted by KelleyV on Tue, 2006-01-24 - 09:35
I dont see any side effects with him...yet! He is only at 25mg / 2x day. I think he will ultimately be on 150 mg per day. He is 15, but is 5'11" and weighs 175lbs. I think the 50mg he is on now really wont have any effect other than getting his body to tolerate the med. We go to Childrens/Boston, which is suppose to be one of the best. From what the neurologist led me to believe, my son should not have any seizures while being on meds (once up to full dose). It wasnt until I started reading online about epilepsy that I started wondering if he will ever be "seizure free". By reading online, I would guess only a small minority stop having seizures. Im now hoping it is what the first person who responded to my post was saying. 70% go on to have seizure free lives and dont post to the internet as they do not need support or information anymore. Time will tell. Someone once told me "I used to complain about having no shoes until I met a man with no feet".