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Weight gain and Epilepsy Medications--What are my options?
Sat, 07/08/2017 - 12:24Topic: Teen Zone
Okay, so this is kind of a long story, but I will try and make it quick. When I was 3 I was diagnosed with juvenile absence seizures, and the Neuro put me on Lamictal and Zerontin to control the seizures. Unfortunately, those didn't control my seizures as I grew older. I am now 18, but when I was 15, my seizures turned to photomyoclonic seizures. My meds had to change. Now I had been gaining weight from the previous medication, but then my Neuro put me on Depakote, which really made me gain weight, but controlled my seizures 100%, which was good because they had to be controlled in order for me to drive. Unfortunately, I gained a lot of weight and that made me uncomfortable, so I switched to Topamax. This helped me to lose weight, but my thinking was not as good and it honestly did not control the seizures as well. My lowest weight was 160 at this point, and I was very comfortable at this weight, until my parents told me I had to get my seizures under control to start driving. This was last year, and after I switched back to Depakote, I gained 70 pounds over the course of my senior year. NO BUENO. I have tried to work out every day, dieting, and combining both. I just cant seem to get the weight off, and I need to stay on Depakote because driving is very important to me. What do I do are there any alternatives that have worked for others with photomyoclonic seizures? I can't be the only one in this situation, right? Weighing 230, and not seeing any change in anything I do, I came to the worldwide web. So I guess im asking for help.
Thanks.
Comments
Zonisamide has controlled my
Submitted by GillianPrice on Wed, 2017-07-26 - 10:08
Zonisamide has controlled my seizures very well. I was previously on Risperdal which contained serotonin and dopamine, which are two neurotransmitters that affect the reward system of the brain, including with food. Which resulted in me gaining weight and eating more. However when I went with Zonisamide I lost weight. I don't measure in pounds, but I went from 85 kgs to 72kgs in two months. Although the side effects are quite common. But this medication really works. The main side effects that affect most people are nausea and vomiting. But if you take a reliable anti-nausea pill that works for you at the same time as your zonisamide every day, it will really help and the nausea will only be very light and not even constant. You just might feel a bit uncomfortable here and there. Also drink a lot of water. That really helps more than what you would expect when trying to lose weight.Hope I could help! Good luck.
My daughter has a similar
Submitted by crlanier on Sun, 2017-09-10 - 16:46
My daughter has a similar story to yours. She has gained so much weight on Lamictal and Zarontin. I am a personal trainer so she works out with me everyday and I fix balanced meals for her. This is so frustrating because by the looks of her you would assume she was lazy and ate too much...not true at all! So I can appreciate the struggle you are faced with. I tried the Serotonin Diet with her and she lost 8 lbs in 3 weeks and was always full. The downside of the diet is that it requires lots of preplanning and meal prep but it DOES work!
Nah dude. If you find the
Submitted by Misjoey101 on Sun, 2017-07-16 - 23:58
Nah dude. If you find the right pill, stick with it. My mom has always been telling the doctor he should put me back on Tompamax to lose weight. I was having 1 seizure a week on that stuff though. I don't like being overweight but, I don't think I have a choice. I just have to make sure I don't get heavier than I already am.