Seizures symptoms and conditions

I take Lamictal for seizures for 3 years. I had my first unexplained seizure at 25 and another 6 moths later. Both times I had drank heavily two nights in a row. After the second seizure I was put on the Lamictal. I was slowly ramped up to 100mg in the morning and 200mg at night. On occasion, I get horrible "poop pains" as I call them. It feels like my insides are being ripped apart. I can sit on the toilet and poop incredibly runny stool, then I have to wait up to 15 minutes for the second batch. The pain doesn't subside until the second batch but it is immediately gone. It usually only happens when I wake up in the middle of the night. I have tried to correlate it to foods that I have eaten and can't match anything up. I also have horrible short term memory. I sometimes tell the same person the same story twice and they will be like "you just told me that." Also, golfing is the best example. I have a hard time remembering my strokes. My long term memory is fine. As fair as hair loss, I was already on track to lose my hair before I was on the meds so I don't know if they made it any worse or if this is a natural progression. It seems somewhat rapid but I never loose it in quantities or clumps. I just notice it in my hats and beanies every once in a while. I also have a hard time falling asleep on occasion and if I wake up in the middle of the night I have troubles falling back asleep as well. The bottom line is that this drug WORKS. I can live with the side affects cause they are random and not that often. I am a volunteer Fireman and cannot risk loosing that again so I am too hestitant to change meds as the doctor said Lamictal has the least side affects of the seizure drugs.

I've only been on topamax for about a month and a half and already I'm feeling some interesting side effects. In the first week of taking the medication I had such pressure behind my left eye I thought it was going to pop. It eventually went away and has not come back (thank the Lord). I also experienced some pretty nasty numbness, tingling, and uncomfortable pins and needles in my fingertips and toes/sole of my foot. The tingling in my hands usually lasted a few hours and the tingling in my feet only lasted for a couple of minutes. This tingling is never predictable.

Eventually the tingles went away and I was tingle free for a while. But in the past few days they came back. It actually coincided with my PMS. The tingles came back and with intensity about three days before my period started. I was wondering if it was common to have a side effect return or increase in intensity around your menstrual cycle? My hormones are pretty nutty and the reason I'm on topamax is to stop severe migraine auras and slight seizures that are tied to my menstrual cycle.

The feet tingles are the worst. It feels like I'm being jabbed with needles and I hate when it happens while I'm sleeping because it wakes me up and I can't fall back asleep again until they go away... they are that irritating. The hands I can deal with because I'm used to my left arm going numb when I was having the auras.

My sleep patterns have been disturbed because of topamax... I'm not too peeved about that. I still manage to get enough sleep. However there are times when I'm out with friends or having conversations and I'll know the word I want to say and I'll just bust out the wrong one. Like for example saying symphony instead of sympathy. My friends have gotten used to it and know what I'm trying to say. It cracks them up when my word salad produces sexual innuendos on accident when I really mean something else. BUT it's really messing up job interviews at the moment. I'm a bright and articulate person who is getting her BA in Anthroplogy and Archaeology, minor in History and am trying to get research assistant jobs at museums and universities. It's really hard to get a job when you are sitting there sounding like an uneducated moron high on crack.

I haven't had problems with memory, thank the Lord. Even though I've got the word salad going on (and it's strange... the word jumbles are only when I'm speaking... I'm super coherent when typing) I'm not forgetful. I was able to make it through finals week perfect, while juggling a full work load. I hope I don't start losing my memory.

I haven't lost any weight (AW SHUCKS!!!!!). I was looking forward to that one. How soon should I expect to lose weight by, if I do in fact lose weight? I'm a difficult duck when it comes to weight loss. I've been at a stable weight since I was 13. I'm an athlete so my body is my temple sort of thing. But in the past two years I've put on a little bit of unwanted weight in certain areas when I stopped hitting the weight machines :( My question is, if I haven't lost it yet... will I lose any?

I'm also classified as type II bipolar, obsessive compulsive, and anxiety disordered. I've noticed my mood has stabilized. I'm not as all over the place as I used to be. My highs could get pretty high and when they would get up there my obsessive compulsive would almost go on a little joy ride. And when I was low, I was super low and my anxiety would take the depression out for a spin. But now I feel a calmness and a zen that I never felt previously. It's not an apathy I can certainly tell you that. I feel like I am in control of my life. I thank topamax for that.

Reading all of these posts I just worry that the honeymoon period of my medication maybe over. I worry about other side effects cropping up. I think that I can deal with my tingling extremities and that I can manage my word salads. I don't want the pressure in my eye to come back. I also don't want to start exhibiting the other side effects. What is the possibility that I will start exhibiting more side effects or are you generally stuck with what initially presents in the first month or so? My doctor also does NOT intend on increase my dosage. He thinks 50mg once a day will do me just fine. Oh and one last question, anyone else experiencing the side effect increase coinciding with PMS?

Sorry for the super long post! All replies are welcome!

I have been on topamax for about 8 months. I started with 25, upped to 50, upped to 100 a day, then went to 300. now i have a raging diarrhea that I cannot control. I can't eat anything anymore. I have had seizures and at this point don't care anymore. So yesterday I simply stopped taking it. I am done. I just want to eat something and stop sitting on the stool. My poo has gone completely green at times....that is stomach bile. This medication is terrible stuff and should be removed from the market!

I have just bought a pack of Yasmin for birth control and heavy periods but haven't taken any yet, nor have i ever tried BC pills before. I suffer from severe migraines daily it ruins everything i do and my GP's have been completely useless they don't even ask me any symptoms about my headaches and refused to let me see a specialist. The only thing he did was tell me I need to go on painkillers indefinitely which does not appeal to me at all.
I am now wondering if i should take Yasmin or not after reading all these bad reviews especially concerning migraines. Has anyone with constant migraine found a way to help them? Please let me know as im desperate to know what it feels like to not have a migraine.

Lisinopril causes burning and tingling sensations in your feet (peripheral neuropathy). The neurologist insists that the Lisinopril simply "unmasked" a hidden glucose problem. My primary physician does not understand what that means. I have stopped taking the drug. It has been over a year and the side effects remain. I tried 10 sessions of acupuncture which seemed to alleviate some of the pain & discomfort in my heels and middle of the feet. I have started a treatment of folic acid, B1 & B12. I also recommend diet & exercise. I was prescribed gapapentin by the neurologist; it alleviates the side effects but does "cure" it.

I will never put this drug in my body and I will never forget the levaquin night. Dad was already on an antibiotic. He’s been gone 8 years now so this is somewhat of a blur. His catheter sprung a leak so he had to go to the urologist. While there doc noticed a UTI and prescribed the levaquin. Even though dad was already on an antibiotic he was told to start the Levaquin once he was done with the other. Who knows if the infection was even there by the time he took the levaquin.
Dad was on drugs for seizures. (Unexplained seizures to this day)
I filled the prescription. I was the one down on him for being on so many drugs. I should have read and noticed it said not to take this drug if you’re taking seizure meds. I’d programmed myself by then that things are what they are and no one would listen to me about the drugs and side effects etc. They all see me as a witchdoctor as my husband would tell me. The doctor later told me he doesn’t have the staff to stand around checking drug interactions all day long…..
Dad took the levaquin. I said let’s get you out for a while and come down to my house. I drove the 2 miles to my house with him and by the time we arrived he could barely stand. It was all I could do to get him into the living room. He couldn’t get comfortable. He seemed out of sorts and agitated. I assumed it was his surroundings and he just wanted to be home in his chair. I struggled to get him to my car and back home. .
Once back to his house, we were talking, his eyes went off into a dead stair. He wasn’t aware of anything going on around him. They became fixated (seizure). This lasted a long minute or so and I watched his eyes come back and him come back to awareness. It was then I went to the printout info on taking this drug and saw to not take it with seizure drugs. I called the doctor and was told to immediately stop the drug. (if my memory serves me, he took one a day).
Later that evening, I went to check on him lying on the couch. He had this dopey smile on his face and when he spoke this really creepy gibberish came out. He wasn’t making any sense. I couldn’t understand a word he was saying. My sister and her boyfriend arrived. Dad was calling my husband by MY name and insisting he wanted to march. ( He used to march in the front of the parade every year in his sailor uniform) My sister and her boyfriend had to hold him up to march. His legs and muscles were too weak to hold himself up. He was like a noodle. He would not sit down or calm down. It was constant moving him from one place to another.
I offered to spend the night and sit with dad. It didn’t look like either of us was going to get much sleep that night. Dad laid awake most of the night. Occasionally he would speak to me and I could barely tell he was indeed in there ….. somewhere. He looked wired with a somewhat terrified look in his eyes. He could barely speak and just seemed to be on a bad trip. I moved him around the living room all night from couch to chair to chair. He finally fell asleep and I dozed. I woke to find he had slid out of the chair and was on the floor staring at me. Huge wide awake eyes looking at me when I woke. Mom woke up. We helped him to the kitchen for breakfast. He did really well walking. You could tell the drug was wearing off. I felt some relief. I went to work.
After work I went straight to dad’s to take him to the doctor. We all gathered in his office at the hospital to discuss trying to get dad off most or all of his drugs. We were grasping at anything to give him relief. Herbal remedies were finally being considered for some of his conditions. It was time for his next Levaquin dose. He went into what the dr. called a “life threatening” seizure.
He was rushed to ICU and pumped up on more drugs. It was said his seizure drug wasn’t working because…. He had a seizure. No one would even consider the Levaquin causing ANY of this. The “side effect” was simply treated with more heavy duty drugs. The new seizure drug was doing practically the same thing the Levaquin did! Or from what I’m reading and researching online now.. maybe it was the levaquin. Doctors would tell me it was long out of his system and wasn’t causing any adverse effects. You could watch them put the new seizure drug in him and watch him leave reality and his mind. I was later told he had a rare brain disease. They couldn’t explain why this was happening, nor would admit that dad was in there somewhere. I’d see him there when the drugs were wearing off, before the next dose would arrive. We’d hold normal conversations. My husband saw him too. All my other family members were FREEKING OUT at his condition and didn't have their minds about them... in my opinion. They couldn't and wouldn't believe a drug could cause any of this. I can’t recall the name of the seizure drug. I have this all written down somewhere around here!
I do believe though, they would have never changed the seizure drug if not for the levaquin causing a seizure by being prescribed because the doctor has no staff to check drug interactions. I will always believe it was the Levaquin that started him on his downhill climb to not being with us today. He was a strong man before Levaquin. He became weaker and weaker to the point of getting pneumonia and having a heart attack before leaving us 4 months later. Levaquin may not have been the end of him.. it was just the beginning of the end………….

My daughter, who is 22 yrs old now, has been on lamictal since January (seizures which came out of the blue after being ill for 2 years) this year. She ended up in the hospital for most of February with vomiting and diarrhea. She was first diagnosed with celiacs, then gastroparesis, all the time the neurologist is telling us it ABSOLUTELY CANNOT BE THE LAMITCAl...now, she has had some twitching and the doctor increased the lamictal from 100mg 2xs daily to 150mg 2xs daily. Well, the diarrhea, which she's already on all kinds of stomach/bowel medicine, never really resolved but now with the increase is worse. I just called and will take her back on Friday, but think we need to find a new doctor, Good luck to everyone. and God help us all.

It really is surprising that this drug is used. I had an episode when I was 18. My parents were out of town and I got a really bad migraine. I called them and they told me I should go to the emergency room. I went by myself and I don't remember what they gave me, but it must have been Reglan. With in minutes of the IV I got really nervous and agitated. I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I buzzed the nurse button like 3 times and after 10 minutes and no one came I panicked. I pulled the IV out and left the hospital. Crazy I know but I couldn't think clearly. I went home and after a few hours I was okay.

Well this brings me to 9 years later and to my most recent experience. I am pregnant and I got a really nasty migraine. I was puking, couldn't see out of my right eye. Since there wasn't anything I could take I called my OB. He told me I should go to the ER and so I went with my husband. They said they wanted to give me Reglan and Benadryl, since I didn't know that was what they gave my when I was 18 I said okay. With in minutes I was having the same reaction I did 9 years ago. I went nuts. I started freaking out. I told my husband I wanted to leave. I needed the IV out of me. My skin was itchy and burning. I was nervous, shaking, and having a hard time breathing. When I husband got the nurse she was really condescending. She was like, “Do you have a history panic attacks?” I said, "no." Then she got the Dr., who ordered more Benadryl. After about 15 more minutes I calmed down. This was an extremely unpleasant experience; I will never take this medicine again.

My husband has been taking Lamictal now for 2 years. He had two seizures within 6 mo in his late 30's, one of which resulted in a car crash. Of course he is grateful for such medicine but as a partner and wife, I noticed lots of changes in him after he began the medication. He was irritable, had very low tolerance and a short fuse, was extremely distant and often mean - which in the end caused us to separate for some months. Although we are back together now and our relationship is doing very well, I notice other side effects, for example, he sleeps every time he sits still, etc.

HOWEVER, the real reason I am consulting this forum is to ask anyone (especially men) if they experience side effects related to sex. I know this is a tabu topic but things just aren't working as they used to and I am looking for solutions as he doesn't seem to question the side effects of this drug. This is starting to become an issue psychological issue now as well. Has anyone else experienced lower sex drives and complications during sex?

My dog was prescribed Cepro on 10/8/2008
500 mg 2 capsules am
1 capsule pm

Stopped giving him the drug after he started to vomit three days later
Symptoms:
Vomiting, heavy breath, exhaustion.

13 Oct --
Refuses to eat.
Sudden drop in quantity of urine.
Refuses to drink.
Bloating of stomach.
A bit of seizures.
Death.

I just got off topamax after being on 800 mg/day for over a year. Unlike most of you, I used it to treat seizures. Because of the side effects (slurred speech, bad memory, and NO sex drive) my doctor to switched me to Lamictal.

After just one week, my sex drive is back to normal, my memory is better, and I'm more confident in my speech.

Oct. 9,2008. I was given Avelox Monday Oct 6,2008 from my family Dr for a sinus infection . I went home & took the prescribed dose of 1, 400 mg tablet, and15 minutes later I felt a burning sensation coming from my toes to my face , I was having problems breathing , I suffer from asthma when I have any kind of sinus or cold type illness. ,I thought that was what was happening,but the inhaler did not help,, I couldn't stand up ,I couldn't sit up , I couldn't talk , I went into seizures,& started puking . I honestly thought I was dying , I couldn't even call 911 , thank God for memory call, my mother called 911 as I was home alone with my 5 year old granddaughter .
I was so incoherent ,I couldn't tell the EM"s what happened, all I could get out was anti.. The EM's thought I was either overdosed or having cardiac arrest . In the ER,the doctor's gave me all the anti allergens ,and I started coming out of it. I was soaked w/ sweat from the burning, I couldn't
speak right, it was if I had a stroke . My legs and body hurt so bad, I never experienced this much pain . 4 days latter I still am not alright . My entire body was red , I was so afraid to take even an Advil the next day . Then I heard the ER Dr. told my husband they're having a lot of problems w/ this Avelox! I asked an attorney if this is a suit and he said not unless it becomes a class suit! How on earth did the FDA approve this stuff ???
I would tell everyone ,this stuff is not worth the risk ! I came close to dying over a sinus infection ! DO NOT USE THIS AVELOX !

After taking one pill and nothing else I suffered 5 seizures, vomiting and temporary loss of bladder control. My advice is not to take it!

I have been on Lamictal now for 10 months, and I mostly love it.

But my IQ went down about 20 points. The first few months were very bad--I could hardly complete a sentence without forgetting one or two words. My short-term memory was scary bad--almost like blackouts where I wouldn't even remember events when reminded.

Those things have abated somewhat, but I am still having to adjust to a lower ability to think. I must make lists, I must repeat instructions and directions. Perhaps this is more about slowing down what was a hyperactive brain, but it is a side-effect that is hard to accept.

I am noticing a new side effect, though. I drop things all the time. I recently dropped a book I was reading--how does that happen?

Has anyone noticed this dropping, or any other clumsiness like this?

September 28.2008 6.45pm having sweats and dizziness headaches and sleepy and tired.had fish hook removed from finger and was given cephalexin for an antibiotic. chuck branch

I have been taking 300mg of Topamax BID for 4 years. I also am Taking 300mg of Lamictal BID. I have had all The same side effects that have been listed. I still get some numbness and tingling in my hands, feet or legs from time to time. The weight loss eventually leveled off for me. (My Dr. said that would happen). I lost 30lbs and gained 10lbs back. the confusion and memory loss was a big deal for me, but I had finally found a great combination of meds that controlled my seizures. I found B12 shots and no caffeine really helped keep my mind clear and gave me back my "verbal capacity" (you guys know what I mean).
Overall I think it's a great drug. It defiantly changed my life for the better.
I Tried 4 others before I tried Topamax.
Nothings gong to be perfect.
Jessica, Tampa,FL

I have been on Temazepam 45 mg. @ bedtime for over a year, about 3 months ago it stopped working. This week my doctor stopped the Temazepam and put me on Seroquel 50 mg. @ bedtime. The first night I woke every 2 hours with BAD nightmares! So I tried two more nights just in case it needs a "working in" period: Well I still wake every two hours like clockwork and the dreams are so so real! I wake myself up talking! I don't know how much longer it will take (if ever) to get into my system. I just want to know if anyone else is having this problem and if I should call my doctor? All help would be appreciated.
******

Hi everyone,
I cannot live without xanax and its terrible, I have been on them for 5 months and have tried to stop them and its a nightmare. I suffer memory loss, have blackouts that I do not remember what I have said after a few drinks. It does help ease the social anxiety. But I have become moody, sleepy. . Does anyone else have these problems?

I was scribed aricept for a mild nuerocognitive disorder. The second day I was on it I has seizure like symptoms. I stopped for a day and the symptoms got better. I took it again for one night and the seizures came back. I went to the emergency room and they said that I was having a severe Migraine.

My nuerologist scribed clonopin which seemed to clear up the post symproms after about a week.

I have had extrapyramydal symptoms before on medications like cymbalta and Elavil. I have been scribed clonopin for that as well and that has cleared up the EPS as well over time.

I have a friend who mom had pre-parkinson symptoms and I was told she had very similar reactions to aricept.

Seizures, coma, death, life support.

Hi, my name is Hannah and I am a senior in college. At the age of 19, I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I was a sophmore in college at the time, had a job, and was a completely HEALTHY girl. I have been living with the disease for two year now, and my doctors still can't come up with the cause for my seizures. Recently my sister called me to ask if I had received the gardasil shot, because on CNN talk radio that people were starting to think that the garasil shot might be linked to paralysis,seizures, and even death. I immediately called my OBGYN to ask the dates in which I had received my shots. My first dose was given on Oct.17, 2006. I had my first set of seizures on Nov. 24, 2006. WOW...I was in shock. I feel like I now have an answer for the cause of my illness. I talked to my Neurologist about this and he said we will have to wait until more research is done. I am convinced that Gardasil was the reason for my epilepsy. I am so sad to think that other girls are going in to receive a vaccine that is suppose to help their lives, and instead they could have crippling side effects that never go away. I can no longer drive, I had to choose between school and a job, and now I have to plan my day around taking my medicine. All because a drug company wanted to make some money before their completely researched their product.

To the person above me who claims Dilantin is being used as a "crutch" for people, congratulations on graduating with honors and being a nurse, but please do not assume your non-reaction to this medication is how we all react. I was diagnosed with seizures at age 20 and have been on dilantin for 2 years. At 22 years old, I have no recollection of my junior or senior proms, my high school graduation, many huge events in my life. I can't recall even ATTENDING these functions. Dilantin has erased my life from my memory. I had a 3.8 GPA in high school, did not do drugs or drink. No actions that would have caused my memory loss. Now, I stutter, I am constantly tired, forgetting things very often, studying is nearly impossible and I have no sex drive at age TWENTY TWO. My doctor refuses to change my medication insisting side effects of other medications would be even worse. I've considered weaning myself off Dilantin to end these effects but am afraid to do so. I wish we could all be as symptom free as you have been, but please do not look down upon those who have legitimate side effects.

i have been taking wellbutrin to help me deal with anxiety for a little more than a week. i thought it would take more time to have an effect, but i feel very calm. i even stopped smoking right off, which i didn't intend to do. The side effects are worse that i thought they would be. i have lost the ability to spell, my short-term memory is noticeably impaired, and i have trouble paying attention in class/at work. i feel very foggy and disconnected. i've also been having headaches, night sweats, and stomach pains, but they are mild.

I was thrilled to lose about 15 pounds so fast, but lately I have noticed so much hair in my brush that I could make a wig. I am not willing to lose my hair or eyesight. Working in pharmacy, when this first came out I put myself on it b/c I heard about the weight loss. I also have had a few seizures and an MD prescribed it, but I know what caused those seizures, some bad behavior, and I know im not epileptic. thought they told me once you have one you're prone to them. As long as I stay a 'good girl' i have had no seizures. It sucks thinking about gaining back this weight though. Willpower and the gym I must, i must.

I am now weaning off of Wellbutrin after 4 months - I was taking it to quit smoking (I had just been through a very stressful divorce and I was smoking way more than normal.) I did not experience most of what has been discussed here (negative side effects) except for mild headaches. I am posting this simply to tell the few people who have experienced the headaches that I believe this will go away. I (like a dummy) told myself I'd only take 150mg a day rather than the whole 300mg my doctor had prescribed. This didn't work - I needed the whole 300mg, taken at 150mg doses at exactly 12 hour intervals (this makes a huge difference!) About two weeks after beginning this med, I experienced feelings of euphoria (which were quite pleasant!) but feel like I balanced out within a month. One other side effect was a change in menstrual cycle - I'm normally exactly 28 day-predictable, but missed every other month in the four months I've been on this (coincidence? Not sure...) I also drink beer nearly every night (2-4 bottles, sometimes none, sometimes more) and never had any type of seizures. Bottom line...this drug definitely helped me cut way back on smoking - I am a stress smoker and since this alleviated my stress, I didn't smoke hardly at all. Now that I'm weaning off (and yes, I did cut pills in half and have not experienced anything bad) I am curious to see if my desire to smoke will return.

Just wanted to post this out there for anyone who has had similar side effects. Overall, I have been very happy with this drug (but have never taken other Anti Depressants, so can't compare with others).