New Bee

[Judy]

Hello,

I am new to this, please bear with me.
My daughter is 24 and was having problems with being very tired and falling asleep real easy. Then at work she had a small seizure. She had an EEG and the Dr. said she had Complex Partial Seizures. He is putting her on Depakote ER, 1000mg- 1500mg. She is also taking Prozac 40mg and Xanax 1mg a day. I thought that maybe the Prozac and Xanax was making her tired but the Dr. said that he noticed abnormal spikes in her brain. I am worried. I mean can they get worse. What causes them? Can she still have children if she has to stay on the medicine and one more question for now, can seizures go away.
Thank you all so much,

Look forward to your responses.
Good luck to all you

[Elisa]

Hello and Welcome.
I'm going to try and answer your questions as best I can.
I'm 40 years old, and have had complex Partical seizures since I was 12. I have 2 children ages 17 and 12. So, yes she can still have children and live a very normal life.
But, she can't have children on Depokote not a save drug to have children while on it.

To be honest as I was reading your post when I saw that they put her on Depokote my eyes popped out of my head. Depokote is a very, very old drug, one of the first to ever to come out. It will make her gain weight and most likely she will lose hair.
There are so many new anti-epileptic drugs (anti epileptic drug) out there with much fewer side effects and are safe to be on when pregnant. Depokote isn't ususally a first choice drug for Complex Partical seizures, I'm not sure why her Doctor started there.
There are a few she may want to ask about.
Keppra
Lamictal
Topamax

I am partical to Lamictal it has pretty much stopped my seizures all togerther. I have very few side effects, but others have more side effects then I do. Everybody is diffrent.
Lamictal is also used as a mood stablizer so it may help her in that way as well. Maybe she could get rid of the prozac if she were to start taking Lamictal.

I didn't answer all your questions, I will post again later. I need to get my 12 year old in bed.

Elisa

[RobinN]

Welcome Judy
My daughter also has been having seizures for the last 1.5 yrs. She is 16 now.
We have tried four drugs so far for Rebecca's tonic clonic seizures and we have not been happy with the side effects.

Check out the new thread about Trileptal and the FDA warning that lists quite a few newer drugs.

[brain]

Judy!

Welcome to CWE. I too have complex partial's which
is short for Complex Partials. And there
are BETTER NEWER medications than
the old Dopey-kote (Depakote's personal
nickname that people who've been on it).

And to answer your other questions:
YES she can have children, I have a 23
year old son.


It might be a time for her to change to
a different Neurologist / Epileptologist.
And I strongly advise after consulting
with a Pharmacist and having spoken
with the Primary Care - it would be best
to get a 2nd opinion, if the Primary
Doctor so calls for one.

[Judy]

Hello again,
Thank you so much for replying to my message. Hmmm, well my town is small and only one Dr. in Neurology.
My daughter already has a weight issue. I expressed concern about Depakote but He brushed me off saying well it probably won't do that. But more weight is not something my daughter needs. He said that not all seizures are epileptic seizures. So what do you call Complex partial seizures? He is not an easy Dr. to talk to and the other problem is my daughter has terrible insurance. It is not paying for any tests. She and I are both upset. I guess I will have to go out of this town to get another opinion. Oh and I should say that my daughter has mood swings gets (very irratated) and has a little depression. The family Dr. put her on Prozac and then a Psychiatrist put her on Depakote. The Neurologist said that since she was on Depakote that he wanted to leave her on it. She has only been on it for a couple of weeks. It is so hard to know what to do. They want to do a sleep study and an MRI, but it will be several thousands of dollars because of the rotten insurance.

Thank you for your advice on the different kinds of medicine, I will for sure be checking on them. We don't see the Neurologist for another month.
I don't think he likes me questioning him, but I figure I am paying for him to answer them.
Thank you again for taking the time to respond, I know you have busy lives.

Bless you, Judy

[Judy]

Thank you, It is so nice to have people to talk to that are so helpful and so informative. Everyone has said that Depakote is an older medication, and that there are newer ones available. I can never get to talk to our family Dr unless I make an appointment to go see her. Which I will be doing as soon as possible.
She never told my daughter anything about the EEG just said she had an appointment with a neurologist.

They did a CT scan 4 months ago, as my daughter was having headaches. I guess we need to follow with an MRI too.

I want to get to the bottom of this and find the right medication to help her without weight gain and yes I think that xanax, prozac and depakote would make you feel tired all the time.

Again thanks for the info, Judy

[brain]

He said that not all seizures are epileptic seizures. So what do you call Complex partial seizures?

Complex Partial Seizures IS Epilepsy:
Here's more information:

Complex Partial Epilepsy from eMed


But also if you are willing to drive, you
can find a Doctor this way:

FIND A NEUROLOGIST / EPILEPTOLOGIST - AESNET & EPILEPSY FOUNDATION

[Bernard]

Hi Judy, welcome to the forum.

He is putting her on Depakote ER, 1000mg- 1500mg. She is also taking Prozac 40mg and Xanax 1mg a day.

You might want to ask the pharmacist if there is any contraindication for Depakote with Prozac/Xanax. A lot of anti-depressents don't play nice with anti-seizure medications.

... the Dr. said that he noticed abnormal spikes in her brain. I am worried. I mean can they get worse. What causes them?

There are numerous possible causes - blood sugar, oxygen deprivation, scar tissue in the brain, neurotransmitter imbalances (disturbed sleep cycles), etc.

EEG neurofeedback can help normalize brain activity.

Can she still have children if she has to stay on the medicine and one more question for now, can seizures go away.

Just about every anti-epileptic drug carries an increased risk of birth defects for babies. Depakote (sodium valproate) in particular carries an increased risk of cleft lip/palate and autism.

He said that not all seizures are epileptic seizures. So what do you call Complex partial seizures?

Complex partial seizures are epileptic seizures. Non-epileptic seizures can be brought on by drug abuse/overdose, extreme sleep deprivation (obstructive sleep apnea can play a part here), blood sugar/insulin spikes, etc. They are basically events that are considered to have been caused by extenuating circumstances and not by epileptifom brain activity.

Oh and I should say that my daughter has mood swings gets (very irratated) and has a little depression.

That's pretty normal for many people with epilepsy.

They want to do a sleep study and an MRI, but it will be several thousands of dollars because of the rotten insurance.

The sleep study can help diagnose the seizure activity for better targeted treatment. It might also reveal any sleep apnea issues.

An MRI looks for scar tissue or other abnormalities in the brain which might be focal points for the seizures (ie. where they originate).

I don't think he likes me questioning him, but I figure I am paying for him to answer them.

lol. Some doctors prefer people to just accept their prescriptions and keep the gravy train going. Proactive patients take up time and are not as lucrative.

... and yes I think that xanax, prozac and depakote would make you feel tired all the time.

Depakote alone turned my wife into a zombie. She napped all day long and could barely function. Everyone reacts to drugs differently though, so your experience may differ.

[skillefer]

Hi Judy! Welcome to the forum. As for Depakote, it worked really well for me while I needed it. Yes, I gained weight, and yes I lost hair. I think your doc just kept her on the Depakote because it's also a mood stabilizer. In fact, if I remember right, that was what it was primarily prescribed for. As for having kids, it can cause birth defects. My neurologist told me to take folic acid to help prevent that. Also, my neurologist told me to watch my weight. He said that the more I weighed, the higher the dosage I'd have to take. So, if there was any reason to lose the extra pounds, that's been it... I'm definitely not a size 2 but I'm much slimmer now than the 2XL I used to be. As for the sleep test....I'd suggest it. It'll check to see if she has sleep apnea. Lack of oxygen while sleeping, and the constant gasping for air can cause poor sleep which can trigger seizures. Does she snore? I snore bad enough I've woken up myself. Now I use Breathe Right nasal strips, and they seem to be working. My hubby reminds me to put it on now. It's either that, or I keep him awake. Your daughter should be keeping track of what she eats and drinks and when, how many hours sleep she gets each night, and what she was doing /where she was right before each seizure. It'll help her to figure out if there are any things that trigger her seizures. For example, with me, it's my blood sugar level, stress, and strobe lights. Oh joy. Exercise helps. walking helps to destress as well as keeping the weight down. Anyway, welcome to the forum. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[xenome]

Welcome Judy. In my case Ive had absence seizures since I was about 12 and got put on depakote by a pediatrician. It didnt really work for me but I told everyone it did because I just wanted this all to go away.
Then when I was 24 I started getting tonic clonic seizures too and I saw a neurologist who told me that my seizures wouldve gone away or gotten worse when I stopped growing and in my case they have gotten worse.