Starting Meds...input please

[what2do2010]

My husband was recently diagnosed with epilepsy. He has had every test that goes along with determining the diagnosis - inluding just finishing up an 8 day sleep study with 24/7 EEG, camera viewing, and 4 nights of sleep deprivation with strobe light stimilus. No loss of consicnous seizure was induded but he did have 2 episodes of tremors. He was started on Trileptal. So far into day 2 it is causing extreme sleepiness that we were told will end in a few days as his body adjust to the drug. Anyone have an opinion or story of their own about Trileptal to share?

[epileric]

I'm sorry I have no personal experience with trileptal but after being on numerous (& I do mean NUMEROUS) medications for my seizures I can say that it is very common for side-effects to take a few days to a couple of months (depending on the med) to disappear.

After that you will be able to see what residual side-effects really do stay & how helpful it will be.

[Nakamova]

Hi what2do2010,

As Eric says, it can take awhile for the body and brain to adjust to the meds. You might want to keep a journal tracking any side effects, to see if they change in one way or another. You can search for any other posts here about trileptal using the search tab at the top.

Best,
Nakamova

[Cint]

I did try Trileptal and as with all the other meds I have tried, it did initially make me very sleepy but after a few weeks I was ok. However, I finally had to be taken off that medication because it can cause low sodium in some folks and that didn't sit well with my body.

[Endless]

Hi, What,

I'm on Trileptal. I'm sleepy, too. About an hour after I take my dose it's like I took a sleeping pill. I'm out for the count for about 3 hours. This would make it very hard to go back to work, since I take a dose at 6am, 2pm, and 10pm. I've been on Trileptal for some months. I'm going back soon (I hope) so I need to get this problem fixed. My neurologist is switching me to Lamictal, because it also makes me super depressed.

Side effects don't always pop up right away. New ones may pop up later as his dose increases. I didn't get too terribly depressed until I got up to about 900mg.

Lots of people have low side effects, or get used to Trileptal over time. Give it some time and see. Some don't get used to it, some do. The only way he'll know is to keep on taking it.