Joint pain from Seizure meds

[Duke]

Have been having joint pain in my knees, wrists, fingers and pain across the back of my right hand, I'm right handed. But it has gradually gotten worse over the past 6 months, I can still walk ok but my left knee feels like the bones touch sometimes,thats kinda tough.

The most recnt med I started taking was Lyrica 150mg morning,225mg bedtime

Caratrol 600mg morn & night
Zonegran 200mg morn &400mg night

All of this has been unchanged since last sept. If anyone has had any of these symtoms let me know , or let me know what you did about it. Thanks

Duke

[Birdbomb]

Me.

Turned out to be Rheumatoid Arthritis. Been undiagnosed for over 30 years. GRRRRR!

[RobinN]

My daughter just stopped taking Lamictal, because of over all body aches. She didn't pin point it to joint, or a particular muscle. She said she just ached all over. I went to askapatient.com and I read that others had similar symptoms. She then had a fever the second time this happened, and a sore throat so the doctor said we need to stop this one.

Now we are trying Trileptal. Hoping for better results, since this is the 4th try.

[Duke]

RobinN,
thanks for your reply and the askapatient.com link. About 3 years ago I was taking Lamictal myself, sorry your daughter had a bad time with it. I was a lot more active 3 years ago so maybee I just didn't notice the body aches.
Well I hope the Trileptal works out for her,best of luck.

Duke

[brain]

http://www.drugs.com

Go here, click on the left column or type
in the drug name on the search bar, then
click on the PROFESSIONAL LINK, and the
specific information will be found, usually
about half way or so down: of the side
effects; usually the BRAND NAME is the
better half of it than the GENERICS due to
so many makers of GENERICS and you will
find a chart of list of side-effects and the
percentile ratios / complaints.

Checking out the other options available
on the Drug isn't a bad idea either and it
is also a great idea and handy to bookmark
it as a resource to fall back to.

But as Birdy posted below, you could be having
another medical problem that is totally unrelated
to your seizures / epilepsy and not necessarily
drug reaction related. So it is a good idea to
check with your Primary Care Doctor for a follow
up visit as well.

[Shadow]

I have been on Lamictal for about 10 years, but the only rhuematoid arthritis I have had is attributed to an old injury. Do be careful of progressive bone loss from long-term use of anticonvulsants, tho. You might want to get this checked as well. At the age of 53 I was diagnosed with osteoporosis.

[POSITIVEPERSON]

I had the mysoline collect in my joints and had to go for acupunture and physio therapy and wean off the mysoline. I have been taking multi vitamin,b complex, complex magnesium, vit c since 92 .Because Dr Orrin Devinsky told me the anti-epileptic drugs eat up the vitamins in the system already and I needed extra. I have been using acupuncture to help me with anti-epileptic drugs since 1980 on and off. It has been a great help to me.

Riva

[speber]

Duke! You may have answered my questions as well! In checking your public profile I see we're BOTH the same age (within a month!) and guess what?---we BOTH take ZONEGRAN! I'm on 400mg/day.
I've been wondering why my hands have mysteriously started hurting in the last 6 months myself?...that's about the time I started taking Zonegran!
I'm willing to go out on a limb and consider the possibility it's Zonegran that's causing my knuckles to hurt.
By the same token, I'm concerned that I don't have much more than my research into alternative therapies yet to take its place...I'm basically through with anti-epileptic drug choices.
I'm a bass player and a firm believer that music might be the best therapy for myself at this time...so if it comes down to it I'll back off the Zonegran (with my epileptologist's knowledge of course!) and play harder!

Good Luck!

[brain]

Duke! You may have answered my questions as well! In checking your public profile I see we're BOTH the same age (within a month!) and guess what?---we BOTH take ZONEGRAN! I'm on 400mg/day.

I am also on Zonegran 400 mg as well,
but I tolerate it exceptionally well.

Important note:
Do not use Zonegran / Zonisamide if you are allergic to Sulfa.

You may want to check out:


Zonegran's Official Website

and

Zonegran / Zonisamide Facts and Drug Information

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS:

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome:

Abnormal skin sensations; agitation; clumsiness; confusion; constipation; diarrhea; dizziness; drowsiness; dry mouth; flu syndrome; headache; indigestion; irritability; loss of appetite; nausea; nervousness; rapid eye movement; runny nose; tiredness; trouble sleeping; vomiting.

Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur:

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); back and forth eye movements; changes in the amount of urine; dark or bloody urine; decreased sweating; difficulty concentrating; difficulty speaking or other speech problems; double vision; easy bruising or bleeding; fever; loss of coordination; memory problems; mental or mood changes (eg, agitation, depression, irritability); mouth sores; numbness and tingling of hands or feet; painful urination; red, swollen, or blistered skin; severe drowsiness; severe muscle pain or weakness; sore throat; stomach pain; sudden back pain; suicidal thoughts or behaviors; unusual or disturbing thoughts; unusual weakness.

This is not a complete list of all side effects that may occur. If you have questions or need medical advice about side effects, contact your doctor or health care provider. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA(322)-1088 or at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch.

Hope this helps!

[Duke]

brain,
thanks for your post about the Zonegran site. I've come to find out that all 3 of my meds have some kind of side effect and I'm gonna have a long talk with my Dr. on monday when I see him. Maybee we can make some kind of change. Thanks for everybodys input.

Duke

[Bernard]

*Every* anti-epileptic drug has potential side effects.

[speber]

Absolutely...BUT, by the power of the forum...we may have found a particular side effect that was not so well known or so well published. Brain's wonderful input was 'close' when it mentioned muscle pain and tingling in the hands and feet...but this is different. It's actually JOINT pain like Arthur-Itis...and I was really happy to see there is a possibility it could be the drug causing this since someone else was experiencing the same thing.
The forum is a wonderful thing. I'm off to the epileptologist TODAY and will bring this up to her! Hopefully she knows more than we do as her degrees indicate.

[brain]

SPEBER:

Well let us know what your epileptologist had
reported, and hopefully you'll be
feeling better soon!

[speber]

What a drag....she couldn't give me the "Oh yeah! That IS a not-so-well-known side effect of Zonisamide!".
However, she was also not ready to discount the thought that that could be the case and is going to investigate further for me.
Duke, I wish I had better news and a doctor with clinical trial results to back me up here, but I gotta tell ya...my gut says it's the Zonegran. Even with that said though, I'm gonna deal as long as I can stand it if it helps keeps the GTC's at bay. Sigh.........
Does anybody hear Huey Lewis in the background while reading this thread?
Good Luck

[Bernard]

[speber]

Now THAT'S FUNNY!....what a setup!
You rock Bernard!

[Birdbomb]

LOL

Excellent Mr. B!

The national anthem for ALL people with chronic illness/disorders!