Your experiences with Zonegran?

[Junebug]

junebug....how long had you been on the zonegran? had you ever had your blood levels checked before?
how often are we suppose to have our levels checked? I have not have mine checked yet.
thanks....and wishing you the best with your med change....know that can be difficult.

Maybe 6 mo I've been on it since starting it? I know when I went into the hospital with brain swelling and hallucinations and everything that comes with that the incompetent ER dr. didn't even do a background on what meds I was taking other than asking what meds I was on. It turns out the Doxycyclyine antibotic I was given for a misdiagnosis of MRSA made the Zonisimide work less but still go through my system making me have Tonic clonics so much that my brain started to swell and I started to hallucinate. Oh that was lovely. I don't know why anyone in their right mind would want to hallucinate. I made the nurses cover up the picture in my hospital room because it was moving. It freaked me out!

I'd check with your dr about how often levels are supposed to be checked. I think it is really up to you and your dr. unless the FDA requires other measures.

[Nakamova]

I recommend that you call your neurologist and ask about having the Zonegran levels checked and also the serum bicarbonate (as it mentions in the FDA warning). Usually it's worth doin every 6 months, but your neurologist may have a better sense of that.

[daisy.girl]

I found this about zonegran and monotherapy:
(so this must be why physicians here use it for mono too)
Indications
Epilepsy
Zonisamide is approved in the United States,[7] United Kingdom,[8] for adjunctive treatment of partial seizures in adults and in Japan for both adjunctive and monotherapy for partial seizures (simple, complex, secondarily generalized), generalized (tonic, tonic-clonic (grand mal), and atypical absence) and combined seizures.[9]

[Topcat]

I am glad I found this thread but at the same time I am kind of scared because my neurologist wants to start me on Zonegran. He wants to phase me off of Keppra and on to it. I sure agree with the remark about "rollercoaster." I have a shelf full of very expensive drugs that I now can no longer use and chances are Zonegran will join them.