Anyone have or had other health issues caused by seizure meds?

What is the most amount of seizures you've had in one day?

  • 1-2

    Votes: 18 30.0%
  • 2-4

    Votes: 10 16.7%
  • 4-6

    Votes: 6 10.0%
  • 6-8+

    Votes: 26 43.3%

  • Total voters
    60

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy Forums

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy forums - a peer support community for folks dealing (directly or indirectly) with seizure disorders. You can visit the forum page to see the list of forum nodes (categories/rooms) for topics.

Please have a look around and if you like what you see, please consider registering an account and joining the discussions. When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no ads, access to members only (ie. private) forum nodes and more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!

mspang

Stalwart
Messages
198
Reaction score
0
Points
61
I started with epilepsy in 1993 and in 2001 I unfortunately started with ulcerative colitis (a form of inflammatory bowel disease). Ten years later had to have my colon removed. Has anyone had any other health issues due to your seizure meds?
 
I sorry that the results of your meds. lead your health to take a turn.

I can say for sure that this is a result of my meds. but I do think so.
This is not anything as bad as what you had, but I am B-12 deficiency. I can't tolerate the shots, thankfully I learned about compounding on this forum, so that is how I get my Vitamins.
 
I have osteopenia from years of taking Tegretol. And I've been taking it for years. Thankfully thats the only health issue that I've had.
 
Our son had liver damage from Depakote, and possible damage to his pancreas.
Also bone marrow disease.
 
sorry

I have osteopenia from years of taking Tegretol. And I've been taking it for years. Thankfully thats the only health issue that I've had.

Wow, i am sorry to hear this. How did you find out this? did the doc do a BMD measurement ?? and did they give you diet advice or recommendations ??
I ask this because i am worried for myself.
 
I had a bone density test done almost a year ago. Thats how I found out. I've been so busy with E that it hasn't been a top priority for me and have'nt had time to see a GP about it.
 
Jonathan also had metabolic acidosis from taking Zonegran. This got quite serious, he lost his appetite, just lay around all the time, and it triggered more seizures.

We finally got it under control (he's still on Zonegran) by giving him LOTS of water to drink (about 1 cup every hour that he's up), giving him 1/8 tsp of baking soda in one of his cups of water, and 1packet of Cytra-K (potassium and citric acid) in his water every day. The baking soda and Cytra-K act as buffers to keep him from getting acidosis.
 
I've had the typical weight gain, and loss issues. Bouts of diarrhea and constipation.
But the big health issues are:

Gall Stones (had to have Gall Bladder removed)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Mild Ulcerative Colitis
Kidney Stones
 
weight gain skin bad hard to heal and memory loss but not sure if that the e or meds.teeth problems.
oh jeeez do meds cause all that bigman,bleedin lot to look forward to
 
WOW. This scares me. For example, i am skinny and always have had 'thin' bones. The web site i read said that i am already at risk of bone loss issues. I now have major teeth issues with disappearing gums. I found out that that is all from the years i took depakote. and was not warned. I can't stand it. When the nerves begin to be exposed i need more fillings on the gum line. I found out that depakote does this all the time.
 
I started with epilepsy in 1993 and in 2001 I unfortunately started with ulcerative colitis (a form of inflammatory bowel disease). Ten years later had to have my colon removed. Has anyone had any other health issues due to your seizure meds?

What were you taking?? I've been on Depakote for about 8 years and it seems I've had bouts of IBS.
 
WOW. This scares me. For example, i am skinny and always have had 'thin' bones. The web site i read said that i am already at risk of bone loss issues. I now have major teeth issues with disappearing gums. I found out that that is all from the years i took depakote. and was not warned. I can't stand it. When the nerves begin to be exposed i need more fillings on the gum line. I found out that depakote does this all the time.

I've always had issues with bleeding gums, but the Depakote seems to worsen it! Were you on the regular Depakote or the ER? What dosage?
 
Hyponatremia caused by Trileptal, after taking it for about 7 years (I'm past 8 years now, and still taking it, but weaning off). I also have stomach issues, but I can't really say if it's related to meds. I've always had a sensitive stomach. Acid reflux, indigestion, and nausea are my major complaints, but also some IBS type symptoms.
 
Felbatol gave me daily migraines; Sabril made me suicidal; Trileptal caused hyponatremia (low sodium); Topomax (dopemax) caused weight loss and memory loss, more so than usual. Sometimes anti-seizure meds are also used as mood stabilzers, too.

Other medications, although not AED's, one needs to be aware of are drugs prescribed for mood disorders. Drugs such as Zyprexa, Abilify, Risperdol, Seroquel, Geodon. These are powerful anti-psychotics that are used for depression/mood disorders when anti-depressants don't work. And they can/do cause Type 1 diabetes! Zyprexa did it for me because of the depression I was suffering from E!
 
Since 1993 i've been on Depakote.

Sorry to hear about your side effects, but that scares the hell outta me! Currently I'm weaning. On 500mg of Depakote ER and 125mg of Depakote.

So you're still on it?
 
Sorry to hear about your side effects, but that scares the hell outta me! Currently I'm weaning. On 500mg of Depakote ER and 125mg of Depakote.

So you're still on it?

Yes, still on Depakote. Its helped out with my seizures from the start depending on what other meds I took with it. Didn't know it had anyting to do with the ulcerative colitis and loss of colon until it was too late. Hopefully it causes no more damage.
 
Do I ever! I was on Carbamazepine for 20 years. Thanks to this I developed polycystic ovaries and GERD. I take birth control for the PCOS and omeprazole for the GERD.
 
I started with epilepsy in 1993 and in 2001 I unfortunately started with ulcerative colitis (a form of inflammatory bowel disease). Ten years later had to have my colon removed. Has anyone had any other health issues due to your seizure meds?

mspang, I too have Ulcerative Colitis as well as a "seizure condition".

My Neurologist says it goes hand in hand with epilepsy, although it's not documented, he believes they are both brought on by stress.(I tend to believe him as I've since retired from a very stressful job)

It is not uncommon for someone to have some sort of bowel disorder brought on by epilepsy or seizure condition.

Due to the long term (34 yrs.) use of dilantin, I've had early stages of osteoperosis but I manage it with calcium/magnesium supplements, gained some weight and developed Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Randy
 
I have had bad weight gain and loss on some of the meds that I was on. I've been taken off of them. I was also on one that all I did was sleep. I'm still pretty tired but not like I was while on that med. Sorry I don't remember what they were.

I'm currently on:
Depakote
Tegretol
Keppra
Lamictal
Plus many others through the years.

I have very runny stool which my neuro said is caused by one of the medicines.

I've had a few cavities and a root canal and never thought that it might have been caused by one of the medicines that I've been on.

The keppra makes me VERY irratable.
 
Back
Top Bottom