Early Osteoporosis, due to seizure meds....

[nightowl47]

I have this issue of early osteoporosis, due to my seizure meds ( Depakote) which I have been taken since I was 18 & was wondering how many others have been dealing with the same thing ?

At this point in time I am 48 and my bones are that of a 70 something year old which really scares me.... maybe I should also say that I am post menopausal which is not helpful whatsoever! So....

Any suggestions out there'??

Terri

 

[Nakamova]

I switched off of Dilantin in part because of the potential for osteoporosis down the road. As far as I know the meds I've been on since don't have that particular side effect, but it seems they don't always know for sure with long-term side effects. Did your neurologist ever warn you of the possibility, or suggest Vitamin D/calcium supplements to help?

Has your regular doc recommended any particular treatment? There's some basic information here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001400/ There's a new experiemental drug (romosozumab) that appears to help rebuild bone -- it could be FDA-approved in a few years, so hang in there.

The link below will take you to CWE threads that mention osteoporosis:
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/tags/osteoporosis.html

 

[masterjen]

I'm so sorry you are going through this. It is frustrating to me that none of your doctors suggested taking supplements or monitored your bone density. I have a bone density scan every couple of years just to make sure things are okay, as advised by one of my doctors. Sure enough one year showed a decrease in density in a couple of areas and we bumped up the calcium and D supplements, and about a year later results were back up to normal. Don't let this go; get on treatment as soon as you can.

 

[pinkfloyd]

For dilantin users, osteopenia is probably more common compared to osteoporosis.
I am 44yr male, with 17 yrs on Dilantin and moved to Keppra+Vimpat 4 yrs back,
due to Dilantin's side effects (bone, weight loss).
This led to 3 Tonic-clonic + kepprage -> discovery of CWE -> better self control.
Within a year of Keppra, I gained back much needed 20 pounds and bare muscular strength.
More significantly, platelet counts + WBC came back to normal,
leading to life without allergy medications.

Btw, my first post, being a lurker for some time..
Bernard - Thanks for creating a wonderful community