Hi I'm new

[jack0194]

Hi,
I'm not completely new to epilepsy as I've had it for going on 26 years. TLE. I thought I was on here but It turned out I wasn't.

Over the last 8 years I had to have a whole lot of testing because they were unsure what was going on with my TLE as I was having seizure activity that was a little unexplained at the time and it gradually got worse as the years went on. Eventually it got to the point where I had a TC then more tests and I was quickly changed from Tegretol to Keppra along with the Topamax I already take. The changeover was pretty hard but I got through it. 12 months on I re did the video eeg and for basically the first time no seizure activity. All up over 8 years I had 4 eeg test, Three day video eeg tests and two MRI's.

I just have one small issue now. The Topamax I take has been taken off the PBS and may become harder to get in Australia as the months go on. My question is If I go on to a generic do I just switch over and start taking it as normal? Or will I need to do the process gradually like what I did when I went from Tegretol to Keppra? The other thing is now that I will have to go a generic eventually there is 4 different types I can get which makes it more confusing.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Bernard]

Hi Jack, welcome (back?) to CWE.

AFAIK, most folks transitioning from brand name to generic of the same medication don't do anything special to transition from one to the other. You just start taking the generic and hope your system tolerates it the same way.

 

[Sabbo]

Hello. With most drugs, the switchover from name brand to generic isn't very noticeable. Thanks to insurance, I've had to switch from name brand to generic many times. The only time I may have had issues is when our drugstore changed the manufacturer they use for a generic

 

[valeriedl]

Hello Jack!

Switching from the name brand to the generic isn't any big deal. You don't have wean yourself off of the name brand and onto the generic like you did with the Tegretol to Keppra - You just start taking the generic. And as everyone has said you probably won't notice any difference between the two. If you do though make sure you let your neuro know.

 

[Porkette]

Hi Jack,

Welcome to CWE! As everyone has mentioned switching from the brand name drug to the generic is not a big deal, just start
the generic and see how things go. Just like you I have TLE and I've had all the test you have mentioned but then I had surgery
to reduce my seizures.
To find the best seizure med for you ask your neuro. to do a DNA test on you. They will just draw some blood and get some
salvia from the inside of your mouth, all of that goes to the lab where they will be able to see the amount of enzymes in the liver
along with the body chemistry and then they can match that up to the best seizure med for you with the least side effects or the
test will show if you are drug resistant. When I had my test done I found out I was drug resistant so me Epileptologist told me
to start using the medical marijuana and I was amazed at how that cut back my seizures. I wish you the best of luck and
May God Bless You,

Sue

 

[jack0194]

Hi Jack, welcome (back?) to CWE.

AFAIK, most folks transitioning from brand name to generic of the same medication don't do anything special to transition from one to the other. You just start taking the generic and hope your system tolerates it the same way.

Well, I think I may have had an account a while ago and never used it. I tried to log in with the same email and it didn't work so I'm guessing it's gone so I made another one and actually made a post lol.