[Info] Long-Term Side Effects

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I can't believe they ramped you back up so quickly! Especially the lamotrigine (you're supposed to ramp up verrrrrrry slowly on that). I've found that whenever I make a transition up or down on lamotrigine (I'm just on the one med), I experience dizziness. It feels like "the spins" that you might get if you were super-exhausted or had been drinking too much. The dizziness goes away after about a week at a stable dose. If you can tough it out, there's a good chance that will happen for you, but if it gets worse and/or intolerable go camp out in your doctor's office until they pay attention. Hang in there!
 
Yeah I mean I already missed 2 weeks of work which they approved me to do but I felt bad about because it's a busy time of year... so today was my first day back and walking to the bus stop I just about tripped over myself numerous times. It was a little unnerving but my job only requires sitting at a computer so it's fine in that regard.
I was surprised they put me back on it all at once too. I thought they said they weren't going to and the next thing I know the nurse is handing me all of them saying the Dr changed his mind.
 
I hope you feel better soon. Even if/when the dizziness goes away, I think it's worth eventually having a chat with your neuro about the decision to ramp up all at once. He may have a good reason for doing so, but he should also have discussed it with you.
 
Hello again,

I'm dealing with a new problem since I left the hospital on June 2nd.
I had the eeg electrodes on my head for 2 weeks straight and I'm not sure if this is why, or its being suddenly put back on my meds afterwards, but since then I've noticed a lot of my hair seems to be falling out. While it usually did a little when I would shower and brush it, it's now become quite excessive and I can see areas thinning on my head. I've been needing to swifter my bathroom floor every 3 days or so from the amount that's coming out. I'm extremely upset and I don't know what to do right now :(
 
The timing does seem suspicious -- maybe you had an allergic reaction to the EEG paste that's causing temporary hair loss. Anti-seizure meds can also cause hair loss but usually it's a delayed reaction and doesn't show up until one or two cycles of hair growth (3 to 6 months) have occurred. Anti-seizure meds can sometimes interfere with Biotin metabolism (biotin is a B vitamin that's associated with healthy hair), so you might want to look into a supplement.
 
Thank you for responding, I'd found another thread here that seemed more appropriate to post it in.. but figured I should add it here:

I would just like to add my recent experience to this.
I finished my 2 week EEG monitoring experience a week and a half ago and over the past 3 days have experienced something horrible. While sure, it is vanity, it is something that for me is a huge confidence factor. My hair is falling out. Literally. I called the epilepsy clinic bawling, not understanding what was happening and the lady had told me that of her 18 years working there, I'm the 4th person she's seen it happen to. So while it is not common, I hope everyone is aware of it. She said due to the glue (collodion) or acetone they used to remove them, it kills the hair follicles and cause your hair to fall out. While she said I wouldn't go bald, she did she I'll lose the hair where those electrodes were (which I counted... there are 25). The hair will eventually grow back but most women here know how long something like that is going to take.
So while it is not common, I just want people to be aware as it was not something mentioned to me.
 
Well that sucks. You definitely have my sympathies. I experienced hair loss as a medication side effect and had no way of knowing whether it was a short-term problem or if it was going to continue until all my hair was gone... Eventually the effect stopped, but it was several months before things went back to normal. I have long hair and it was everywhere.
 
I have long hair as well :(
It's my security blanket so it's hard to see it going like that. I just wish everything that was going to fall out, would fall out at once. As it stands now it feels like I will go bald with how steadily it's coming out.
 
My security blanket too. Hang in there!
 
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