Meds @ times

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finalpoet

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So my neurologist told me that I must take my meds 12 hours apart always at the same time. So always at 10AM and 10PM. How strict do we have to be? Always at the same time? Morally at the same time? As close as possible? Just within so many hours?
 
I would "agree" to a VERY certain (ie small) extent. Twelve hours is the "magic" number where you take a dosage of your meds and keep the levels in your body the EXACT same (in theory).

However, if you take your morning meds at 8 AM and your evening meds at 10 PM (14 hours apart), I'd have to say that you wouldn't be effected by it. A lot of our meds are built up in our system as it is. They have to build the level SLOWLY (ie 25 mg or less for some meds) to make sure we don't have a reaction (ie allergic) and also so that our body has a chance to "adapt" to the meds.

Same thing with quitting a med. I WAS taking Topamax, but my new neurologist thought it wasn't helping any and kicked me off of it (fine by me; I had to drink a lot of fluid to stay hydrated etc). HOWEVER, I had to WEAN off of it before I quit. Otherwise my body might "freak out" because it's asking, "Hey! Where's the Topamax?!?! Oh no!!"

I'd say it's the equivalence of having to eat at the EXACT same time EVERY DAY. Is your body going to go into starvation mode if you don't eat at the exact same time? I don't think so... same thing with seizure meds. Are you going to have a seizure just because you took it 14 hours apart? Again, I don't think so. However, if you miss a dose altogether (ie go 24 hours without it) then all bets are off. And as the old rule goes, if it's close to the next time of your next dose (and you forgot to take the previous one), NEVER take it to make up for it. All that does is cause a possible overdose.

Just my opinion though...

PS - What is someone supposed to do when DST begins and ends? Technically there are 25 hours in that day (whereas the beginning of DST was only 23). I always joke with people about the "longest" day of the year. Of course we say the beginning of summer is the longest because it has the most daylight. However, define "day." One has "the most sunlight" another has more hours (whenever DST ends and we "fall back" an hour). :lol:
 
Hi finalpoet,

Army Vet gave you some very good advice. I've had to take meds at different times of the day right now I take my med at 6 am or when I get up and then again at 5 pm. Years ago I was taking meds 3 times a day with each meal so as Army Vet mentioned it depends on how much med is built up in your system. There's been times when I was on the go and forgot to take my med in the evening but I never had any seizures the next day because it was built up in my system.

When I had to go for a video e.e.g. my neuro purposely took me off some of my meds so I would have seizures but it took at least 2 or 3 days before I had a single seizure.

Here's wishing you only the best and May God Bless You,

Sue
 
A good bit of my meds are 'two times a day' ones. I take them at 7am and 7pm. I try to stay as close to that time as possible. I may take them an hour early or later only if can't take them on time, like when I can't or won't be able to get water to drink for example.

I'm not sure how long you could go between dosages.. If I missed one more than 4 hours, then I don't take it and just wait until the next dose. DON'T DOUBLE DOSE ON YOUR NEXT DOSE!

You could ask at the pharmacy or your neuro and they might be able to what's ok and what's not.
 
I'm not the best at taking my meds at exact times, even when i set alarms on my phone!

Over the last few days i've been sleeping a lot (just had my MMR a week or so ago and my immune system is reacting) so meds have been extra all over the place, so i've had a few partial seizures.

Think i need to try and get them at least close to the same time each day lol
 
I don't take my meds 12 hours apart -- more like 7:30am/6:00pm -- and sometimes I'm even more off. I think it depends on your med, your dose, your metabolism, your level of seizure control, and how sensitive you are to variations in your med levels. I take Lamotrigine, which has a long half-life (about 28-30 hours), so there's usually plenty in my system. On the other hand, Keppra has a very short half-life (6-8 hours), so it's more important to take it consistently.
 
I only take my medication once a day, sometimes I’m hours late which might explain why I was just released from the hospital from a series of cluster seizures. My last seizure was 7 years ago. I wonder if the doctors are going to be efficient and report my seizures to the DMV. At least I didn’t go into Status this time.
Jake
 
I also have had to take my meds mostly twice a day--& still do. I usually aim for 8-9am for my morning dose, and 9pm for my night dose. I normally sleep around 10pm, and get up around 4am. I asked my neurologist what to do in case I miss a dose/realize that I haven't take it. He said that as long as I have at least 3 hours before the scheduled time of my next dosage, I should take it.
 
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