New Medications?

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Crash

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Hi
I been wondering has anyone heard of any new medications coming down the pike for us? Or at least perhaps with less side effects than our our existing meds.
I mean with the rate of medical research and of course the money involved i thought the pharmacutical companys would be busting,its just i never seem to hear anything on the radio or on the telivision,just a thought.
 
Hi, Neil,

Yes, there are new drugs coming (see Nak's link). But think about this - even after a drug has been through a phase III trial, they still don't know all the side effects or the long-term effects of the drug. Do you really want to be on a drug that's only been tested on a few hundred people? In phase IV they collect clinical data on side effects, but before the drug has been out for decades it's still short-term.

I'm even nervous about Lamictal. It's only been out about 7 years. I'm on it, but that doesn't mean I have to feel all warm and fuzzy about it.

People who have reached a desperate stage will try just about any drug, including clinical trials for drugs that haven't yet been approved by the FDA. Only you can decide if you are willing to risk it.
 
Lamictal was approved in 1994, so it's been out 17 years. Still, I know what you mean -- the long-term effects are unknown, and who is tracking them?
 
It seems to be a long winding road for us,also it must be extremely difficult in trying to produce medcations for the brain when we dont nearly come close to understanding the brain.
Your endless,i would be pretty apprehensive about trying out the new meds especially having my seizures relatvley controlled at the moment.
The words catch 22,spring to mind!!!!
 
My very first appt over 2 yrs ago my epi said there wee over 20 meds out and all kinds of combos.After 3meds,one of which was lamictal that i was allergic to,they start tipping the weight to surgery.I guess temporal lobe surgery is extremely common and safe.When you go to clevclinic,their main epilepsy section is full of brochures about surgery and if you go on website they spend half the screen talking about it.
 
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