Side effect severity?

[Heavy Kevy]

One new symptom I’ve been experiencing is a cold sweat in the morning. I’ve also been waking up with a light sweat when sleeping. I’ve been able to fall back asleep usually.
This new symptom started when I was prescribed Zonisamide. So it very well could be a side effect.
The Zonisamide possibly helped for a few months I was sleeping 10 hours a day though. Looking back at my seizure diary I usually do well those months too. There’s a good chance it has slightly decreased the frequency.
I’m less than a month from my intracranial surgery.
I’m debating asking the doctor if I could stop taking it. Keeping post-surgery in mind as well.
Any thoughts?

 

[Bernard]

Cold/night sweats could be symptoms of sleep apnea. However, Zonisamide is supposed to reduce sleep apnea:

Zonisamide reduces obstructive sleep apnoea: a randomised placebo-controlled study - PubMed

Carbonic anhydrase inhibition reduces apnoeic events in sleep disordered breathing. Zonisamide inhibits carbonic anhydrase, and induces weight loss in obese patients. This study explored the relative influence of these two properties, which may both alleviate obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Night sweats are not listed as a known side effect of Zonisamide:

Zonisamide Uses, Side Effects & Warnings

Physician reviewed zonisamide patient information - includes zonisamide description, dosage and directions.

www.drugs.com

Info on night sweats:

What Causes Night Sweats? | Sleep Foundation

Do you find yourself waking up in a sweat? Learn about night sweats, their most common causes, and the key steps to resolving them and getting better sleep.

www.sleepfoundation.org

 

[Sabbo]

I've been on Zonisamide for a while now (since dropping Vimpat), & it hasn't caused any side effects like that for me.

 

[Heavy Kevy]

Fighting some insomnia. I’ve got an appointment with my doctor. I’d like to blame the Zonisamide. Never helped anyway.
Might ask for a lower dose.

 

[Porkette]

Hi Heavy Kevy,

I was told to start taking Folic Acid 1 mg. a day to fight of insomnia and it has helped me a lot. Make sure
you are cutting back on caffeine beverages. I was told not to drink any caffeine after 5 pm and eat only fruit
any time past 7 pm.
I wish you the best of luck and May God Bless You,

Sue

 

[Sabbo]

I wonder if folic acid has lessened my side effects (or prevented some possible ones). I've been taking 1mg folic acid/day for approximately 30 years now, if not longer. During my pregnancies, the dosage was reduced to 4mg/day.

 

[Heavy Kevy]

My doctor agreed but wasn’t thrilled about changing anything.
We’re starting with trying melatonin. Then a sleep pill (trazadone). If neither work we’ll try lowering the zonisamide dosage.

 

[Dani1960]

Be careful with any new medication changes. Be safe and keep stress down.

 

[Sabbo]

Med changes sure can be fun. I still remember when Keppra came out, & my neuro at that time put me on it. I began having such severe stomach cramps that I was doubled over in pain. Or when my neuro tried to add a low dose of Lamictil as a third AED to help with the breakthroughs. Within a few days, I felt the same type of rash starting to break out (in a milder form) across my back as Tegretol had caused. Apparently, both of those drugs are chemically related, so in some ways it isn't surprising.

 

[TrippyNoodle]

A few years ago, I was on a mix of Keppra, Lamotrigine, and Clobazam (That controlled my big seizures) but caused daily severe side effects including blurred/double vision and a lack of coordination/balance- Making daily tasks mountainous. They caused me to also develop Discoid Lupus, an autoimmune disease affecting the skin, causing me to be allergic to the sun. I'm extremely grateful to be free of those chemicals now.

 

[Sabbo]

Some days, the side effects are so annoying (or I'm just so sick of them) that I'd actually rather put up with the seizures.
Thanks to the first AED I was given back in 1987, I lost 85% of my hair, & it never grew back. Even a dermatologist my parent took me to a few years after that reaction could only prescribe Rogaine (it was an Rx back then). I told my parents no thanks. It could cause more hair loss, and IF it did regrow any hair, that would fall out once I stopped use of that medicine. Also, our insurance wouldn't cover it's nearly $100/bottle cost.
Now, thanks to the other AEDs I've been taking and am on, I've lost even more hair--I have barely 10% of what I did as a kid. It would be hard to wrap "extra thick hair" elastics twice around a single ponytail. Now, I can easily wrap rubberband that is very small 4 times around what little hair is left.