zonogran side effects

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gillianh

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i have absence seizures and have been on zonegran 100 mg for 2 wks and then was increased to 200 mg a day. anyone feel tired all the time from zonegran??? thanks!!
 
Our Jonathan was just started on Zonegran - he started out at 50 mg and now up to 100. The first two days, he seemed tired all the time, and just lay around, but since then he's seemed to have his normal energy level, depending on how many seizures he has during the night.

Of course, still titrating up with his dose, so will have to see how he does with higher dose.

Two serious side effects of Zonegran are kidney stones and acidosis. Make sure you're drinking plenty of water to ward off kidney stones, and your doctor should be doing periodic blood tests for your electrolytes in the first 6 months to make sure your bicarbonate level is where it should be.

Symptoms of metabolic acidosis are a bit vague, and mimic some of the "normal" side effects of Zonegran, such as fatique and loss of appetite. The incidence of low bicarbonate levels in adults at 300 mgs a day is 43%.

If you have bicarb levels lower than 20, you should be on a "buffer" -- some doctors use plain old baking soda. Our team uses "Cytra-K" crytals, which are potassium citrate and citric acid.
 
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