amictal – Keppra – Frisium - any other medications and suggestions please

[canbahsco]

I am a 64 -year-old male with a grand mal epilepsy and cerebellar ataxia caused by an overdose of Dilantin 40 years ago.
Presently I am taking 150 mgs of Lamictal at breakfast with 250 mgs of Keppra. At dinner I take 50 mgs of Lamictal and 250 mgs of Keppra. As I have a sleeping problem I am taking 5 mgs of Frisium/clobazam and at around 9 PM.

As I have been on Lamictal on three other occasions during the last 30 years and I have read that Lamictal often causes insomnia .
What I would like to find out from people who actually take the medications is if taking all of the Lamictal in the morning and the other medications at different times of the day would help the insomnia or not.

My neurologist didn’t mention that various medications for epilepsy do work better together. That may be so for a lot of people but not necessarily for others.

This May be for the neurologist but again I would like to ask people who are taking these particular medications if any others work well together as I do not think that the Lamictal is for me.

At the moment the morning when I wake up for the first few hours I feel extra dopey and strange, and every few weeks I get a nauseous feeling which can last days.

As you know neurologists only make suggestions as they have never taken the medications themselves.

If anyone has any answers or suggestions to these questions I would really appreciate it.

Thanks Craig

[agate]

Welcome, canbahsco!

I don't have epilepsy or know much about the drugs that are prescribed for it but there are people on board here who may have had experience with the drugs you mention.

I do know that with epilepsy drugs, you don't want to tinker with them on your own initiative. You can't safely change the dosage regimens for any of them without checking with your doctor first. You're right that most neurologists usually haven't taken the drugs themselves but they know where to dig up the information needed to find out safe ways of changing the dosage regimens.

The drugs you mention are all known to interact with one another. That's another factor that has to be taken into consideration. These are very tricky drugs that can have some serious side effects.

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Craig)))))) ~

TO BRAINTALK!

Both of my sons had epilepsy with a variety of seizure types, including Gelastic seizures. As you can see in my signature, they lived with seizures all of their lives.

Based upon my decades of experience with neurologists, I have found that many of them prescribe AEDs with the hope that they will be effective. If one drug didn't work, they'd say, "Try this." I always felt like we were throwing darts in a dark room wearing a blindfold.

My sons didn't take Keppra or Lamictal, as they were quite new at that time, and the side effects scared me. A dear friend's daughters took Lamictal with success. Another friend's son, who had intractable seizures took Keppra, which caused numerous side effects for him.

As we age, our metabolism changes, so our bodies respond differently to medications. That needs to be considered with dosages. I don't know whether Keppra or Lamictal can be tested for blood levels. If so, it would be helpful to have a blood test to determine whether you are taking too much of either one.

Are your seizures controlled on these drugs?

My sons were on Dilantin for most of their lives, and it is a gnarly drug. A neurologist argued with me in ICU that Jonathan needed a 600 mg dose of Dilantin to prevent seizures. I refused, but while I was at lunch, the Intensivist gave the order for the dose, overriding my refusal. I was furious. And Jonathan spent three days completely out of it, having to be placed on a ventilator after just being removed from it before the dose.

If you haven't discussed what you're enduring now with your neurologist, I recommend that you do.

I hope that other members of the Epilepsy forum will see your post and reply.

Love & Light,

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Rose