YES. Side effects may include sleepiness, mood changes, appetite changes, weight gain or loss etc.
Essentially it is a chemical which is foreign to body and may cause one or more side effects.
It is important to know that not all side effects described in literature would happen to all patients who take it.
Some patients may not experience any side effects.
Occasionally it may happen that certain side effects are seen after years of using anti seizure medicine.
Certain side effects are known to happen more frequently and neurologist would inform you regarding them.
Rare side effects are many and may not be told to you. It is important that you report such a side effect to your neurologist.
Most of them are manageable and monitored by the Neurologists.
YES. With certain anti seizure medications blood tests may be needed to check liver function, blood counts, and drug levels.
With availability of newer anti seizure medications, need to drug monitoring is far less than in the past.
Always inform your pediatric neurologist.
Never stop the medicine suddenly.
Dose adjustment or a switch to another medication may be advised.
Most children take medicines for at least 2–3 years.
Number 2 or 3 is not a magic number after which epilepsy would suddenly stop.
It depicts the number after which tendency to have seizure reduces in majority (provided that you are seizure free during that period).
Medications can be stopped after 2-3 seizure free years and not from time you started taking medications.
If they remain seizure-free, medications may be gradually tapered under medical supervision.
Duration of anti seizure medications depend on diagnosis of cause of epilepsy.
Some epilepsy syndromes anti seizure medications can be stopped after a while.
Certain conditions they are required lifelong or for prolonged duration.
The term “anti-seizure” better reflects the purpose—to control seizures—regardless of type of epilepsy.
In other words it means we are not treating ‘cause of epilepsy’ but treating ‘only seizures’.
Prolonged seizure control reduces future risk of having further seizures.
Some anti-seizure medications cause drowsiness as a side effect, but they are not sleep medicines.
It’s important not to confuse the two.
These medicines are commonly used in adults to induce sleep and reduce stress.
With doctors help and appropriate usage this side effect can be avoided.
Following factors are considered when a medicine is chosen to treat seizures
kidney problem, behavioral issues, intellectual capacity etc
