Anyone Have Experience with Trileptal Medication to Coltrol Partial Seizures?

My 8 yr. old daughter was diagnosed last year with absent seizures (the staring kind). We discovered them over Christmas break 2007. I also had reservations about daily medication, but now she has been on Zarontin for 10 months and what a difference it has made! She was possibly having 50-100 a day, most of which we didn't see because they were so short. I don't know if this medication would help partial seizures or not but there are virtually NO side effects. She also is seen by Children's Mercy. I will tell you also that it took a little over two weeks before the med. starting working. My advice is to at least try the med and see if you notice a difference. I know this is hard and I wish you the best of luck. My prayers will be with you!

J....I am so sorry that you are having to deal with such a debilitating situation with your little girl...and I pray that she is able to get all of this under control quickly.
Could I suggest that you talk to your pharmacist about your concerns??? I work for a Pharmacy and I can tell you that a good pharmacist is able to tell you a LOT more about the side effects and long term issues with any medication that a medical doctor can. If your current pharmacist wont take the time to talk to you about it...find another pharmacy!!!
I see Trileptal going across the counter a lot...but I am not sure how old the patients are or how long they have been/will be on it.
There are so many different medications out there that can be used for seizures...I am sure a lot of it depends upon what they feel is causing the seizure. Try to be patient...ask questions, questions, questions and always be firm about being an advocate for your child...you are the one who has her best interests at heart!!!
Good luck and God Bless you
R. Ann

Hello J. ,I don't know about the medication Trileptal but my sister has seizures also siece she was 5 and some of the Meds would make her mean ,others would make her seem like she was always in lala land . I can't remeber the names but one time she threw a knife at me ,but she didn't know what she was doing but they took her off of it and now shes doing so much better. There was one that made her lose to much wight I mean she was like 110lbs and now shes like 85lbs but again they took her off and so far the new meds are working great .She's also had sugury and now has something call a vagel Nerve stimaltor ( sorry for the spelling I can't spell that good ) anyways that helps too

My mom was given Trileptal to treat other medical conditions & I apologize I don't remember the dosage. She suffered from Hyponeutramia (sp?) because of this medication & almost landed in a coma (the ER said she was about 12 hours from being in one) It was one of the "rare" side effects, but she suffered it & her doctor didn't even pay attention to the warning signs. I would definitely weigh out the options of other medications and see if the doctors have any other suggestions. Have you tried talking to a chiroprctor or accupunturist? (I noticed you said you didn't want to medicate if it was just a phase) They can't help everything, but it never hurts to get the information. I hope things get better for you and your daughter. It's horrible watching them go through such difficult things.

J.,

I'm sorry about what you and your daughter are experiencing. As far as meds are concerned, I think if there is something out there that can help your daughter lead a more "normal" life, then by all means, give it to her.

My daughter has ADHD. Yes, I know A LOT of children have it these days, and she was put on a med. I, too didn't want my daughter relying on meds. It wasn't until she started taking it that we began to see the benefits of it. With your daughter's side effects, I'd see if there is something else your doctor can do about them.

My daughter also has allergies/asthma. She takes meds everyday. She hates it, but what other choice does she have? Here at home, we've all seen the results of her not taking her meds. She is on them to PREVENT her from having episodes. Just as the same as YOUR daughter. It's not a phase, and she needs help. Please help her.

ls

J.,

I have a friend whose daughter has dealt with complex partial seizures since she was a baby. They were under control with medication until she hit about high school age, and they've been getting worse ever since--until recently. My friend has done an enormous amount of research on this and has consulted a myriad of health professionals and had loads of tests done on her daughter. Recently, I began helping her with this, particularly by putting her in touch with other families dealing with this issue. We think her daughter is on the right path now. My friend is eager to share with anyone who has been struggling with seizures because she feels that no one should have to work as hard as she's had to do to track down a solution for her daughter.

Give me a call or e-mail me. I have a couple of very busy days ahead of me before I go out-of-town on Thursday, but will be back early Sunday. If you call or e-mail me before that, I'll do my best to find the time to talk with you and put you in touch with my friend.

Please call the home number first, and leave a message. If no one picks up the phone, go ahead and call the cell phone number--or send an e-mail.

Blessings,
M. Stump
###-###-####, home
###-###-####, cell

J., I will keep you and your daughter in my prayers. I think you need to trust the doctor on this. I don't have direct experience with seizures but my now 23 year son started having migraine headaches at age 7. He had 2-6 a month. I also did not want him on daily meds but after several months we decided to try it because he was missing so much school. He actually was on a beta blocker at first and it worked well for about a year and then he had a racing heart so he was put on mild antidepressant. When he reached age 14 we gradually got him off. He still has the migraines a couple times a month but he knows how to deal with them now. Hope this helps a little.