My Epilepsy Treatments
Epilepsy takes many forms. There are correspondingly many different types of epilepsy drugs and forms of treatments. A common treatment method is oral medicine. Oral medicines used to be bring with them many uncomfortable side-effects. But in the past 50 years new and more effective drugs with less debilitating side-effects have been made available, though the newer are quite costly.
Surgery is also relatively safe due to the ever increasingly sophisticated and accurate diagnostic and imaging equipment available. However, my doctor didn't recommend this treatment option to me as my epileptic fits were reasonably well-controlled through oral medicine. This is why I could write quite honestly on my job applications that I have epilepsy but it is well-controlled.
Yet others have reported that dieting and exercises can be effective in controlling epileptic fits. I have never tried these.
So here is a list of anti-epileptic drugs that I have used over the years.
But it has proven to be effective with little of the terrible side-effects I used to suffer from.
Disclaimer:
This account about my use of the various types of medicine is not intended to be prescriptive nor does it pretend to be authoritative. These are my personal experiences. A qualified medical professional such as a medical Doctor or Pharmacist should be consulted on facts and usage of the various epilepsy medication.
Surgery is also relatively safe due to the ever increasingly sophisticated and accurate diagnostic and imaging equipment available. However, my doctor didn't recommend this treatment option to me as my epileptic fits were reasonably well-controlled through oral medicine. This is why I could write quite honestly on my job applications that I have epilepsy but it is well-controlled.
Yet others have reported that dieting and exercises can be effective in controlling epileptic fits. I have never tried these.
So here is a list of anti-epileptic drugs that I have used over the years.
Phenobarbitone
I started my treatment with this drug. It is cheap and widely available, and reportedly effective in reducing fits. For a long time since I started on this drug, I didn't have fits while I was asleep. Was it an effective drug? Probably, for a while at least. I had never suffered from fits while awake up until then, so I couldn't say that it will be effective. As matters turned out later, it proved to be ineffective.
The worst thing about Phenobarbitone (Phenobarb) is its side-effects. There were many and some of them were terrible. Not long after I started taking phenobarb, big ugly rashes began to appear on both my legs right up to my thigh and buttocks. It was unsightly, to say the least, and itched terribly. I was prescribed a white-coloured ointment to rub onto the rashes to lessen the itchiness. It didn't do much else. The rashes became a permanent part of me. Fortunately, I wore long-pants to school so the condition was literally well-hidden away. That saved me a lot of looks and questions. After some years of taking phenobarb, and still on it, the rashes just disappeared. I guess that my body had developed some kind of means of dealing with the rashes, or whatever that cause it.
This drug also causes drowsiness and often I had to fight to stay awake, to remain attentive in class, and to keep at my studies. In retrospect, it wasn't all that difficult but it is one of the common side-effects of this anti-epileptic drug.
How old is phenobarb? Very old. Phenobarbital was brought to market in 1912 by the drug company Bayer as the brand Luminal. (Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenobarbital)
This drug also causes drowsiness and often I had to fight to stay awake, to remain attentive in class, and to keep at my studies. In retrospect, it wasn't all that difficult but it is one of the common side-effects of this anti-epileptic drug.
How old is phenobarb? Very old. Phenobarbital was brought to market in 1912 by the drug company Bayer as the brand Luminal. (Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenobarbital)
Phenytoin sodium (Dilantin)
I changed to another anti-epileptic drug sometime after I turned 19. This recounted in my blog post "The German Connection". Well, it really has nothing to do with the Germans or Germany. Go read this blog post.
By then I had already started have epileptic fits while I was awake. Nothing serious at first. They tended to be the "absence" fits but there would occasionally be fits that were more visible - rolling of the eyes, jerking of the muscles which usually manifested itself in twisting of the head to one side.
I started seeing a Neurologist when I was about 19 years old at the Tan Tock Seng Specialist Outpatient Clinic. This was when I was prescribed the drug Phenetoin Sodium which is also known by its trade name, Dilantin. It was supposed to be a newer drug (first produced in 1966) and possibly more effective compared to phenobarb. It was originally prescribed to deal with nervousness and depression but was supposed to work for controlling epileptic fits.
It appeared to be a better drug, with fewer side-effects compared to phenobarb. It wasn't expensive either, probably because the patent has long since expired. It was first made available in 1938.
This drug did not completely stop my epileptic attacks though. I just had to manage.
By then I had already started have epileptic fits while I was awake. Nothing serious at first. They tended to be the "absence" fits but there would occasionally be fits that were more visible - rolling of the eyes, jerking of the muscles which usually manifested itself in twisting of the head to one side.
I started seeing a Neurologist when I was about 19 years old at the Tan Tock Seng Specialist Outpatient Clinic. This was when I was prescribed the drug Phenetoin Sodium which is also known by its trade name, Dilantin. It was supposed to be a newer drug (first produced in 1966) and possibly more effective compared to phenobarb. It was originally prescribed to deal with nervousness and depression but was supposed to work for controlling epileptic fits.
It appeared to be a better drug, with fewer side-effects compared to phenobarb. It wasn't expensive either, probably because the patent has long since expired. It was first made available in 1938.
This drug did not completely stop my epileptic attacks though. I just had to manage.
Vigabatrin (Sabril)
When I was in my 30's, a doctored suggested that I see a neurologist again as he said that I had been on Dilantin for a while and he knew that there were newer anti-epileptic drugs available which could be more effective.
This was the next drug I took after the cause of my epilepsy was discovered (more of this later).
My new neurologist said that Sabril has very little side-effects and was an excellent anti-epileptic drug. But it didn't turn out to be true. I suffered from two severe side-effects.
The first was my loss of memory. I began to be unable to remember what I had done a few days ago. I know this because my wife would remind me that I had done something, gone somewhere, said something some days ago. I had no recollection! This drug was playing havoc with my short to medium-term memory. Fortunately, my long-term memory remained intact.
The second was it increased my heart-rate. I would be lying down but my heart-rate will start to increase significantly, which triggered my Wollf-Parkinson-White condition.
I told my neurologist about it and requested to be taken off this drug. This is the first time I have ever suggested to a doctor to take me off a particular drug. He did, but kept insisting that there was no such documented side-effect that I had reported. Documented or not, switching out of Sabril saved me the discomfort of a rapid heart rate when at rest. I was literally relieved.
Carbamazapine / Tegretol
After I was taken off Sabril, I was prescribed Carbamazapine. This drug was first made available in 1963.
One of the worst side-effects of Carbamazepine is double-vision. At a high enough dosage (I think this varies from person to person), your vision becomes blurred because the usual visual coordination between both eyes breaks down. You see the same thing twice, in overlapping images. Needless to say, it will be difficult to move around. I don't drink alcohol (wine, beer, etc.) so I have never been drunk in my life. But at a high enough dosage, carbamazepine causes the effect of drunkenness. This usually happened when I mistakenly overdose on the medicine. Sometimes I would forget that I had just taken my prescribed dose of the medicine and take another dose. Sometimes I take my prescribed dose too soon after the last. This side-effect doesn't happen immediately. So if I was not aware of this double-dosing, I could be walking on the street and suddenly find myself walking in an uncertain gait, as if I was drunk.
I still take this drug, but I am careful that I take it at a dosage level that does not lead to double-vision and giddiness.
I still take this drug, but I am careful that I take it at a dosage level that does not lead to double-vision and giddiness.
Lamotrigine / Lamictal
But it has proven to be effective with little of the terrible side-effects I used to suffer from.
Disclaimer:
This account about my use of the various types of medicine is not intended to be prescriptive nor does it pretend to be authoritative. These are my personal experiences. A qualified medical professional such as a medical Doctor or Pharmacist should be consulted on facts and usage of the various epilepsy medication.
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