What is a serious side effect of antiepileptic medications?
rash, blood problems, liver problems, severe behaviour disturbance, worsening of seizure control. There are some patients or situations in which there may be increased risk of such side effects with a certain medication.
What is the most common side effects of antiepileptic drugs?
The most common side effects include dizziness, nausea, headache, vomiting, fatigue, vertigo, ataxia, blurred vision, and tremor.
Which of following include common adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs?
Those most frequently observed include sedation, fatigue, dizziness, coordination disturbances (ataxia, dysarthria, diplopia), tremor, cognitive deficits, mood alterations, behavioural changes and sexual disorders (loss of libido, erectile dysfunction).
Do antiepileptic drugs cause brain damage?
The results demonstrate that the short-term use of antiepileptic drugs damages neurons in the immature brain and that the combined use of antiepileptic drugs exacerbates damage.
What do antiepileptic drugs do?
How Does Anti-Seizure Medication Work? Anti-seizure medicines work by reducing the abnormal electrical activity in the brain that is causing the seizures. Different medicines do this in different ways, and some work better for certain kinds of seizures than others.
What is antiepileptic used for?
Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are used to treat various nonepileptic central nervous system (CNS) disorders, both in neurology and psychiatry.
Can antiepileptic drugs cause seizures?
Increased seizures can occur for several reasons in patients with epilepsy taking antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Sometimes the wrong drug is chosen for the patient’s type of epilepsy. For example: Carbamazepine may exacerbate childhood absence or juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.
Which antiepileptic drug has the least side effects?
oxcarbazepine (Trileptal): Slightly different from carbamazepine, it is at least as effective, and may have fewer side effects, except for more risk for low blood sodium (hyponatremia).
Can antiepileptic drugs stop working?
Although they work extremely well for brief periods, their effectiveness diminishes over weeks, months, or years while their side effects continue. In many cases the side effects increase, since the dosage must be increased to maintain the same degree of seizure control.
Are anticonvulsants safe?
Adults with epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and other neurological conditions can safely take anticonvulsants. Anticonvulsant agents given as monotherapy may be sufficient to control symptoms, however, multiple anticonvulsants may be needed to achieve the desired effect.
Can antiepileptic drugs cause brain damage?
How do you stop antiepileptic drugs?
When withdrawing antiepileptics, the dose should be reduced by about 10% every 2-4 weeks for carbamazepine, lamotrigine, phenytoin, sodium valproate, or vigabatrin, and 10% every 4-8 weeks for barbiturates, benzodiazepines and ethosuximide. Patients should not drive during withdrawal or for 6 months afterwards.