My father at 67 took a stroke, one of the side effects is seizures, his eyes will go to the left or right or his head will swing to the side involuntary, I feel the more the doctor ups his medication the more seizures he is having. Depakote 1750mgs a day,tegatrol 1000mgs a day. neurition 900mgs a day,it's been 1 1/2 years and the seizures are still not under control. please help

It is standard practice for drs. to keep upping the dosages until they hit a combination that works. It is mostly trial and error. It is very frustrating and I am sure you must feel helpless also. I know as a patient I get upset sometimes to and then I have to remind myself that my dr. is going as fast as he can. If you up the medicines to fast you can risk side effects or having a person on to high of a dose when a lower dose would do. Many seizure meds like depakote and tegretol effect your body to wear blood levels need to be drawn to make sure the medicine isn't hurting other parts of you. Don't worry, I didn't word that the best. The medicine is safe. However, if the medicine dose gets to high and the seizures still are not under control then I would think at this point instead of introducing a fourth medicine he would eliminate one and try a different combination. Sometimes seizures are not controlable. I had seizures for 27 years and they were not controlable by medications. I tried everything under the sun. I was allergic to most medicines and the rest didn't control them. Neurontin and Topamax have done miricles for me. Modern medicine! Hang in there and don't be afraid to ask the drs. questions. good luck.

Originally posted by Doreen:
My father at 67 took a stroke

This problem needs to be addressed. The cause of the stroke could worsen the seizures. Seizures are frequently symptoms of other problems that need to be corrected. Correct the problem(s) and the seizures may disappear.



------------------
Mark Yannone
mjyannone@aol.com

Maybe you should seek anouther nerologists oppinion to I myself have had doctors over medicate me infact it ruined part of my childhood because I have no memory of it. I to have had my depakote levels incresed into the toxic range I am now trying to work with my doctor to find other solutions. Talk about your oppitions for your father and insist on frequent blood levels to make sure he isn't on too much! Good luck I wish you the best.