Last night’s Hot Topics was facilitated by Natalie Morgan, APRN. We discussed why one anti-seizure medication is chosen over another, side effects of anticonvulsants and questions to ask your provider about your medication.

Here is a handout that was presented during the discussion. Below is a recap of the session from one of the attendees…

Propecia is the name of a drug to stimulate hair regrowth.  Most people who watch television have heard about it.  If hair regrowth is that important and people pay as much as they do for it, drugs that control seizures are blessings from the heavens above.  I will attest to that, the anticonvulsant part.

Unfortunately, there is not a single drug solution for seizure control.  At tonight’s Hot Topics meeting, half epileptics and the half caregivers, we were all educated on the multidimensional world of anticonvulsants.  Considerations included, types of epilepsy, the process of finding what’s right, brand versus generic, side effects and even how to handle time zone changes (i.e. travel).  It was thorough.

The simple answer to the question of “what should I take?” was, “it depends.”

There is no silver bullet medication for seizure control, nor can we expect to find one drug to be the right one for us, forever.  There are about twenty different prescription medications that may help or even worsen an epileptic’s situation, and a few more in the pipeline.  As our lifestyles and bodies change, we learn to adapt.  Medications are PART of adapting.

Medical marijuana has received a lot of press lately, even for epileptics.  The subject came up.  Could that be the silver bullet?  Maybe, maybe not.  It depends.