Eslicarbazepine for Seizures User Reviews

• Luk...
• October 14, 2015

Eslicarbazepine "This medicine works well. I think it works better as an add-on, though, than by itself. I took it by itself, 600 mg, and it completely got rid of my seizures. I had some bad side effects, though, which included terrible headaches and lots of sweating. It was unbearable. I went down to 200 mg with another seizure medication (Lamictal) and am currently seizure-free and doing much better. The side effects from Aptiom have completely gone away. If this drug gives you side effects at a high dose, try it as an add-on therapy with a low dose of another medication. Being on two medications, both at low doses, will probably give you fewer side effects. Also, it is very expensive. You can get a little help from the company, though, if you call them."

• Tir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 1, 2016

Eslicarbazepine "I have been taking 600 mg Aptiom for 3 months, and I cannot function! Dizzy, nervous, and unable to consistently function. I am tired and never want to go anywhere. Now I'm starting Keppra and Aptiom low doses and will see how that works. I'm miserable... Unhappy... and NOT MYSELF! Will keep you posted... 11/1/2016 (in the hospital)"

• TJs...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 26, 2016

Eslicarbazepine "I have been taking Aptiom 800 mg once daily for 2 months. So far, I experience headaches and dizziness, but I know it's the medicine, so I live with it for now, hoping that will all go away. I also take Vimpat 150 mg twice daily, with other problems that may or may not be associated with that medicine. Aptiom is great so far. It controls my Grand Mal seizures better than anything has in 35 years. My family tells me I have turned into Mr. Nice Guy overnight. I'm having a good experience so far."

• Dea...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 29, 2019

Eslicarbazepine "I have been on Aptiom for 8 months now, and it hasn't been a good experience. The neurologist didn't tell me this medication could lower my thyroid. I have hypothyroidism, and this drug has dropped my thyroid levels to an unbelievable level. My thyroid medication was upped, and I had to drop the Aptiom to 400 mg a day. No seizures yet. Another thing I would like to mention is this drug does not mix with a lot of different antibiotics. I am going to ask my neurologist to put me on something different."

• Bix...
• January 18, 2021

Eslicarbazepine "I also have been on Aptiom for 2 years for partial seizures. It has been horrible. Besides playing around with my thyroid, it blurs my vision along with extreme insomnia. That's not good for a person who is also bipolar to go with no sleep, as I also suffer with mild psychosis. My doctor has added Epival to control the moods. Time to get off Aptiom. This drug is a person's worst nightmare."

• Rav...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 1, 2016

Eslicarbazepine "I was placed on this medication due to my epilepsy. At first, I didn't notice anything huge, other than I was stuttering more and 'losing words'. Then the intense dizziness and vertigo was hitting me every day. I'd randomly feel like I was underwater and someone was spinning me. Once I made sure my balance was okay, I would have a very difficult time with my thought processes or communicating. This would last a while after the dizzy incidents. I was only on 200 mg once a day. After I spoke with my neurologist, they stated that other patients on this medication have been reporting the same things. I was removed from it immediately. That was about a month and a half ago. The dizzy spells STILL happen a couple times a week."

• Yay...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 28, 2016

Eslicarbazepine "In about five days, I started feeling like a cloud lifted and clear thinking rolled in. I'm very happy with the Aptiom (800 mg is my dose). So glad I have it. Wish the ACA insurance paid more, as I'm paying $622/90-day supply. Otherwise, it's very effective."

• Not...
• July 6, 2017

Eslicarbazepine "I was on Aptiom 800 mg once a day for partial motor seizures. Price was astronomical! My co-pay was over $600 a month. Luckily, I was given 3 months' worth of samples for free. I changed doctors and was told that oxcarbazepine was basically the same as this drug (eslicarbazepine) and my copay was $2.85. I was a little ticked when I was told this. Yes, it is the newest drug on the market, but is it really new? Be sure to ask questions of your doctor. It may save you lots of money. Oh... the initial days I was sick, but after I took it a while, I felt better. No seizures in the 3 months I was on it."

• Mr ...
• December 18, 2017

Eslicarbazepine "I take Aptiom as a 2nd-line med, along with Vimpat. I started Aptiom with 400 mg. Side effects of dizziness and loss of balance were fairly bad. After a week, the doctor had me go up to 600 mg. I did that for just 2 days because I could hardly stand up due to the dizziness and loss of balance. Short-term memory problems developed also. I called the doctor and told him how bad I felt, and he moved me down to just 300 mg/day along with Vimpat 800 mg/day. After a couple of days for the meds to adjust, my seizures went away! I've had seizures for over 45 years, but with Aptiom and Vimpat I've had no seizures for 56 days! That's a record for me. The doctor had me scheduled to go up to 800 mg/day eventually, but he decided 300 mg is ok."

• Dan...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 30, 2020

Eslicarbazepine "I have been on Aptiom for 2 years now. The worst thing for me is it causes insomnia badly. Sometimes I don't sleep more than 2 hours a night, if that. My doctors have put me on various meds to help with this, but they only work for about a week and then they stop. I have had 2 seizures in the last month, and I hadn't had any in 13 years. This drug is a nightmare for me."

• Dar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 9, 2019

Eslicarbazepine "My son has been struggling with complex seizures for 3 years. Being on Lamictal was causing seizures with severe psychosis afterward. He has 22q11 (deletion of a small piece of chromosome 22) and is very drug sensitive. After getting off that Lamictal, he was put on Brivaracetam, which was no better, if not worse. Dr. changed it to Aptiom. He is now happy and not tired all the time. This is a great drug with minimal side effects and no more seizures and psychosis. I hope when upped tomorrow to 400 mg that he will still not have any side effects."

• smi...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 28, 2018

Eslicarbazepine "I've been on many seizure meds and Aptiom is a combo along with my Keppra and Vimpat. Side effects have been minimal like dizziness and nausea at first, but they go away. Now that I'm on 800 mg, my seizures have stopped. Only been a week, but for me that's a great sign!!"

• Lau...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 27, 2018

Eslicarbazepine "I'm very new to seizures, so I don't know what symptoms were seizure-related and which symptoms were medicine-related. I do know that my seizures were mostly focal aware, but I was having dozens a day. They were significantly fewer by the time I titrated to 600 mg. By 800 milligrams, I am nearly seizure-free and am feeling great again!"

• Edd...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 17, 2020

Eslicarbazepine "I am 63 and started having seizures a couple years ago. I was afraid to take medication because of the side effects. Once I started taking Aptiom 600 mg, my seizures stopped. I seem to have short-term memory loss, but not sure if that is the medication. The seizures caused memory loss, and I do feel better now. I am starting to wake up around 5:30 a.m. I'm going to try a lower dosage to see if that helps."

• mod...
• October 5, 2016

Eslicarbazepine "I have stroke-induced epilepsy. Many of the medications controlled the seizures in the required dosages, but the side effects on my stroke side frequently left me nearly nonfunctional. I was 68 when my neurologist suggested Aptiom as an add-on to Lamictal. The combo still has side effects relating to aphasia and balance, but, with consistent effort, I function really well. I’ve been taking Lamictal 200 mg/Aptiom 400 mg and am still seizure-free after 18 months. I'm on Medicare (think 'doughnut hole') and do not qualify for additional assistance."

• Jus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 1, 2022

Eslicarbazepine "My 16-year-old son takes Aptiom for epilepsy. Aptiom doesn't seem to help at all. In fact, his seizures have gotten more frequent since he's been on it. Absolutely no side effects, but why even take it if it doesn't help him? (If anything, it shortened the convulsion part of his seizures, but not enough of a difference to say for sure.)"

• awx...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 27, 2018

Eslicarbazepine "Been taking it about a week. I was on oxcarbazepine before and Lamictal, but I pretty much hit the dosage ceiling. Alright folks, oxcarbazepine and Aptiom are very similar in mechanism of action in the brain, but my doctor explained (after I brought it up) how he has seen improvements when people switched to Aptiom. He assumes that this is because the half-life of oxcarbazepine is quite short and Aptiom maintains a much more even plasma concentration. And by the way, oxy has all the same side effects, except twice as bad. My current meds: Lamictal: 500 mg, Aptiom: 800 mg."

• Epi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 18, 2018

Eslicarbazepine "It's been 5 years since I've had a seizure. I was on Aptiom before, and it made me feel wonderful, but I'm not feeling like myself now. I feel constantly nauseous and have a constant headache. However, I did find this grant that will help with the payment of Aptiom if you meet the financial requirements. Check it out online."

• Atl...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 1, 2018

Eslicarbazepine "I was using 800 mg Aptiom samples for about two months, and they worked great. Pros: no seizures or auras, fewer side effects, and once-a-day tablets. Cons: way too expensive!! ($500 a month) and nausea... but only lasted a month. Wish my neurologist had told me the cost before getting off Keppra and getting my hopes up with Aptiom. Doesn’t make sense. Next, oxcarbazepine."

• Apt...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 23, 2021

Eslicarbazepine "I have medication-resistant epilepsy, and Aptiom was the medication that worked for the longest time. It was expensive, but insurance was willing to cover it. It made me tired, which was rough since I had to take it twice daily. It was also the medication I was on the longest before the resistance kicked in."

• mb1...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 17, 2019

Eslicarbazepine "I’ve been on Aptiom 800 mg for around 2 months now. Previously, I was on lamotrigine, which caused daily headaches, weekly migraines, skin irritation, haziness, and trouble sleeping. Switching to Aptiom has definitely helped with the decrease of side effects, which have been around weekly headaches and trouble sleeping. I also should note that I do not get my period anymore. I am a 21-year-old who has never missed a period before taking this drug. I have confirmed through urine tests at my GP and on my own that I am not pregnant. So, I am currently waiting to see my neurologist to talk about these issues. Just figured I should put this out there in case others were thinking of taking this drug. It is also SUPER expensive, costing me around $350 a month in Canada, luckily, I have private insurance through work, so they cover 80%. I have been seizure-free since going on any anti-seizure medication, so I can’t really compare the drugs I’ve tried to that."

• Pau...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 11, 2022

"For the first 3 weeks, this seemed to be helping with zero side effects. However, by week 4, when I was on 1200 mg once a day about an hour before going to bed, I started to get severe daytime fatigue, anxiety that was causing balance problems that stopped me from exercising, and also had swelling and discoloration around my eyes, swelling in my mouth which was causing occasional difficulty breathing, although I already had this a bit due to Eustachian tube dysfunction. A neurologist and seizure specialist nurse agreed that I should decrease my dose to 800 mg. Unfortunately, the side effects didn't subside, and there were some mix-ups between my doctors and pharmacy that kept leaving me with no medication, so I decided to start titrating my dose down by 200 mg a week, and the side effects started to reduce when I was taking 400 mg. I stopped taking it completely for about a month, but I'm now trying it again from 400 mg, and after the first few days, I'm more positive that this could be the medication for me."

• Gee...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 15, 2017

Eslicarbazepine "Taking Aptiom, Dilantin, and Quetiapine. Nocturnal seizures due to Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC). Difficult to control seizures with any meds. I think Aptiom helps most of the time, but may have several seizures suddenly for 5+ days in a stretch... then nothing for a couple of weeks. Feel very on edge and am severely thirsty, especially after bathing. Doctor doesn't respond to my concerns as he seems challenged by my situation. Hope to get a referral to a Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) clinic close to home, hoping to find other meds."

• Ken...
• May 17, 2016

Eslicarbazepine "1200 mg at night has helped my nocturnal seizures greatly from happening."

• big...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 28, 2020

Eslicarbazepine "Been on Aptiom for about a year at a dose of 800 mg. I had 2 seizures in a year on a dose of 800 mg a day. It is very expensive, doc bumped up to 1000 mg a day now. New doc and will be leaving Aptiom."