Zonisamide and Depression: What Users Say

• Pea...
• May 2, 2021

Zonisamide for Seizures "Zonegran has stopped my seizures, but I'd rather have seizures than deal with these side effects. I lost my job due to this medication. I am 21 years old and tried watching Harry Potter... couldn’t understand a thing. Words do not click for me anymore. I had to set reminders for everything because I can’t even remember simple tasks. Social activities are out of the question. I am so anxious and paranoid all the time. I get a feeling that someone is behind me even if I’m lying down or standing up against a wall. I haven’t battled with depression that’s been this intense before. This stuff makes me feel non-existent. All I want to do is sleep. It made me weak physically, emotionally, and mentally. It’s changing my personality and my relationships. It made me so angry and hurtful. It’s scary stuff. I wouldn’t recommend this medication, especially for those who already cannot communicate clearly due to age or disability."

• Emi...
• October 9, 2013

Zonisamide for Seizures "I have been taking Zonegran, 300mg daily for 8 years. I have complex partial seizures that generalize about 90% of the time. I have tried just about every other medication out there and this is the only one that has kept my epilepsy under control. I do have side effects: some depression, anorexia (defined as loss of appetite). I started this medication weighing around 125 lbs and now after three children weigh 105 lbs and can't remember the last time I was hungry, and I have noticed that it is harder for me to retain information and I sometimes have to read things twice to understand them where before Zonegran I easily understood and retained information. Despite these side effects, I won't ever try a different medication. Totally worth it."

• Rid...
• April 13, 2013

Zonisamide for Seizures "I was on this medicine at first 200mg a day then 400mg. I turned into a completely different person. I'm normally a happy, positive & outgoing young woman. On Zonisamide I became extremely irritable & depressed. I flipped out over the littlest thing. I also lost a lot of weight because my appetite essentially disappeared. I weighed about 135lbs when I started and dropped to 113lbs. I finally had enough when the depression kicked in. I would have suicidal thoughts multiple times a day. It was scary and debilitating! I cried a lot, for no good reason. My performance at work and my relationships were suffering so I called my Dr. and switched to Lamictal."

• JBu...
• April 20, 2015

Zonisamide for Seizures "I have been on Zonisamide for 5 years. I've tried several other medications to control my seizures but always switched due to side effects (hair loss, depression, etc.). Zonisamide works the best so far for me! I love it! I haven't had a seizure in 5 years and I'm very happy with my quality of life! The only setback is my memory, I have word-finding issues big time! It gets very frustrating when I can see the person or the thing and not say the word. I have a Bachelor's degree in English, so you can imagine how annoying that is! But I would choose Zonisamide over anything else for sure! :)"

• dwe...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 9, 2017

Zonisamide for Seizures "I took Zonegran (zonisamide) for approximately 4 weeks. That should tell you something. I knew by the third week that something was wrong with me. This drug ruined my thinking process. I got 'brain fog,' was unable to concentrate or focus on anything more than 2-3 minutes. I could not remember 50% or more of anything I read or was told. It made me depressed and discouraged, and I completely lost interest in nearly everything. It began to affect me emotionally, and I became extremely irritable at times. It also made me very sleepy and reduced my appetite tremendously. *Worst of all, it did not stop my seizures. Zonegran must be one of, if not the worst anti-seizure medications I've taken in my life. I don't recommend it."

• BLo...
• March 18, 2016

Zonisamide for Migraine Prevention "I took 300 mg of Zonegran for nearly 2 years. It worked really well to prevent my migraines at the start-it was like a dream come true. I did experience appetite reduction and weight loss, but I put it back on after about a year. The negative side effects were extreme for me over time. First, my depression got much worse. That could have been external factors, but the time that I started taking Zonegran and the severe increase in my symptoms match. Also, after some time, I noticed my cognitive function was severely inhibited. I was in graduate school at the time and began failing classes, slurring my words when 100% sober, and unable to remember things. When I went off, my migraines returned severely, especially period and allergy migraines."

• Mom...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• March 5, 2025

For Seizures "My special needs adult daughter has been taking this medication for probably 20 years and has great results. She does not suffer from anxiety, anorexia, or depression as some have. She has tried various meds plus the vagus nerve stimulator, but now her seizure control is at its best using Zonisamide (100 mg, two caps twice a day) and one additional seizure med."

• Dav...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 16, 2020

Zonisamide for Seizures "This drug Zonegran made me angry, depressed, and generally uninterested in life. The cognitive effects are pretty severe as well. Almost lost my job due to my performance while on Zonegran. When I stopped taking it, I felt like someone lifted the fog and turned the lights on again."

• We...
• July 18, 2019

For Seizures "Oh boy, do I have a story for you. Two to three months ago, I began seeing a new neurologist for my epilepsy. I was on Dilantin and Fycompa, and my seizures had become fairly scarce and quasi-controlled, except for the fact that the Dilantin was ruining my teeth. I needed to change since I am in my early twenties and not quite ready for dentures. I was driving, had a minimum wage job, life was pretty good. Then Zonisamide came into my life. I couldn't function, I had a sense of aggression that was never a part of my personality before this, angry over minuscule things that wouldn't have bothered me in the past. My functionality was almost completely gone on Zonisamide, I had to have family members advocate on my behalf because I couldn't escape the 'brain fog,' not to mention the depression that came along with it. I'm unsure if I was just extremely sensitive to that medication, but it has encouraged me to seek therapy and some sort of stress management."

• Fee...
• August 27, 2020

For Seizures "After 2 days of feeling okay on zonisamide, I quickly started experiencing some extreme side effects. Anxiety, depression, panic, suicidal thoughts, sense of impending doom, and uncontrollable fear. Those are just the side effects that I was worried about. Unfortunately, I had others too. I asked to be taken off the medication and was instead lowered to a 25 mg dose but still had the same side effects daily. After 2 days of unprovoked crying episodes and a trip to the emergency room for chest pain, I asked the emergency room doctor what I should do. The doctor advised me to stop taking it because it is notorious for causing bad side effects. The worst part about the whole experience is that I still had seizures, and I believe the side effects caused a permanent anxiety disorder."

• bob...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 20, 2013

For Migraine Prevention "I did experience some appetite loss at first, which was OK because I wanted to lose about 5 pounds-but I started gaining weight, my face was puffy, while eating very little and no decrease in exercise. The worst, however, was the onset of depression and feelings of hopelessness. I was up to 100 mg a day, on it for 2-3 weeks, and stopped cold turkey. Taking Topamax years ago, did help with headaches and I lost weight (actually too much in the beginning but my body adjusted), but I also lost word facility. Not a good trade-off, so I had to go off Topamax. Help!"

• bob...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 20, 2013

For Migraine Prevention "I did experience some appetite loss at first, which was OK because I wanted to lose about 5 pounds-but I started gaining weight, my face was puffy, while eating very little and no decrease in exercise. The worst, however, was the onset of depression and feelings of hopelessness. I was up to 100 mg a day, on it for 2-3 weeks, and stopped cold turkey. Taking Topamax years ago, did help with headaches and I lost weight (actually too much in the beginning but my body adjusted), but I also lost word facility. Not a good trade-off, so I had to go off Topamax. Help!"

• TBr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 19, 2019

For Migraine Prevention "I took this medication after numerous failed attempts to control my chronic daily migraines with other medications. I started at 25 mg and was eventually supposed to be on 200 mg. I never went beyond 100 mg. By week three (at 75 mg), I was so nauseous that I could rarely eat more than a bite of food. I was also an emotional wreck. I would go from being irritable to crying uncontrollably in minutes. The night I took the first 100 mg dose, I began vomiting within 30 mins. After an hour of constant vomiting, I fell asleep for 12 hours. It took days to feel better - exhausted, nauseous, depressed. My family called it “the medicine that makes you sick.” This is NOT the medication for me."

• Jen...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 10, 2016

For Migraine Prevention "I've had migraines since I was 11. No preventative had ever worked. We do control the asymptomatic intracranial pressure with acetazolamide 250 mg 2/day. Recently, my imatrix started causing rebounds, and my monthly migraine totals shot up from 6-8 shot-worthy (where the migraine causes a dark spot in the white matter in my brain) /month to 15-20, and I am living off of Excedrin Migraine. Neuro put me on this to be preventative. I've noticed little to no difference and am finding I'm gaining weight and am fighting depression and hopelessness when I'm alone. Neuro wants to up the dosage to 400 mg/day, but I don't think I can handle that. On a side note, in order to try to get off meds, I'm going to look into the implants because I can't maintain this."

• Jen...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 10, 2016

For Migraine Prevention "I've had migraines since I was 11. No preventative had ever worked. We do control the asymptomatic intracranial pressure with acetazolamide 250 mg 2/day. Recently, my imatrix started causing rebounds, and my monthly migraine totals shot up from 6-8 shot-worthy (where the migraine causes a dark spot in the white matter in my brain) /month to 15-20, and I am living off of Excedrin Migraine. Neuro put me on this to be preventative. I've noticed little to no difference and am finding I'm gaining weight and am fighting depression and hopelessness when I'm alone. Neuro wants to up the dosage to 400 mg/day, but I don't think I can handle that. On a side note, in order to try to get off meds, I'm going to look into the implants because I can't maintain this."

• The...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 25, 2022

For Seizures "I've been on zonisamide for about 3.5 years now to control my grand mal seizures. From early on at 200 mg, I noticed some 'fog' and chronic depression, but it was manageable and, more importantly, the seizures were controlled. Later, I went up to 300 mg when my auras returned, and now I'm in a really bad way. I'm extremely irritable. I get angry over little things and stay angry. I lose my thoughts mid-sentence at least 10 times a day. It's really damaging my relationships and self-efficacy."

• RJb...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 10, 2017

For Seizures "Extreme weight loss, tremors at night, increased seizures, loss of memory, shaking, panic attacks, loss of self-confidence, extreme depression."