My girlfriend is taking oxcarbazepine 300mg for seizures, shes never taken any anti-convulsive med. Its only been 3 days, she says she feels drowsy and tired as soon as she takes the pill.
Does anyone know if this is normal and temporarily?
How long until her body adjust and she's back to "normal"?
First time taking oxcarbazepine, side effects? how long?
Question posted by johnnyjimenez1991 on 1 April 2021
Last updated on 17 January 2024 by Hanny4
3 Answers
Hanny4
17 Jan 2024
I started taking oxcarbazepine 300mg when Tegretol stopped working after 17 yrs. And I found my oxcarbazepine has just as many side effects.
Mostly being unbalanced at times, and tired.
But with oxcarbazepine I have at times the added affect of
Distortion of my eyes. Which comes on and off
Different times.
But the tegretol allowed me to get thru 10yrs of working. And now oxcarbazepine allows me to keep functioning when side affects are not bothering me.
Also I also have to pay attention to other medications I take. Because they interfere with how they work with this medication. And my biggest fear if it does not work . Because like all medications your body can get use to the medication. Then you end up taking more for it to work. I am taking 300mg 4 times a day now.
And still able to
function to get thru the side effects With some down time.. But You have to remember everyone reacts differently to medications.
If you have Trigeminal-Neuralgia in the face like i do sometimes you have no choice on medications.
randatlas
2 April 2021
Hi johnnyjimenez1991,
I am not a doctor but am a patient taking oxcarbazepine too. Sorry to hear about what your girlfriend is experiencing. The med makes me tired too. If it's been only 3 days, I would give it a chance and try taking it for a few more days if she can tolerate it. She might find that it goes away by then. Of course she should check with her doctor if it's still not tolerable, and don't let her/him try to tell her that her body will get used to it in "x" number of weeks. It is her body and everyone reacts differently.
There might be other meds for seizures that she could try.
Also, I am taking half the dose that my doctor wants me to take. I thought I would work my way up slowly. If your girlfriend can break her tablets in half and take the med them this way, to start, I would recommend this. The full tablets might be too much to handle at this point. But be sure to let the dr. know about the change.
If you don't mind telling me, is she taking the 300 mg twice a day, or is that the strength for the total she takes in a day? In other words, is each tablet 150 mg or 300 mg?
If she is feeling the drowsiness right after taking the pills, this sounds unusual but like I said everyone is different. The drowsiness hits me about an hour or so after I take mine. I think it has to be digested and pass through the system first. I am not insinuating that she is crazy. (Leave that up to the dr but take it with a grain of salt.)
I hope this helps. Good luck to both of you!
Take care and stay safe,
randatlas
johnnyjimenez1991
2 April 2021
Thanks for your answer. To your question, it’s 300 mg per pill, she has to take one pill twice a day, meaning 600 mg per day, for the first week. Then, as most anti-convulsive meds, after the first week it’s two pills twice a day, meaning 1200 mg per day. Does that sound little or too much?
I am unfamiliar with how much is too much and how little is too little.
I wish she can stay on a low dose since her seizure occurrence has been sporadic.
She had her first seizure four years ago, then a second one a month ago, and 2 mild focal seizures after that, that’s when she was prescribed the medication.
randatlas
2 April 2021
Thanks for replying and for your answer. I am taking the med for a different condition (a "mood disorder") so I don't know if 1,200 mg a day is too much or the appropriate maintenance dose for seizures. I think it would be too high of a dose for me but I'm not familiar with the med's use for seizures. I would ask the dr. whether she could go no higher than what she's taking, or if the tablets with the higher dose could be broken in half, to gradually get to that higher dose instead of going up to it suddenly. I am sensitive to meds so can understand what she's going through. Just be sure to talk with the dr. before making any changes, because you don't want to be messing around with a seizure med. Perhaps the dr. will say the gradual building up is okay, or might have another idea.
Again, good luck and please stay safe.
Roxy Poxy
2 April 2021
Drowsiness is a common early side effect of seizure meds. It usually goes away in a couple of weeks. More importantly watch for rashes, sores, dizziness, and balance issues. Contact doctor if you have concerns.
randatlas
2 April 2021
How long might the dizziness/balance problems last, and when would be an appropriate time to ask my doc about this?
Thank you.
Related topics
seizures, oxcarbazepine, side effect, pill, girlfriend
Further information
- Oxcarbazepine uses and safety info
- Oxcarbazepine prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Oxcarbazepine (detailed)
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