any seizure meds that don't make you tired?

[kricklekrin]

Does anyone know of any medication for complex seizures (L-temporal lobe) that won't make you feel like a zombie?  I take Zonegran 200mg and I have absolutely no energy.  I'm typically very active and moving all the time.  I don't even have the energy to grocery shop or cook anymore.  This is ridiculous!  I also take Diamox, not sure if this has any affect on my energy level.  Recently had a CBC done, and it came back normal.  I just started these meds 4 months ago.  

[spitfire2]

Forgot to mention: I also have dealt with complex partial seizures and secondary generalized szs for years, left temporal lobe as well.  Lamictal (obviously) is intended for partial seizrues, usually as an add on, but also as a "solo" med.  

[spitfire2]

Sorry to hear about everything!  I know how you feel...have been on a number of different anti-seizure meds for 14 years now, and totally understand how you feel.  If it helps, things usually improve somewhat after you've been on the meds for 5 or 6 months....kind of get used to the dosage, although it isn't easy to deal with all the side effects.  Of all the meds I've tried, lamictal, (or lamictal XR, the new extended release version of the med) seems to have fewer side effects, although everyone tolerates meds differently/reacts to meds differently, as you well know.  The drawback is that, like many seizure meds, lamictal is very expensive (one month of 90 200mg tablets of lamictal costs ~$530/month; for lamictal XR, the cost is about $1,900) .  Luckily I get help paying (only pay a few dollars, actually), but it is rediculous to have such necessary meds cost this much.  Sometimes your doc can also give you a large bunch of samples....I managed to get about 6 months worth of samples, before I got help paying for the XR.  Anyway, good luck to you--
spitfire2

[Narble]

All of the anti-seizure meds, also known as anti-convulsants, have "sedation" as a side effect. They also typically cause drowsiness, increase sleep, and may make getting up in the morning a slow process.

However, each person responds to each med differently, and dosage can be changed, as can the time of day you take the med(s). Talk to your treating physician about being tired. S/he should be able to offer useful suggestions for minimizing the feeling of fatigue. Also, make sure to follow up on the recommended blood testing for Zonegran for serum bicarbonate levels.