Zarontin (ethosuximide) Side Effects, Uses Dosages
Side Effects for Zarontin (ethosuximide)
Impaired cognition, depression/mood swings, violent behaviour, ADHD, Loss of appetite
Wrote a large comment, but it got truncated, so I'll make this brief.Before going on Ethosuximide we had a bright, happy child who was studying for selective education.After going on Ethosuximide, we had ADHD, depression, violent behaviour, a lack of empathy,. impaired cognition - an absolute nightmare in fact.We were repeatedly told by the doctors that Ethosuximide wouldn't cause this, so kept our son on the drug. After 3 years, we took him off it.All the above problems disappeared. Would love to say more but can't due to comment length. I hope this helps those people who are affected, but only see benign things posted about Etho online. Feel free to shoot me a mail for more info.
Bruising, Bones aching, tired, insomnia, lumps under her skin. She's seeing things, scared to be alone. Weakness.
I hopefully can get in today to see her neurologist. She cannot continue to stay this sick all the time. I'm praying they have another medication to help her.
My daughter has puked it up every time we give it to her straight. She's still having seizures just not as often but the meds do no good if she immediately pukes it back up. I've tried mixing with her juice but she's 50/50 on drinking it (and I don't let her see me put it in). Decreased appetite.
I feel awful. I've woken up middle of the night to her choking on her own puke from this mess. I will be calling her neurologist. It's not working for us. When I try to get her to eat so I can give meds she starts gagging. Not that fake kind either.
My 9 yo was diagnosed with absence seizures and has been on zarontin for 8 months. Initially, the goal was 750 mg but at that dose he was in bad shape --- vomiting, diarrhea, and really exhausted. We reduced the dose to to 600 mg daily, his symptoms are controlled but he does have occasional hiccups, diarrhea and headaches. He has to take the medication with a meal to avoid vomiting.
Fantastic meds. Child has become more focused. Has calmed down alot. No so hyper. No seizures. And has become for confident as a result. An upset tummy at the start but no other side effects.
easily bruised, lack of apetite, stomach ache ocasionally, tiredness, difficulties focusing and follow instruction, memory problems, anxiety
Seemed to conflict with vyvanse for ADHD so switched him to a different ADHD medication.Only 7 months and test showed no seizures.Started with just 1 pill daily because made him sleepy. During summer increased to 2 pills and no seizure activity noted!
My son has been taking this for quite a while. Initially it was a godsend. He has always had memory problems and tiredness with it. We weaned him off recently to see if he had outgrown his seizures, which he had not. When we put him back on it the memory and tiredness problems seem more significant. It may be because when he was off the medication he noticed a big difference in how much better he felt physically except for the seizures.I was relieved to see others have had the memory problem. Our doctor said it wasn't the medication and he must be having breakthrough seizures even though the EEG didn't show any.
my daughter (14) suffered from absence seizures for many years, 5 to 10 times hourly, awake and asleep. The first neuro she went to prescribed Lamictal, which I later found out is not usually the first line of defense for this type of seizure. After reading up on it, we decided to just deal with the seizures! Then went to another neuro, who told us that Zarontin (ethosuximide) is generally what is prescribed for absence. I went home, did my research, and decided to give it a try. It has been an answer to prayer for our family! She has been seizure free since the first week with minimal side effects. A little sleepy sometimes and some hiccups the first few weeks. And she did not have to go up to the 500 mg 2x daily that is usually done. We continue to pray..... :) I should add that I was terrified of the chemical side effects and we as a family, very rarely take any prescriptions at all. Hope this blesses someone and helps them with their decisions!
Until stabilized my son has difficulty with concentrating and moods fluctuate. Presents as being depressed if medication is not administered on time daily. At higher doses he had bigger mood flucuations and difficulty with reading. At the lower level he is still seizure free and is doing so much better at school.
Completely eliminated absence seizures although it took years to figure out the proper dosage. If there are huge behavior changes I would suggest slowly lowering the dosage while ensuring seizures are gone.
slight loss of appetite and headaches approximately 3 times per week.
Once my son started taking this medication, the seizures were completely gone within the first 2 weeks. After a little over a month, the seizures have come back. While they have been reduced from 50 times a day to 10-20, they are starting to occur again. We're going back for a follow-up appt tomorrow.
trouble focusing, depression, suicidal tendancies, severe apathy leading to self mutilation
I was on zarontin for 5 years, after hospitalization for a suicide attempt I was taken off it and without therapy or anti-depressants I felt like my cheery outgoing self again after ONE WEEK. If this is changing your child's mood PLEASE demand another medication.
My 10 year old daughter has taken 1250 mg for the last 21/2 years. She has struggled with schooling. I don't know if this is a side effect or not. Her memory is not too good.
She has not had any seizures since taking 1250 mg per day.
loss of appetite, heart burn (especially if not taken with food), insomnia
has really helped control my seizures- noticed an improvement within the first week
If I didn't take the medicine on a full stomach, I would get dizzy and sometimes throw up. Bad memory... (that just may be me)
I stopped taking the drug in 2002 b/c my seizures stopped. They came back in late '05. When I went to the doctor to get back on medication, he asked me what I used to take. When I told him, he started asking questions about my school work and how well I did in school. Aparently this drug impairs your ability to learn. He was surprised to learn that it did not affect me though. Overall though.... I hated this drug and would not recomend it. Lamictal is a much beter drug!
childhood seizures for 4 yr old
Loss of appetite and drowsiness.
On full dose detrimental.. grinding of teeth, twitching....child had recurrring seizure activity and insomnia. On half the reccommended dose ..excellent control!
as you can see am using it for almost all my life, including during pregnancy. for 15 yrs 500mg per day, for the last 15 yrs. 250 mg per day.
Headaches, upset stomach, inability to focus, some aggressiveness and irritabilty noted. She is having a hard time focusing on her school work and instruction. She also has difficulty socializing.
Has seemed to eliminate her seizures but an upcoming EEG on 10/19/05 will show the results. Must be taken on a semi to full stomach or she will vomit. Can cause severe headaches.
I gained 63 pounds in 58 days...
... and it didn't even control my seizures!!
Headaches. Aggressive behavior. Normally a sweet girl, she has taken to cursing and throwing things at me.
My 13 yr-old daughter has only been on her full dosage of zarontin for two weeks(titrated up while zonnegran was titrated down). However, zarontin has been at a significant level for about 4 weeks. While not completely elimnating the seizures, they have been GREATLY reduced.
ZARONTIN (ETHOSUXIMIDE): This medication is used alone or with other medications to prevent and control a certain type of seizure (absence or petit mal seizure). It works by controlling the abnormal electrical activity in the brain that occurs during a seizure. (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)
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