Trileptal is prescribed to patients with partial seizures and epilepsy. This includes using Trileptal as a sole therapy or in combination with other medication to treat seizures in adults, as a sole therapy to treat children over 4 years of age with seizures, and as a combination therapy for people age 2 years and above with epilepsy. However, Trileptal can cause serious skin reactions.
What are some important things I should know about Trileptal?
Trileptal can cause dangerous drug interactions, serious allergic reactions, and skin conditions including Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis, both of which can be life-threatening and cause permanent disfigurement. Trileptal can also cause withdrawal symptoms, thinking and motion impairment, and injury to unborn or nursing babies.
Trileptal is prescribed to patients with partial seizures and epilepsy. This includes using Trileptal as a sole therapy or in combination with other medication to treat seizures in adults, as a sole therapy to treat children over 4 years of age with seizures, and as a combination therapy for people age 2 years and above with epilepsy.
Seizures are caused by chemicals in the body. They happen when there is sudden, abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Seizures usually last between 30 seconds and two minutes. They can be caused by medicines, head trauma, high fevers and diseases.
People who have seizures caused by brain disorders have epilepsy. Sometimes, doctors don’t know what the exact cause is, and people can suffer hundreds of seizures per day. More than 3 million people suffer from epilepsy in the U.S.
Partial and general tonic clonic seizures are the most common type of seizures, and cause the person to lose consciousness, experience body stiffness and fall to the ground. Jerking movements last for seconds or as much as a few minutes. In the tonic phase, breathing becomes irregular and the lungs begin to lack oxygen. In the clonic phase, jerking causes violent muscle reactions and possible biting of the tongue or cheeks.
Trileptal is designed to reduce frequency and severity of epilepsy in patients 2 years of age and older, and seizures in patients 4 years and older.
Trileptal can cause many harmful and serious side effects, including:
- dangerous drug interactions
- serious allergic reactions
- Stevens-Johnson syndrome
- toxic epidermal necrolysis
- withdrawal symptoms
- thinking and motion impairment
- injury to unborn or nursing babies.
- hypersensitivity
- mutli-organ failure
- withdrawal seizures
You should contact your doctor immediately if you notice any skin disorders, such as rashes or discoloration. However, even if you stop taking Trileptal, the rash may continue to spread and cause further injury. Also, you may experience withdrawal seizures if you stop taking Trileptal suddenly, so talk to your doctor about how to stop taking the medication.
- sore throat
- headache
- jaundice
- bruising
- problems urinating
- worsening seizures
- flu-like symptoms