We know you’re concerned about seizures

We also know seizures aren’t your only concern.

Being Prepared

Be Prepared for Seizures

Help others help you. Everyone experiences epilepsy differently. But even if your seizures are not yet as controlled as you would like, you can still go about your business with confidence if you’re prepared.

First aid for epilepsy is not difficult for people who are well-informed. The best way to ensure that you encounter well-informed people is to educate them yourself - either beforehand or with items you carry with you.

Be prepared out in the world

When you’re traveling or away from people you know, you need a way to communicate what your condition is and, in the event of a seizure, what others should and shouldn’t do to help.

Always carry a medical identification card with your name and address, basic information about your condition, and your healthcare professional's name and telephone number. If you prefer, wear an alert bracelet or pendant.
Carry a card or a sheet of paper listing the basic steps for first aid for your condition. You can even work with your healthcare professional to create your own.

Be prepared in familiar territory

In places you visit often, such as work or school, choose a few people to educate about your condition and the type of first aid you may need.

At work, inform some responsible person—your human resources representative, your supervisor, or a trusted colleague—about your condition, and make sure that person has all the information he or she needs, including basic first-aid instructions and your healthcare professional’s number.
At school, inform an administrator, the school nurse, or a teacher. Inform your athletic coach if you play sports, especially if you travel with the team. Make sure the person you choose has all the information he or she needs, including basic first-aid instructions and your healthcare professional’s number.

Send support givers here for Information on Seizures.

Be prepared when planning a pregnancy

Most women with epilepsy have normal pregnancies and give birth to healthy children.

Talk with your obstetrician and the healthcare professional who treats your epilepsy to learn how your condition and its treatment may affect pregnancy, labor, and breast-feeding. With their help, develop a plan that fits your situation.

Antiepileptic drugs should be used during pregnancy only if your healthcare professional determines that the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks. Speak to your healthcare professional if you have any concerns.

Start the planning process early—before conception, if possible. Use the opportunity to set your mind at ease about child care, medications, and other issues.

For general information, visit the Epilepsy Foundation’s Web page on Pregnancy Issues or download the Pregnancy & Parenting brochure (available as a Word document) from the International League Against Epilepsy.

About TOPAMAX^®

TOPAMAX^® is approved as initial monotherapy in patients 10 years of age and older with partial-onset or primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures.

Effectiveness was demonstrated in a controlled trial in patients with epilepsy who had no more than 2 seizures in the 3 months prior to enrollment. Safety and effectiveness in patients who were converted to monotherapy from a previous regimen of other anticonvulsant drugs have not been established in controlled trials.

TOPAMAX^® is approved as add-on therapy for patients 2 years of age and older with primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures, partial-onset seizures, or seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

Important Safety Information

Serious risks associated with TOPAMAX^® include lowered bicarbonate levels in the blood resulting in an increase in the acidity of the blood (metabolic acidosis). Symptoms could include hyperventilation (rapid, deep breathing), tiredness, loss of appetite, irregular heartbeat or changes in the level of alertness. Call your doctor immediately if you get these symptoms. Your doctor may want to do simple blood tests. Chronic, untreated metabolic acidosis may increase the risk for kidney stones or bone disease.

Like other antiepileptic drugs, TOPAMAX^® may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people, about 1 in 500. Pay attention to any changes and call your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms, especially if they are new, worse, or worry you: thoughts about suicide or dying, attempts to commit suicide, new or worse depression, new or worse anxiety, feeling agitated or restless, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, new or worse irritability, acting aggressive, being angry, or violent, acting on dangerous impulses, an extreme increase in activity and talking (mania) or other unusual changes in behavior or mood.

Do not stop taking TOPAMAX^® without first talking to your doctor. Stopping TOPAMAX^® suddenly can cause serious problems.

Other serious risks include decreased sweating, increased body temperature, kidney stones, sleepiness, dizziness, confusion, difficulty concentrating, and increased eye pressure (glaucoma). Call your doctor immediately if you have any decrease in vision or eye pain. These problems can lead to blindness if not treated right away.

More common side effects in adults are nervousness, coordination problems, fatigue, speech problems, slowed thinking, memory difficulty, tingling in arms and legs, and double vision; and in children, fatigue, loss of appetite, nervousness, memory difficulty, aggressive behavior, and weight loss.

As monotherapy, the most common side effects of TOPAMAX^® (in the 400 mg/day group and at a rate higher than the 50 mg/day group) in adults were tingling in arms and legs, weight decrease, sleepiness, loss of appetite, dizziness, and difficulty with memory; and in children, weight decrease, upper respiratory tract infection, tingling in arms and legs, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and mood problems.

In combination with other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), the most common side effects of TOPAMAX^® in adults (200 to 400 mg/day) were sleepiness, dizziness, nervousness, loss of muscle coordination, fatigue, speech disorders and related problems, psychomotor slowing, abnormal vision, difficulty with memory, tingling in arms and legs, and double vision; and in children (5 to 9 mg/kg/day), fatigue, sleepiness, loss of appetite, nervousness, difficulty with concentration/attention, difficulty with memory, aggressive reaction, and weight decrease.

Tell your doctor about other medications you take.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see full U.S. Prescribing Information.

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This site was last modified on: Jul 26 2007 at 13:45:28 EDT