The Hidden Weight of Control: Side Effects of Epilepsy Medication

 

When people hear the word epilepsy, they often think of seizures and that it is just one more “neurological condition”. However, what they don’t know is that living with such a condition can weigh you down tremendously, and that is more than just the neurological condition, but also battling the side effects of the medications as well. What people don’t realise is the number of pills that are required to fight such a neurological condition. Some of the most common side effects include weight gain, foggy mornings and the silent battle that is assiduously fought.

 

I have been living with epilepsy for 30 years now, having been first diagnosed with this condition when I was 9 years old. While my current medication combination includes Brivazan 100 Mg, Lacoset 150 Mg, and Fycompa 2 Mg, the medicines that I have been taking since my diagnosis in 1995 have over time progressively changed. While the medications have been effective in seizure control, I have been silently fighting unexpected companions such as intense fatigue, weight fluctuation, mood shifts and a constant push and pull between health and side effects. No one can understand what another person is going through at such times, and fighting such a battle is really a silent one as it is inviable, but only if you really are undergoing such battles can you understand what it is like to go through such changes. 

 

Dimming the lights down in my head, the first medicine to affect me was Brivazan 100 Mg. This medicine has a sense of sedation, such as behavioural changes such including aggressive behaviour, irritation, and agitation, was the first to hit me. However, at the same time, this is also one of the most effective medications for treating epilepsy and controlling seizures. This medicine has been extremely effective in reducing the electrical impulses and subsequent firing of the nerve impulses that cause fits, and decreasing the brain's excessive and abnormal nerve activity, thereby controlling seizures. The next one to affect me was Lacoset 150 Mg. Again, another effective medication to control seizures and epilepsy. This medication does have some side effects, such as headaches, dizziness, dry mouth, muscle spasms, blurred vision, nausea, and diplopia (double vision). This medicine is known for causing weight gain. Finally, the last one was Fycompa 2 Mg, which is known to reduce the frequency of seizures that affect a part or whole of the brain. However, it has its side effects such as fatigue, anger, nausea, and balance disorder (loss of balance). It may also cause dizziness and sleepiness. This medicine may cause weight gain. 

 

One of the hardest parts of taking these medications? The weight gain and the irritable mood.  I used to blame myself for every kilo that I gained and felt horrible about it. No matter how much I exercised or controlled my diet, the weight was just not budging. But then I learned that these medications were altering my metabolism, appetite and causing fluctuations in my energy levels. It was also about the hormones, brain chemistry and side effects which made the body feel like it was fighting against me. 

 

Fighting against these meds was more than reclaiming comfort, confidence and control!

 

Mental Fog and Emotional Smog!

At times when words would escape me, which was rare because I’m a writer, I would just walk into a room and forget why. The irritability has been very real, and the mood swings and the emotional exhaustion, which often took many days to recover from. 

 

My friends could not understand what I was going through, and I felt trapped at times for behaving and having such mood swings. At times, I didn’t even feel like myself, but like someone had edited the spontaneity, dulled my sparkle and rewrote my energy levels.

 

 It is a living reality that I constantly deal with, and everyone is dealing with their reality. I have to constantly remind myself that I’m not broken, but I’m adapting to medications which are beyond my reach, that I’m fighting the side effects of medication to lose weight, and I may have moments where I don’t fit in perfectly, but that’s OK.