Epilepsy: Taking Your Medicines Properly

Medicines do not cure epilepsy, but they can prevent seizures. The medicine used to treat epilepsy work in various ways to help reduce the abnormal electrical impulses in your brain. The specific medicines prescribed for you depend first on what kinds of seizures you have. Your age, activity level, overall physical condition, and other health issues as well as the side effects, health risks, and costs of different medicines, may also help determine what kind of medicine is best for you.

Remember, it can take some time and careful, controlled adjustments by your doctor to find the most effective combination, schedule, and dose of medicine to control your seizures. Preventing seizures with as few unwanted side effects as possible is the goal. It is important to follow your medicine schedule exactly as prescribed.

Continue to Why?

Antiepileptic medicines are most effective when you keep the proper medicine level in your body. Your doctor has set up a schedule of medicine dosages that keeps that proper level. Even slight changes in your medicine schedule or doses can throw the whole system off. If you do not take your medicines properly, you could begin (or continue) having seizures.

Taking your medicines properly can help you achieve better control over your epilepsy. If you have lost work or driving privileges, getting seizures under control—and keeping them under control—may help you get back to work or back behind the wheel. Not having seizures means you can avoid the dangers of seizures (falls, drowning, choking) and avoid stays in the hospital.

Continue to How?

Here's how you can get started taking your medicines properly.

Make a medicine plan

Work with your doctor to make a medicine plan. Things to think about include:

• Names of all medicines. Write down both the brand name and generic name for your medicines. Have your doctor check the list. You can use this list to verify that the medicines you get from the pharmacy are correct. Get a clear explanation of what the medicine does and why you are taking it.
• Medicine schedule. Be sure you understand how much of each medicine to take and when to take each one. Ask your doctor if your medicine schedule can be simpler. This may make it easier for you to remember to take your medicines as directed.
• How to handle missed doses. Even the most careful people miss a dose now and then. Talk with your doctor about what you should do if you miss a dose of your medicine. Discuss and write down what to do for each medicine. What you should do if you miss a dose may differ from one medicine to another.
• Medicine costs. If cost is a consideration in building a medicine plan, ask your doctor whether less expensive, equally effective generic brands would be appropriate for you. For most people who take prescription medicine, taking a generic form of that medicine is less expensive and works just as well as the brand name medicine. But in epilepsy, the very small differences between brand name and generic medicines may cause that medicine to no longer work in controlling your seizures.¹ Talk with your doctor if you are worried that a generic version of your medicine will not work for you. You also may want to ask your doctor for a 90-day supply of your medicines if it costs less. Compare prices between several pharmacies. And consider mail-order pharmacies.
• Medicines to avoid. Some nonprescription medicines and drugs may react with your prescribed epilepsy medicines. Make a list of medicines to avoid. And check with your doctor before taking any medicines on this list.

Get organized

Taking medicines properly means taking the right dose of the right medicines at the right time. To be sure you are taking your medicines properly, you may want to have a system to keep track of when and how you take your pills.

• Make a list of all your medicines and keep it up to date. At every visit with your doctor, review your master list of medicines(What is a PDF document?).
• Plan a daily schedule of medicines. Post your medicine schedule in a prominent place near your medicine cabinet. Take it along when you travel. Record your medicine schedule in a daily planner that has spaces for hourly entries(What is a PDF document?).
• Use a pillbox. Get a pillbox that holds a week's worth of pills.
• Post reminders. Get sticky note pads and post reminders to take your medicines near clocks or on the bathroom mirror to keep you on schedule.

Taking your medicines

Keep the following in mind as you follow your medicine plan.

• Store medicines properly. Keeping medicines in a place that is too hot, too cold, or too humid (a place that is humid has a lot of water vapor in the air) may reduce their effectiveness. Find out from your doctor or pharmacist how to properly store your medicines. Always remember to store medicines out of the reach of children.
• Watch for side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist what side effects to expect. Be sure to tell your doctor if you are having side effects from your medicines.
• Post a list of medicines to avoid in a place where you can refer to it whenever you need to. Always check with your doctor before taking any additional medicines, prescription or nonprescription. This includes any herbal pills or dietary supplements.
• Take your medicine list with you for each visit with your doctor. And take time to review it.
• Notify your doctor immediately if you start having more seizures than usual. Let your doctor know if you have any changes in your health that might affect your medicine needs, such as weight gain, pregnancy, or another medical condition.

Continue to Where?

Talk with your doctor

If you have questions about this information, take it with you when you visit your doctor. You may want to use a highlighter to mark areas or make notes in the margins of the pages where you have questions.

If you don't already have a medicine plan, schedule a time with your doctor to develop one.