My mum has been doing well. She has settled into the nursing home - since September. Two weeks ago she moved downstairs to a ground floor room opening into the garden with an ensuite and is very happy with her room. The only problem is that my mum hardly sits down and is up most nights wandering around the home. She has been having one to one at night for a couple of months. This was supposed to stop once she moved downstairs. Yesterday she was prescribed epilem. The nurse said it is because she becomes anxious or a little weepy from time to time. I think it is more to stop the wandering at night - without the nurse.
Has anyone any experience of epilem - sodium valoprate- I think?
I am worried it will sedate her during the day too. I don’t feel happy about it.
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Horatius
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My husband has been on this drug for nearly two years as he was having occasional fits. It has had no noticable effects on him and it certainly hasn't made him sleepy in the daytime. Try it for a month or so and see how it goes.
Hello Horatius, it seems that the drug you are asking about could help your mum without bad side effects. See how it goes for a while. It might just settle your mum without drowsiness during the day. Xxxx
Epilim is an anticonvulsant/anti-epileptic drug used to treat epilepsy to reduce the severity and frequency of seizures, by calming the brain down. I would question the nursing staff and her doctor as to whether this is really the appropriate treatment she should be on. I have checked on the medicines.org.uk website and there is no indication in that it should be used for 'wandering' only that it is used to treat epileptic seizures. Sometimes medicines are prescribed 'off- license' for secondary effects, but I cannot see this indication in the information.
Hope this helps. Keep in touch and let us know how you get on.
Best wishes,
MAS Nurse and Moderator
Hi Horatius,
Welcome back and thanks for the update on how your mum's doing. It sounds like a positive that she's now on the ground floor and is happy with her room. I'm sure it will help in her general wellbeing.
I do know that epilem's primary use is as an anti-convulsant used in epilepsy but that it is sometimes used for anxiety and related disorders, but it's impossible to say why it would have been prescribed for your mum, unless it's for the reason you've been given.
I understand your worry, and I think that, in your place, I'd research this drug online, either by its generic name which is as you rightly say, sodium valporate, or as epilem. Use a reliable site, such as an NHS one, so that you get proper information, and then, if you are still concerned, ask more questions of her GP and/or her nursing home.
It's easy to be suspicious that staff might be looking for a way to prevent your mum wandering at night, but I'd be doubtful that this is the case here. But as always, the rule is, if worried, ask all the questions you have.
Also, consider whether this drug is having a positive effect on mum. It's always easy to look for negatives, but what really matters most is that mum's comfortable and relatively happy.
Good to hear from you again and do stay in touch. Best wishes.
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