Migraine changing carbamazepine to lacosamide

[Jas123]

I am being changed from carbamazepine to lacosamide. I now have nausea, headache and photosensitivity. Has anyone experience of this and how best to treat it?

[lesleyw100]

my daughter has carbamazepine for epilepsy and tried to reduce the dose.. she said she felt flu like symptoms with headaches and increased anxiety

[Jas123 in reply to lesleyw100]

Despite being advised by an epilepsy helpline that there are no side effects when withdrawing from carbamazepine, my subsequent research has countered this viewpoint. I now believe my symptoms arise from carbamazepine withdrawal, and from adjusting to a new drug, lacosamide.

To avoid the 'placebo effect' I find medics avoid warning you about any potential difficulties. This is not helpful and leads to greater mental distress when they arrive 'out of the blue'. An indication of what you might expect, and how long symptoms might persist, would be better, together with a 'large dollop' of praise when you struggle on through. Practical advice could be gathered from the many thousands of patients that take each med, as to what they found minimised the discomfort or pain . Finally, I prefer knowing there is a Plan B and Plan C if my body cannot accommodate any change.

The best advice I have been given to date, by a non medic, was to adopt the measures you might use with migraine, i.e. avoiding caffeine and alcohol, small frequent meals, plenty of water, more sleep and the use of transitional polarized glasses.

I hope your daughter is getting enough medical guidance and support as I am presuming this decision was taken in consultation with her doctor. Please convey my good wishes and virtual hugs

Take care and many thanks for responding