ZONEGRAN Reviews (ZONISAMIDE)

Average Rating: 2.9 (90 Ratings)

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 ANTICONVULSANTS

 Type: Rx Drug

  

ZONEGRAN  (ZONISAMIDE):  Zonisamide is used with other medications to prevent and control seizures (epilepsy). Zonisamide is a sulfonamide anticonvulsant and a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. It is unknown how zonisamide works to prevent seizures.   FDA Approval Date: 2000-03-27 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

Results are sorted by length of time drug was taken longest to shortest.

Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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More on ZONEGRAN: Reviews Summary  |  Drug Safety Information

RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR ZONEGRANCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 5  Myoclonic Epilepsy Extreme weight loss (20+lbs) in a short amount of time, loss of appetite, extreme nausea (particularly in am), irritability. These have gone away now that I have fully adjusted to the medicine. This took me approximately 1 year, but everyone is different. The nausea still shows up once in awhile but is bearable. Now all I notice is trouble recalling words (takes a little longer to find the right word). THIS DRUG IS NOT FOR EVERYONE! I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 8 years old and was extremely lucky to have an excellent neurologist/pharmacist team to help me find the perfect drug for me, which even still took 10 years. I have tried Keppra, which did not control the seizures, I have also tried Depakote, which the side effects were outrageous. This drug takes time to adjust to and find the correct dosage as any other drug, the difference is for me was the nausea. I can only assume it was because of the rapid weight loss that was occurring. I should mention one of the side effects of Depakote for me (the previous drug before zonegran) was weight gain, so I was approximately 40lbs overweight so weight loss was not an issue. *If you do not have extra weight to lose, this is not a good drug for you* It was the rapid drop that made it so difficult. This only lasted for about 3 months for me (until we found the correct dosage). One thing I wish someone had told me is to make sure to eat a healthy snack about 1hr- 2hrs before bed such as fruit. Also carry snacks such as granola bars or nuts. I never wanted to eat, but new if I ate even a few almonds it would make my nausea 10x easier to deal with. My nausea only lasted until I became acclimated with the drug (approximately 6m), my weight loss plateaued shortly after that. I have been the same weight since. I am a little concerned about the delay to recall the correct words. But as this is my only real side effect, for F 28 10 years
300mg 2x D
2/18/2015
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 3  Partial Epliepsy None really Started to take in 2004 after control with Depakote and Tegretol XR peaked. Helped for a while but has not totally cured the seizures; still occur approximately twice a month. M 21 5.5 years
200 Mg 2X day
2/28/2010
 5  Seizures I can function on this medication , my hair don't fall out, My speech is not bad , I am not confused.. I was even able to take it while pregnant and my babies are healthy F 38 5 years
200 mg
4/24/2015
 2  epilepsy Insomnia; Kidney stones Zonegran is one of the two seizure meds. I take. The insomnia would be debilitating if I couldn't sleep during the day to make up for the sleep loss at night. I know Zonegran is the problem, because my other med causes no side effects, but within an hour of taking the Zonegran, I'm "wired", & toss and turn. Also, causes kidney stones: I never had a kidney stone in my life before I started this med. I've talked to the docs about changing meds or times that I take them, but no go. F 58 5 years
100 mg 4X day
3/8/2010
 5  migraines Sleepiness, sometimes forget words, not sure if that is from medication. F 58 4 years
400 mg
8/6/2013
 5  migraines none Take 100mg every other night, can do this because this med has very long half life. Also makes it very affordable as a generic. Took a full 3 months to work for me but after trying Depakote, Lamictal, Topamax, Elavil with no help and many side effects love this medicine. Have been on it for 4 years and has given me my life back. I still have some symptoms from migraines and migrane syndrone but they are 80% better. My neurologist said making me 50% better would be a success. F 50 4 years
10/8/2008
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 5  Epilepsy I've been on this for 4 years now with minimal side effects and seizure free. I maintain a VERY healthy diet to keep the fatigue, headaches, and brain fog to a minimum but I also make sure I get plenty of rest as well. The odd thing is, I only just started loosing my appetite and lost 20 lbs. not sure if it's the RX. I also recently went off BC, so it could be a combo. But it's the weirdest thing! I've been on Keppra and Lamictal before and they both affected me poorly in the personality dept, so I'll take what Zonegran throws my way any day! F 29 4 years
300mg
4/3/2014
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 4  Migraine prevention Occasional weird dreams, slight fatigue, some memory loss (difficulty recalling words). Overall it has improved the migraines I've had for 17+ years but I make sure I get plenty of rest each day, drink lots of water, eat well and exercise. I do have weird dreams that will bring on unprevented migraines but all in all it has helped. I'd like to eventually come off the drug though cause I'm skeptical of memory loss F 34 4 years
300mg
9/27/2014
 5  epilepsy First few weeks insomia, hair loss , weight loss butt after few weeks all came back to normal I did not have any episode in 3 years. Love it. And now Im 6 month preggo. F 32 3 years
300mg 1X day
3/11/2010
 4  Chronic Migraines, Seizure Dizziness, tiredness, My actual dosage is 100 MG 2 times a day, but I decreased it to just before night time unless my migraines are really bad due to the reaction with my Cymbalta. I've had chronic migraines (when I say Chronic, I mean I had crippling mind blowing head aches every day of my life since I was 9 years old) finally in 2011 I had a grand mal seizure due to an addiction overdose. I was an addict as well since a teenager. Combination of many things I was taking in great quantities was to much. After that, I was put on Topamax for my seizure (and I told the neurologist about the migraines to) in part the Oding was me trying to take stuff to rid the headaches ruling my life - well how it started years ago. The Topamax was a godsend for a year and half. I mean it took away my headaches, but then they'd come back so they would increase it. Finally a year later it just stopped working, but I requested to change the medication. I hated Topamax - it made my arms, feet, hands numb, my taste changed, and I was so forgetful & had the worst memory. I lived in a brain fog. Zonegran was so much better. It did cause some dizziness, but nothing like Topamax. My memory and overall brain fog went away (tho the adderal come down often causes it now to :/) and everything improved. I do get more headaches than on the Topamax, but I believe it could be due to the Adderall as well. They usually come when I am coming off Adderall. I don't feel like this medication is as effective, but I feel like the side effects are much much less. F 27 3 years
100 MG 1X day
8/8/2015
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 3  bipolar disorder At a higher dose I was uncoordinated and fell, but this went away when the dose was lowered. I have also lost some weight F 48 3 years
10/3/2006
 3  epilepsy memory is just trash now this used to work great for me but after 3 years of working it just stopped and i had 3 seizures on it F 20 3 years
500 1X day
10/6/2020
 2  One seizure Lost 35 pounds in less than two months on 100 mg due to no appetite neurologist dropped dose to 50. Gained back all the weight and more. Numbness/tingling in throat, tongue, feet, hands. Double vision (terrible). Other problems not sure related but after reading comments I think so Just in recent days started with weird "sores" or rash on leg and arm doctor can't identify. Sore muscles in chest/arm. Itching all over. I'm afraid I've become allergic to the Zonisamide but I refuse to take any other seizure medication since I only had one three years ago and neurologist has no idea what caused it. I believe it was from my doctor lowering my Synthroid (thyroid med) for no reason from .150 to .112. I'd like to stop taking seizure med altogether but I'm scared TO take it and scared NOT TO for fear I'll have another one. F 63 3 years
50
6/25/2017
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 1  Seizures Just don t stop seizures. Take 500 mg. Don t work F 60 3 years
100mg
6/1/2018
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 4  Post traumatic stress disorder None that I am aware of. My psychiatrist prescribes it for PTSD from childhood, along with 2 mg. Ativan at night about 2.5 hrs. before bedtime. The combination of Zonegran/Ativan has worked well for me for insomnia thus far. F 59 2.4 years
3/28/2008
 5  Epilepsy increased thirst, chapped lips, peeling skin, drowsiness, short term memory loss, stuttering, jerking of the limbs. Helped a great deal!!! No more seizures since I started taking it!! F 16 2 years
100 MG
1/30/2016
 4  Bipolar (mood swings) Pros: I had a lot of weight loss (about 25 lbs) and it cleared up my skin beautifully. Cons: It absolutely slows down thought process and I've lost a degree of my wit, sadly. My mind is nowhere near as sharp as it was when I wasn't taking this medication and I've also noticed that it makes focusing quite difficult as well. Aside from the side effects it has done it's job as a mood stabilizer for me. I've taken many different medications for the same reason but this is the only one that's seemed to work for me and have the least undesirable side effects. F 27 2 years
200mg
12/16/2015
 4  Seizures My memory is not what it should be. Mild depression It controls my seizures so the benefits outweigh the side effects. M 48 2 years
300mg
10/21/2019
 2  Temperal lobe epilepsy Sucidal thoughts, sore heart, brain fog, depression, severe anxiety, weight loss, migranes, irritabillity, hostillity, lack of sex drive,paranoia, hearing things like co workers talking about me or my name being called. This drug is a double eged sword its controlled my seizures for 10 months now however it has completely ruined my life. I have suicidal thoughts on a daily basis zonegran is 43% suicidal approved by the fda. Im extremely depressed and anxious all the time my relationships and friendships have broken down because im a constant mess and its put a huge strain on my relations with my family too. I feel that i have completely lost the person i was while on this stuff i doubt myself all the time and think the worst of every situation before it even occours. I cant hold a conversation without stummbling and forgetting what im talking about, in the past month i even forgot my own first name twice. Im describe myself as half a person these days to my mum and i no longer know how to dance for the anxiety and fear just take over and my mind races with crippling self destructive thoughts. If you can handle this and just want to control your eplilepsy then be my guest however if you wish for something more and want to remain feeling just a little bit humane please avoid it at all costs. F 25 2 years
200mg
7/22/2017
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 2  Headache prevention Depression, mood swings, lost of concentration, crazy animAl nightmares, and still have headaches F 23 2 years
100mg
4/26/2013
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ZONEGRAN  (ZONISAMIDE):  Zonisamide is used with other medications to prevent and control seizures (epilepsy). Zonisamide is a sulfonamide anticonvulsant and a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. It is unknown how zonisamide works to prevent seizures.   FDA Approval Date: 2000-03-27 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

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