Hello doctor, I have already put my query to a neurologist. Still, I would like to get opinion from you as well. My son is 3.5 years old. He has been diagnosed with benign childhood epilepsy. His MRI and CT were normal. There are epileptic form of discharge 8 Hz spikes from right occipital lobe. Usually, he will be conscious and feel involuntary movements in left leg. In severe case, he will lose balance and fall down. This will happen once in a week. We consulted a neurologist and epileptologist here in my place. They prescribed him Topamac 50 mg twice a day and Lobazam 10 mg for three months. I am concerned about the long-term usage of Lobazam. Will it cause any serious side effect? Now with medication he is fine and attends kindergarten school. Please do reply about my concern.
Hi. I went through your query. I can understand your concern about long-term effects of antiepileptic medications. So, in reply to your query, I would like to make suggestions for your son as follows: Treatment of many types of childhood epilepsy requires long-term antiepileptic medications, sometimes for years together. Hence, your doctor (a neurologist) always has to judge the minimum dose that is adequate to prevent seizures and also to take care that the dose does not cause side effects. Dose of most of the drugs in children is decided by weight and not by age. At present, I assume that your son's weight is around 14-15 kg. And the second is please make sure that your son is taking plenty of liquids during the day to avoid a remote risk of developing renal stone. Renal stone is not common, but a possible side effect with Topiramate. Please take all possible measures to avoid factors that may precipitate seizures. Such as avoidance of physical or mental strain, avoidance of excessive hunger, control of fever with proper medications and tepid sponging, etc. Please make sure that all the antiepileptic medications have side effects. So, it is usually the best option to choose proper medications that control seizures as well as do not cause side effects. At present, I would agree with your neurologist's opinion. However, a neurologist is usually the best expert to manage childhood epilepsy. For further information consult a paediatrician online -->