Trileptal vs. Topamax

Common side effects of Trileptal include:

• dizziness,
• drowsiness,
• tired feeling,
• fatigue,
• nausea,
• vomiting,
• upset stomach,
• diarrhea,
• headache,
• mental slowness,
• trouble concentrating,
• trouble sleeping,
• shaking,
• acne,
• skin rash,
• blurred or double vision,
• dry mouth,
• constipation, and
• problems with speech, balance, or walking.

Tell your doctor if you have serious side effects of Trileptal including:

• changes in vision,
• involuntary eye movements,
• difficulty speaking,
• difficulty concentrating,
• loss of coordination,
• trouble walking (abnormal gait),
• uncontrolled muscle movements (tremor),
• dulled sense of touch,
• easy bleeding or bruising,
• chest pain,
• persistent sore throat,
• stomach or abdominal pain,
• bloody stool,
• dark urine,
• change in amount of urine, or
• yellowing of eyes or skin.

Side effects of Topamax include:

• drowsiness,
• dry mouth,
• dizziness,
• blurred vision,
• constipation,
• weight gain,
• trouble urinating,
• headache,
• increased hunger, and
• changes in taste.

Trileptal (oxcarbazepine) is an anticonvulsant, or antiepileptic drug, used to treat partial seizures in adults and children who are at least 2 years old. Trileptal is available in generic form.

Topamax (oxcarbazepine) in an antieleptic drug (AED), an anticonvulsant, used as an additional therapy as part of treatment for partial seizures in adults and children ages 6 to 17.

 

Trileptal may interact with other seizure medications, medicines to prevent organ transplant rejection, and heart or blood pressure medications.

Topamax may interact with other medicines that can make you sleepy (cold or allergy medicine, sedatives, narcotic pain medicine, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, and medicine for depression or anxiety), other seizure medications, lithium, hydrochlorothiazide, metformin, atropine, belladonna, benztropine, dimenhydrinate, methscopolamine, scopolamine, bronchodilators, bladder or urinary medications, or glaucoma medications.

 

Treatment with Trileptal starts at a dose of 600 mg/day, twice daily. If needed, the dose may be increased by a maximum of 600 mg/day at approximately weekly intervals; the recommended daily dose is 1200 mg/day.

Topamax usual adult dose is 200mg twice a day. Drug interactions include acetazolamide (Diamox), methazolamide (Neptazane), dichlorphenamide (Daranide), carbamazepine (Tegretol) and phenytoin (Dilantin) and oral contraceptives. There are no adequate studies of Topamax in pregnant women and it is not known if Topamax is secreted in human breast milk. Use during pregnancy is not recommended unless the potential benefit outweighs the potential unknown risk to the fetus. Topamax passes into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. Consult your doctor before breastfeeding.