Patients generally start by taking the medications in tablets or capsules of varying dosages. This allows doctors to determine the most effective dose for each person. Three medications in particular, Dilantin , Tegretol and Depakene , have formed the backbone of anticonvulsant therapy for the last 25 years. But they're not perfect. All have been linked to increased risk of birth defects, and can produce side effects in some people that range from mental confusion to depression to tremors or even anemia.
Many patients can do quite well with medical treatment.
But now, for patients who can't tolerate those, there's new options. Doctors have found that combining smaller doses of an older drug with a newer drug is often more effective than a large dose of an older anticonvulsant. Also, combining older and newer drugs often seems to reduce seizures with fewer side effects than a single drug. Other treatments that work For those who don't respond to medications, there are alternatives. In cases where seizures are caused by a brain abnormality, surgery is an option.