Felbamate

Felbamate may cause a serious blood condition called aplastic anemia. Symptoms of aplastic anemia can start any time you are taking felbamate or for a period of time after you stop taking felbamate. Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had blood problems. Your doctor will probably tell you not to take felbamate. If you experience any of the following symptoms while taking felbamate or after you stop taking felbamate, call your doctor immediately: fever, sore throat, chills, other signs of infection, bleeding, easy bruising, extreme tiredness, weakness, or lack of energy.

Felbamate may cause liver damage. Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had liver disease. Your doctor will probably tell you not to take felbamate. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: nausea, extreme tiredness, unusual bleeding or bruising, lack of energy, loss of appetite, pain in the upper right part of the stomach, yellowing of the skin or eyes, or flu-like symptoms.

Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory. Your doctor will order certain tests before, during, and after treatment to check your body’s response to felbamate.

Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking felbamate. You will have to sign an informed consent form before you start taking felbamate.

Your doctor or pharmacist will give you the manufacturer’s patient information sheet (Medication Guide) when you begin treatment with felbamate and each time you refill your prescription. Read the information carefully and ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions. You can also visit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website (http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm085729.htm) or the manufacturer’s website to obtain the Medication Guide.

🔔 Why is this medication prescribed?

Felbamate is used to treat certain seizures in adults and children with epilepsy whose seizures have not improved with other treatments. It is used alone or in combination with other medications to treat partial seizures in adults. It is used in combination with other medications to treat partial and generalized seizures in children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (a disorder that causes seizures and developmental delays). Felbamate is in a class of medications called anticonvulsants. It works by decreasing abnormal activity in the brain.

🔔 How should this medicine be used?

Felbamate comes as a tablet and a suspension (liquid) to take by mouth. It is usually taken with or without food three or four times a day. Take felbamate at around the same times every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take felbamate exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor.

Shake the liquid well before each use to mix the medication evenly.

Your doctor will probably start you on a low dose of felbamate and gradually increase your dose every one or two weeks.

Felbamate controls seizures but does not cure them. Continue to take felbamate even if you feel well. Do not stop taking felbamate without talking to your doctor, even if you experience side effects such as unusual changes in behavior or mood. If you suddenly stop taking felbamate, your seizures may become worse. Your doctor will probably decrease your dose gradually.

🔔 Other uses for this medicine

This medication should not be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.