Q: My 17-year-old daughter had an epileptic attack twice within a month. We started medical treatment after the second attack. She is under Tegrital 200. She started with Tegrital 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 at night. She is also taking Folivite and Neuribion daily. There has not been any significant side effect because of these medications. The brain MRI did not show any significant abnormality. The EEG of the brain showed a mild abnormal behaviour in the left side of the brain. This epileptic fit was diagnosed as genralised type based on the symptomes. During early childhood she was susceptible to upper respiratory infection and was prescribed ciprofloxacin in severe conditions. Could this be one of the precipitating cause of seizures? Is the time at which seizure come fixed? In the present case, both the seizures occurred at the same time. Is it possible to ascertain that the seizure would stop after taking the medicines? How many days will it take the medicine to stop the seizures? What is the different between Tegrital and Tegrital-CR and which is better?

A:Ciprofloxacin, no where in the world, is permitted to be given to children under the age of 12 years. The use of this drug for throat infection was scientifically not correct and unnecessarily exposed the child to side effects, some of them quite serious. It is true that one of the side effects of ciprofloxacin is convulsions but they generally occur when the drug is being given. Seizures can occur at any time and the fact that in the case of your daughter they ocurred at the same time is purely accidental. Medication will need to be continued for some years and then gradually withdrawn. You should be mentally prepared for a three-year span initially. Tegrital-CR is the controlled (slow) release formulation while Tegrital is the immediate release product. Otherwise there is no difference. The name of the medicine is carbamazepine. Tegrital is the brand name.