Thursday, January 1, 2015

Use and side effects of Absenor

Absenor is a brand name of Sodium Valproate. It is prescribed in various mental health problems such as

1. Bipolar affective disorder with mania and mixed episodes.
2. Complex partial seizures that occur either in isolation or in association with other types of seizures.
3. Simple and complex absence seizures.
4. Other seizure types
5. Migraine
6. Maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder
7. Bipolar depression
8. Psychosis

Common Side Effects of Absenor

1. Sedation, tremor, dizziness, abnormal movements and headache
2. Abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, reduced appetite, constipation, heart burn and weight gain
3. Loss of hair and curly regrowth
4. Polycystic ovaries (controversial)
5. Increased androgens, increased insulin levels leading lower blood sugar, lipid abnormalities (controversial)
6. Decreased bone mineral density (controversial)

Life Threatening or Dangerous Side Effects of Absenor

1. Rarely Liver toxicity with liver failure. Sometimes liver failure can become severe and fatal, particularly in children under 2 years.
2. Rarely pancreatitis, sometimes fatal

Weight Gain associated with Absenor

1. Many people experience weight gain
2. Can become a health problem in some people
3. Can be controlled by adhering to proper dietary advice and following a weight reduction program.

Sedation

1. Sedation is Frequent and can be significant.
2. Some patients may not tolerate it
3. Usually goes off over time
4. Can reemerge as dose increases and then wear off again over time
5. Not recommend to drive vehicles or operate machinery until you know how Absenor acts on your body.

How to mitigate side effects of Absenor
Following advices must be followed after seeing your doctor.

1. Take at night to reduce daytime sedation
2. Switch to long acting preparation
3. Lower the dose
4. Switch to another agent
5. Propranolol 20–30 mg 2–3 times/day may reduce tremor
6. Multivitamins fortified with zinc and selenium may help reduce hair loss










































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