If you are taking medication

For anti-seizure medication (ASM) to work at its best, it needs to be taken regularly at around the same time or times each day. 

However, it is not uncommon for people to forget to take medication or accidentally miss a dose.

Some people with epilepsy have memory problems related to their epilepsy which can make remembering to take medication difficult. Some people may also take too much medication if they forget that they have already taken a dose. 

For most people, missing one dose on a rare occasion is unlikely to cause a seizure. If you miss a dose, or take too much medication, the patient information leaflet may tell you what to do. In general, if a dose is missed and the ASM is usually taken:

• once a day - take the forgotten dose as soon as you remember it; or
• twice a day - take the forgotten dose, if you remember, within six hours after it was due. Otherwise don’t take the forgotten dose and just take the next dose at the due time.

It is important that, if you miss a dose, you do not take twice as much at the next dose time. Taking a larger dose than normal could cause side effects. If you find that you regularly forget your medication, there are memory aids and techniques that may help. 

I find it difficult to take my ASM - are alternative forms available?

Your specialist or pharmacist can tell you whether there are alternative forms for your ASM. Some ASMs come as tablets, and capsules, liquids and syrups, sprinkles and granules (which can be added to food), and suppositories. Some ASMs are available as ‘slow release’ forms which release their active ingredient more slowly in your body than non-slow release forms. 

For babies, some medication can be dissolved in water. Giving it this way means you can check that they have taken all of it. You can ask your pharmacist about how medication can be taken.

It is difficult to get to the pharmacy to collect my medication, or to my GP for a repeat prescription - what might help me? 

Some surgeries and pharmacies offer services that might help, such as repeat prescriptions and home deliveries. 

Should I take another dose if I’m sick?

If you have been sick or have diarrhoea, this can affect how well your medication will work. Whether you should take the dose of medication again may depend on how soon after taking your medication you were sick. In general the following applies. 

• If you are sick within one hour of taking medication, take another dose.
• If you are sick more than one hour after taking medication, wait until your next dose is due before taking it.

The Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) for your medication may have more information or you could talk to your pharmacist about what to do.

Epilepsy Society is grateful to Dr F J Rugg-Gunn, Consultant Neurologist & Honorary Associate Professor Clinical Lead, Chalfont Centre for Epilepsy, who reviewed this information.

Information updated: July 2024