Questions To Ask Your Healthcare Provider | BANZEL.com

Questions to ask your healthcare provider

When someone you care for has seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), it raises a number of questions. You may be frustrated, concerned that your expectations aren’t being met. Others may feel that they could get the answers they want, if only they knew the right questions to ask.

BANZEL (rufinamide) is a prescription medication approved for the adjunctive treatment of seizures associated with LGS in children 4 years and older and adults. Learn more about BANZEL.

If you have questions about BANZEL or seizures associated with LGS, please ask your healthcare provider.

If you are unsure how to begin a conversation with your healthcare provider, you may want to consider the following questions:

  • What treatments are available to help reduce the frequency and/or severity of seizures?
  • Would taking an additional medication help with seizure control?
  • What should I know about suicide risks with all antiepileptic drugs (AEDs)?
  • What should I know about risks associated with taking BANZEL?
  • Could adding BANZEL to my loved one’s existing medication help reduce seizures?
  • What should I do if my loved one misses a dose of one or more of his or her medications?
  • What are the side effects of taking multiple medications for seizure control?
  • Would adding BANZEL increase cognitive side effects for my loved one?
  • What should I do if my child experiences a side effect with BANZEL?
  • Could certain vitamins, dietary supplements, or other medications affect how medications for seizures work?
  • Could a special diet help my loved one?
  • Could surgery help my loved one and, if so, what are the risks?

To make the most of your conversation with your healthcare provider, download and print this discussion guide (PDF) to share on your next visit. For full prescribing information for BANZEL, click on the Product Information link above.

Please ask your healthcare provider if you have any questions regarding the BANZEL
Medication Guide.

The FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader needs to be installed on your computer in order to view and print these documents. If you do not already have this program, visit the Adobe Web site (www.adobe.com). (Note: you will be leaving the BANZEL.com Web site.)

Important Safety Information

There are risks associated with the use of BANZEL that you should know about. We encourage you to talk to your healthcare provider about these risks.

  • Patients with a history of Familial Short QT syndrome should not be treated with BANZEL. Talk to your healthcare provider if you are unsure if this affects you or your loved one.
  • All medications to treat seizures, including BANZEL, may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people, about 1 in 500. Call your healthcare provider right away if you or your loved one experiences new or worsening symptoms of depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, thoughts or actions about suicide or self-harm, aggression, agitation, anger, anxiety, or irritability.
  • Use of BANZEL has been associated with side effects such as sleepiness or feeling tired, difficulty with coordination, dizziness, and problems with walking or movement.
    • –Alcohol, in combination with BANZEL, may increase or worsen these side effects.
  • Call your healthcare provider if you or your loved one experiences a rash. This can be a sign of a more serious condition, such as multi-organ hypersensitivity reaction.
  • You or your loved one should take BANZEL only as prescribed. Do not stop taking BANZEL without first talking to your healthcare provider. Stopping BANZEL suddenly can cause serious problems.
  • Tell your healthcare provider about all the medications you or your loved one takes, including prescription and non-prescription medications, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Using BANZEL with certain medications can affect each other, causing side effects.
  • In studies, the most commonly observed (≥10%) side effects with BANZEL vs placebo (sugar pill with no medicine in it), respectively, were headache (25% vs 20%), dizziness (17% vs 10%), feeling tired (15% vs 9%), sleepiness (13% vs 9%), and nausea (11% vs 7%). Most of these side effects were mild to moderate in severity and typically went away in a short amount of time.

This Web site contains information relating to various medical conditions and treatment. Such information is provided for educational purposes only and is not meant to be a substitute for the advice of a physician or other health care professionals. You should not use this information for diagnosing a health problem or disease. In order for you to make intelligent health care decisions, you should always consult with a physician or other health care provider for you, or your loved one's, personal medical needs.

All quotes included in this Web site represent the individual experience of some doctors, some patients, and their caregivers. Individual responses to treatment may vary.

This site is intended for residents of the United States only. Any products discussed herein may have different product labeling in different countries.

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