Does Trileptal Cause Insomnia?
Trileptal® (
oxcarbazepine) is a prescription medicine used to treat epileptic
seizures. As with most other medicines, there are several possible side effects with Trileptal.
Insomnia appears to be one of them. This is based on clinical studies during which insomnia was a commonly reported side effect.
What Is Insomnia and How Common Is It With Trileptal?
People with insomnia have one or more of the following symptoms:
- Difficulty falling asleep
- Waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep
- Waking up too early in the morning
- Having unrefreshing sleep.
Before medicines are approved, they must go through several clinical studies in which thousands of people are given a particular medicine. In some studies, these people may be compared to a group of people who are not given the medicine (these people take a sugar pill, or placebo). In these studies, the side effects are always documented. As a result, it is possible to see which side effects occur, how often they appear, and how they compare to the group not taking the medicine. Other studies may also document side effects but not compare them to a group taking a sugar pill.
Insomnia was reported in up to 6 percent of people taking Trileptal. In one study, up to 1 percent of people taking the placebo reported insomnia. Other studies did not compare this
epilepsy medication with a placebo.
