Some people have seizures every day and some only have one or two per year.
So there is a very wide variation in frequency of seizures appearing
although there can be some associated symptoms in-between full-blown
seizures for some people.  So, if the associated symptoms decrease in
frequency or intensity, that is improvement, and if the full-blown seizures
decrease in frequency, that is improvement.

Every person is different, so I can only speak for myself.  I was having
symptoms daily and frequent full-blown seizures, and it took less than a
month to get excellent control.  They gave me Tegretol, but had to take me
off that because of an allergic reaction.  The next medication was Dilantin,
which took about eight months to establish the dose that eliminated all the
symptoms plus the actual seizures.  There were a lot of Dilantin
adjustments, always increasing the dose, and there was always some
improvement with those increases.  With some of these medications, they
start you on the lowest dose possible and increase it if needed.  The dose
for many epilepsy medications is based on the patient's reported symptoms
and blood level and other factors (age, weight, etc.).

Get a pill case that holds at least a week's worth of your medication.  I
have a 7-day pill case but it has 28 compartments (four compartments per
day).  Because I don't need all those compartments, I use the bottom two
compartments for the second week's meds.  So, my pill case holds two weeks
of meds, which is great because it is annoying to keep filling the thing.  A
pill case is really the only satisfactory method to make sure you don't miss
a dose.

I have never had problems with sleepiness and my epilepsy drugs.  I have had
lethargy with allergy drugs though but it seemed like my body eventually
became used to that.

Barb

Howdy!

I've never noticed ANY improvement in spite of the fact that they've been
jackin' my meds around for 35 years!

I've just learned to accept the fact that my epilepsy is just a facet of who
I am.

Seizure control (or lack of) is specific to each individual case.
Whwn starting on a drug, the neurologist will titrate (increase)
the dosage based on the pharmaceutical company's recommendations.
Some people respond to a dose within the lower therapeutic range while
others may have to takes dosages in what's considered the toxic range
(as long as they can handle the side effects).

The side effects of anticonvulsants vary, depending on the drug and the
dosage. Many neurologist report that it takes about 2-3 weeks to adjust
to a new medication; however, this can differ from person to person and
from drug to drug.

If your medication makes you sleepy, be sure to talk with your neurologist
about taking anything to help you stay awake. Stimulants can be very
problematic
when someone is taking AEDs.

Good luck!

Michael