Oxetol 300 Tablet: Uses, Composition, Side Effects & FAQs

Oxetol 300 is a tablet for focal seizures, the kind that starts in one part of the brain. It contains oxcarbazepine 300 mg, which calms the burst of electrical signals behind a seizure. It is a Schedule H prescription medicine in India, usually taken twice a day.

Oxetol 300 is a single-ingredient anti-seizure tablet, not a combination product. The 300 is the strength: each tablet holds 300 mg of oxcarbazepine. Oxetol also comes as 150, 450 and 600 mg tablets, a long-acting XR tablet and a syrup; this page covers the plain 300 mg tablet.

Check the strength printed on your strip, and do not swap it for the XR tablet on your own.

Every nerve cell has tiny gates that let sodium in and out. Oxcarbazepine settles these gates, so a burst of firing is less likely to start in one part of the brain or spread across it.

Doctors usually prescribe Oxetol 300 for:

• Focal seizures in adults, as the only medicine, where a fit starts in one part of the brain.
• Focal seizures in adults, alongside other medicines, when one medicine is not enough.
• Focal seizures in children aged 2 to 16, as an add-on to other treatment.
• Focal seizures in children aged 4 to 16, as the only seizure medicine.

It is not a treatment for every kind of fit, and it can make generalised seizures worse, especially in children. It is also sometimes used for bipolar disorder, outside its approved use.

Using it for the wrong seizure type can make fits more frequent rather than fewer.

1. Swallow the tablet whole with a glass of water, with or without food.
2. Take it at the same two times each day, about 12 hours apart.
3. Keep taking it even when you feel well. Missing doses can let a fit break through.
4. Do not stop suddenly. Stopping can trigger a seizure or a long run of seizures.

Your doctor sets the dose from your age, weight, kidney function and the other medicines you take. In adults, treatment usually starts at 300 mg twice a day.

The dose is then stepped up — weekly when it is added to another medicine, and every third day when it is the first one. Add-on treatment commonly settles at 600 mg twice a day, and up to 1,200 mg twice a day is used when Oxetol 300 becomes the only seizure medicine.

Never increase the dose on your own. A bigger jump does not help faster and makes dizziness, sleepiness and double vision more likely.

If your kidneys filter poorly, treatment starts at half the usual dose and rises slowly. Children are dosed by body weight, and only a paediatrician should set the amount. If someone takes too many tablets, go to the nearest hospital emergency department at once and carry the strip with you.

Take the tablet as soon as you remember, unless the next dose is almost due. Then skip the missed one. Never take two tablets to make up for it.

The medicine builds to a steady level within a few days, but the dose is usually stepped up over a few weeks before it is fully working. Judge the benefit over weeks rather than days; if fits continue or get worse, tell your doctor rather than changing anything yourself.

Store the strips at room temperature, away from heat, light and damp. Keep them away from children, and do not use them after the expiry date.

Most people take Oxetol 300 without trouble. When side effects happen, they are usually mild and ease once the dose is steady.

Common and mild:

• Dizziness or a light-headed feeling
• Sleepiness or tiredness
• Double vision or blurred sight
• Unsteady walking or clumsiness
• Nausea or vomiting
• Headache
• Shaking (tremor) or unusual eye movements

Rare but serious - get medical help right away:

• A spreading rash, blistering or peeling skin, or sores in the mouth - stop the medicine and get emergency help right away. This is the one time stopping at once is right.
• Fever with a rash, swollen glands or swelling of the face
• Confusion, bad headache, vomiting or more fits than usual
• Thoughts of harming yourself, or a sudden change in mood
• Fever, sore throat or easy bruising

Dizziness, double vision and unsteadiness come from oxcarbazepine itself. They are most likely in the first weeks and after each dose increase.

• Anyone allergic to oxcarbazepine or any other ingredient in the tablet.
• Anyone allergic to eslicarbazepine acetate, a closely related medicine.

Tell your doctor before taking Oxetol 300 if you:

• Have kidney disease (the dose usually needs to be lower).
• Have liver disease (your doctor may check your liver).
• Have had an allergic reaction to carbamazepine, a related medicine (a quarter to a third of them also react to oxcarbazepine).
• Have had low sodium, take another medicine that lowers sodium, or are over 65 (sodium needs closer watching).
• Are of Indian, Thai, Chinese or Filipino ancestry (a gene variant raises the risk of a serious skin reaction).
• Have had thoughts of self-harm or a mood disorder.
• Are pregnant, planning a pregnancy, or breastfeeding (the medicine may harm the unborn baby; human data have not shown more birth defects, and your doctor will weigh the benefit).
• Have a child under 2 years (the medicine is not approved at this age).

Tell your doctor about every medicine, supplement or home remedy you use. Alcohol adds to the sleepiness and unsteadiness, so it is best avoided.

A seizure medicine does not replace urgent care. Get help quickly if:

• A fit lasts more than 5 minutes, or fits come one after another without recovery — call 112.
• Skin blisters, peels or breaks out in sores, or you have fever with a spreading rash.
• Confusion, severe headache, vomiting or fits that suddenly become more frequent.
• Thoughts of harming yourself, or a sudden major change in mood.
• You are pregnant, may be pregnant, or are planning a pregnancy.
• Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, a tight chest or trouble breathing — call 112.

If you have thoughts of harming yourself, call Tele-MANAS on 14416 or 1800-891-4416, a free 24×7 Government of India helpline. In an emergency, call 112 or an ambulance on 108.

Oxetol 300 is a twice-daily tablet for focal seizures, and it works best when the dose is built up slowly and taken on time. Dizziness, sleepiness and double vision are the usual complaints, and they often settle as your body adjusts.