From Tuesday, Pharmac will stop funding two drugs affecting thousands of people with epilepsy.
The decision to switch everyone onto the same drug has advocates frustrated and disappointed.
One four-year-old girl, Mathilda, was diagnosed with the condition that affects one in 100 New Zealanders a year ago.
"Before she started on her meds, she was having between five and 20 seizures a day. She sometimes stopped breathing," mum Bella Gubay said.
Now there's concern the medication that stopped her seizures are being changed in a brand switch by Pharmac, which will see only one generic drug, Logem, funded from October 1.
"We've been told by our paediatric neurologist that he doesn't want my daughter to switch and Pharmac have overridden that," Ms Gubay said.
It's a switch Epilepsy NZ opposed, forcing a 12-month delay of the rollout. Its president said patients who've been stable on other drugs should not be changed.
"It's unnecessary anxiety and stress for people with epilepsy and acting as advocates for people with epilepsy, we would have just much rather they'd not had to have gone through this," Epilepsy NZ president Dr Peter Bergin said.
But Pharmac maintains Logem is safe and the same as other anti-epileptics.
Pharmac's neurological sub-committee's Dr John Mottershead said, "We don't believe that there will be, for Pharmacalogical reasons, adverse reactions because of switching to Logem."
Not all health authorities agree, however.
Documents released under the Official Information Act show Medsafe considered the change "a potential significant safety issue". They said patients with controlled epilepsy should not change brands, but must be closely monitored if they have to.
"There is uncertainty about the equivalence of the medication," Mr Bergin said. "Some people may have seizures after changing their medication and it may be as result of changing the medication."
Neurologists say the return of seizures can be devastating for stable patients. It can mean the loss of their drivers licence for up to one year, the loss of jobs and independence.
Ms Gubay said she is in contact with 25 people who have already switched medications and are suffering.
"The level of anxiety is incredibly high because it's so hard just to get an appointment with a neurologist in New Zealand," she said.
However, Mr Mottershead countered, "There's been some very important new research that's given extra confidence to everyone that it is safe to switch between different brands of lamotrigine."
For now, Mathilda will remain on her original medication.
Patients who are concerned about the rollout have been advised to speak with their doctor.
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