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How Long to Feel the Side Effects of Keppra?

Thu, 07/24/2008 - 07:57
I have been on Keppra 48 hours and I was wondering how long it takes to feel the side effects? I have felt the drowsiness within hours of the first dose. I know the first month is supposed to be the worst. Can anyone tell me when I will feel the side effects at their worst? I have been on Dilantin and know what an idot I became on that drug. Since I have a technical job, I need my brain to function! It seems there are very few "success" stories related to Keppra, as everyone is talking about the side effects. Or perhaps that is simply the nature of fourms and drug reviews - you tend to have users with negative reviews more likely to post than users with little side effects. I am definitely worried about the mood swings and increased depression typically associated with Keppra, so I am hoping it will not hit me hard. I have never had a weight problem, so I am hoping Keppra will not affect me in that way either. I technically do not have epilepsy since I have only had one seizure. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. This is my first post! Don't mind my username - it is a guy from a Three Stooges episode ("Jip The People").

Comments

Re: How Long to Feel the Side Effects of Keppra?

Submitted by 3Hours2Live on Wed, 2008-12-10 - 01:14
I don't know if using Keppra as "just in time" or "as needed" with Dilantin is perfectly safe at all, but I'm trying to stop my Dilantin and use Keppra only intermittently. Keppra: A Magic Bullet, discussion/979347 (so far, listed on top for this site's Google search for "Bullet") briefly delves into this, and my amateur attempts to try to make it work. My MD is not speaking to me over my prescriptions, so I am on my own in that sense, and staying in a "less than or equal to maximum" realm of prescription directions.

Re: How Long to Feel the Side Effects of Keppra?

Submitted by Birdie on Sat, 2008-11-15 - 00:34

I've been on Keppra now for 2 Months.  1,000 mg. twice daily.  I feel more shakey than before, and have the double vision which was also a side effect from the Lamictal.  Anyone else feel more shakey?  I also take Tegretol XR.  I've only had very small seizures, if you could call them that.  I feel the aura come and am able to talk myself out of having one.  Which is great.  Does a B6 vitamin really help the memory?  I could use it also.  I have to write things down all the time. 

Keep well everyone.  Later 

I've been on Keppra now for 2 Months.  1,000 mg. twice daily.  I feel more shakey than before, and have the double vision which was also a side effect from the Lamictal.  Anyone else feel more shakey?  I also take Tegretol XR.  I've only had very small seizures, if you could call them that.  I feel the aura come and am able to talk myself out of having one.  Which is great.  Does a B6 vitamin really help the memory?  I could use it also.  I have to write things down all the time. 

Keep well everyone.  Later 

Re: How Long to Feel the Side Effects of Keppra?

Submitted by kmd1043 on Sat, 2008-11-15 - 13:36

I was on the monitoring unit for three days (not in Boston though, sorry) and it was to actually diagnose me with epilepsy. When I first went to the neurologist and told them of my symptoms and had the first EEG they told me I was having panic attacks and to destress my life. I didn't have a seizure during that EEG which I'm sure is why they came to that conclusion. After a month going by though and my episodes getting worse is when they did the video EEG. I was in the hospital for three days hooked up to the graph, constant monitoring, under video surveilance and was given a push button thing to be able to mark the tapes when i was having a seizure. If it was a seizure where i went out, my parents were there to push the button. It was actually kind of relaxing being there, because I was figuring out what was actually going on with me and didn't have to keep guessing anymore. It also wasn't like i was tied down to the bed for 72 hours. I was able to move around, take walks around the floor, go to the bathroom by myself and so on.

Now on to Keppra. I don't remember which spot in held in the line of my six different medications, but i do remember it was the worst one. I think it was probably about three weeks, maybe not that long it was quite a while ago, before i was on the full dosage of it, which was 750mg twice a day. When i first started i would snap about anything, just go off on my family and friends about nothing. I had no fine motor skill, which made doing labs in chemisty quite the task. I would have to reread pages of my textbooks over and over because i had no short term memory. I lost my appetite, and when i finally got to the full dosage of it I was in bed for a week. I didn't have any strength because i wasn't able to keep any food down. All i ate that week was a saltine cracker and a cup of chicken broth. I ended losing 15 pounds in one week and when my doctors heard about that they took me off it immediately. So those were all my side effects from Keppra and to top it off it didn't even stop my seizures.

Hope everything works out :) 

Katy

I was on the monitoring unit for three days (not in Boston though, sorry) and it was to actually diagnose me with epilepsy. When I first went to the neurologist and told them of my symptoms and had the first EEG they told me I was having panic attacks and to destress my life. I didn't have a seizure during that EEG which I'm sure is why they came to that conclusion. After a month going by though and my episodes getting worse is when they did the video EEG. I was in the hospital for three days hooked up to the graph, constant monitoring, under video surveilance and was given a push button thing to be able to mark the tapes when i was having a seizure. If it was a seizure where i went out, my parents were there to push the button. It was actually kind of relaxing being there, because I was figuring out what was actually going on with me and didn't have to keep guessing anymore. It also wasn't like i was tied down to the bed for 72 hours. I was able to move around, take walks around the floor, go to the bathroom by myself and so on.

Now on to Keppra. I don't remember which spot in held in the line of my six different medications, but i do remember it was the worst one. I think it was probably about three weeks, maybe not that long it was quite a while ago, before i was on the full dosage of it, which was 750mg twice a day. When i first started i would snap about anything, just go off on my family and friends about nothing. I had no fine motor skill, which made doing labs in chemisty quite the task. I would have to reread pages of my textbooks over and over because i had no short term memory. I lost my appetite, and when i finally got to the full dosage of it I was in bed for a week. I didn't have any strength because i wasn't able to keep any food down. All i ate that week was a saltine cracker and a cup of chicken broth. I ended losing 15 pounds in one week and when my doctors heard about that they took me off it immediately. So those were all my side effects from Keppra and to top it off it didn't even stop my seizures.

Hope everything works out :) 

Katy

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