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Keppra and elevated liver enzymes
Wed, 01/05/2011 - 16:51I have mild partial and complex temporal lobe seizures, and have been taking Keppra (generic) since 2006. I take 1000 mg 2x/day. My neurologist had me have my blood tested last year and this year, and last year it was fine. This year my liver enzymes were considerably elevated. He told me to avoid alcohol, not to take any Tylenol and continue the Keppra as prescribed. Subsequent liver tests have shown an improvement, but not back to normal.
I also seem to have developed a lot of allergies since 2006. I have hives on a regular basis--I get them from aspirin, ibuprophen, and clothing with elastic or materials such as Polarfleece. I never had them before.
I don't trust the Keppra any more. My doctor said that Keppra doesn't cause liver functions to be abnormal, but orders these liver function tests yearly. Why would he do that if it never causes problems?
I've cut my Keppra dose in half (on my own-without notifying my doctor) and cut drinking almost out completely. I never take Tylenol anyway, so that's not an issue. I have another blood test later this month and I'll be interested to see how it is.
Has anyone else experienced abnormal liver function tests from Keppra? If so, what was the outcome?
Deb
Re: Keppra and elevated liver enzymes
Submitted by EEMAC on Mon, 2011-01-10 - 16:26
Deb,
I think that we know our bodies way better than our doctors sometimes. I, too, lowered my dosage of Keppra without my doctors consent due to the new symptom of migraines entering my life. The research I did suggested that if the liver is compromised, you can suffer from migraines. Like you, using my noggin, put two and two together to decide that the keppra was probably the source of my liver issues and also my migraines. Yes, it does affect the liver and like you, I was told by my neurologist that i must be crazy because it does not. But why do they test for the med levels then and feel my liver at every appointment? Hmm... I am happy to say that my migraines have decreased significantly after cutting my dosage. My MD kept raising my dosage while I was pregnant because of the weight gain but never lowered it after I had lost the baby weight. Thankfully my husband is a pharmacist and he helped me to come up with a weaning plan so I wasn't just lowering it at once. When I told my neurologist he said that was fine as long as my auras were under control. I am interested though to find that others are having issues on the generic? I never had migraines on the brand but started having them after I was put on the generic. My husband laughs at me if I bring it up because as a pharmacist, he is trained to tell people that they are as safe as the brand. I am a chemist and so as a fellow scientist I know that the active ingredient is the same but I also know that the other ingredients are slightly different. I'm off to search for any other generic keppra issues now! Good luck with your next test Deb! I'm glad you are feeling better.
Deb,
I think that we know our bodies way better than our doctors sometimes. I, too, lowered my dosage of Keppra without my doctors consent due to the new symptom of migraines entering my life. The research I did suggested that if the liver is compromised, you can suffer from migraines. Like you, using my noggin, put two and two together to decide that the keppra was probably the source of my liver issues and also my migraines. Yes, it does affect the liver and like you, I was told by my neurologist that i must be crazy because it does not. But why do they test for the med levels then and feel my liver at every appointment? Hmm... I am happy to say that my migraines have decreased significantly after cutting my dosage. My MD kept raising my dosage while I was pregnant because of the weight gain but never lowered it after I had lost the baby weight. Thankfully my husband is a pharmacist and he helped me to come up with a weaning plan so I wasn't just lowering it at once. When I told my neurologist he said that was fine as long as my auras were under control. I am interested though to find that others are having issues on the generic? I never had migraines on the brand but started having them after I was put on the generic. My husband laughs at me if I bring it up because as a pharmacist, he is trained to tell people that they are as safe as the brand. I am a chemist and so as a fellow scientist I know that the active ingredient is the same but I also know that the other ingredients are slightly different. I'm off to search for any other generic keppra issues now! Good luck with your next test Deb! I'm glad you are feeling better.