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Mood and Behaviour changes

Tue, 04/30/2013 - 19:25

Hello everyone!

 

I am writing because I am trying to figure out what's going on with my son. He is 9 years old and is taking 375 mg of Keppra XR per day for left temporal lobe epilepsy with complex partial seizures. He has been on Keppra for close to 5 months and we've been noticing emotional, mood and behaviour changes that fluctuate so much throughout the day. He's previously taken carbamazepine and lamictal. He was never an emotional or a child who had "bad" behaviours before his diagnosis. He was always pretty laid back and easy going but recently (in the last few weeks), he goes from being withdrawn and needing his space, to really hyper and picking on his little brother and sister (which he never did before), to crying about things that don't make sense, to being easily irritated. He seems to have a lack of interest in most things (including Disneyland!) and his anxiety is at an all time high. He becomes obsessive about things like snakes and tornadoes and will refuse to go outside in the unlikely event he will come across a snake (has never happened) or if the weather changes, he's constantly checking the skies for any sign of a tornado (again, never happened) - and these are only a few. Sorry if this seems really choppy, just trying to fit as much as I can in. I'm not really sure if it's his epilepsy, a medication side effect or if I'm just reading too much into it and he's just developing into a "pre teen". I hate talking to his doctors because we've seen 4 throughout our journey and none of them have a clear idea of what is going on with him and all have different and very drastic opinions of what is going on with him and they all make me feel like I'm over reacting although I feel like I know my children the best - ecspecially when it comes to behaviour and moods. Do any of you have any insight? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Comments

Re: Mood and Behaviour changes

Submitted by livinwithep on Thu, 2013-05-02 - 20:40
i was on keppra and depakote. the only combo that work for me and ive, tried dilantin, trilantin, topamax, vimpate, limictal, lyrica, zalepon,and a couple others. even tho it was the only combo that worked my life became a nightmare, one minute i would be fine and the next i was angry and the next i was depressed and didnt want to live. its not worth the sidd affects that it caused i would rather have the seizurs then live like that and thats what i chose. my only options left is surgery since ill never use keppra again. get him off that crap and try some different meds.

Re: Mood and Behaviour changes

Submitted by livinwithep on Thu, 2013-05-02 - 20:53
i was on keppra and depakote. the only combo that work for me and ive, tried dilantin, trilantin, topamax, vimpate, limictal, lyrica, zalepon,and a couple others. even tho it was the only combo that worked my life became a nightmare, one minute i would be fine and the next i was angry and the next i was depressed and didnt want to live. its not worth the sidd affects that it caused i would rather have the seizurs then live like that and thats what i chose. my only options left is surgery since ill never use keppra again. get him off that crap and try some different meds.

Re: Mood and Behaviour changes

Submitted by Sakiri on Sat, 2013-05-04 - 07:26
Hi. You story is the same story of my daughter, 11 years old, taking Trileptal since 2008, as soon as we start med her behavior change dramatically, actually she was doing the same what is you son going throw: faiting with kids on playground,scary of tornado, storms,eartqueaqes, lightening, tendershtorm etc, crying for no reason (one day she was crying for 5 hours strayed, and we can not to do anything to cheer her up - even Disneyland! how parents think!), then we had a huge problem with the school, she was scary to go there every morning she wake up at 6 am and start to cry teachers, social workers, principal, nurse at school just with open words tell me all together that I am overreacting, finally i became a crazy mother, that nobody wont's to pay attention to my words. We finished with huge fever at our pediatrics's office and she gives my daughter a 3 month of homeschooling notices, we had a teacher who came 5 hours per week and teach her at home. At that time I found Advocare in NJ and Dr. Topper, who observe her behavior and proscribe Depakene, as soon as we start that medicine, my real daughter came back. My opinion that changing behaivor and mood swings is the side effect of the medication and if you read carefully the side effects of you med you will find this words like "mood changing, suicide thought, report immidiatly to you Dr." You need to found a Dr. who will work with you, and that will be a chalenge. Good Luck

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