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KEPPRA TOXICITY

Tue, 04/24/2007 - 21:19
A week ago yesterday, April 16th, my daughter started having symptoms of a toxic level to Keppra, the anti-seizure medication she was taking. She said she had been very tired for a couple of weeks. Her dose was 1000mg twide daily. She said she felt lightheaded & dizzy. She said she was having trouble processing information---like she was "high". That next morning she had a Keppra level drawn. Keppra was decreasd to 500 twice daily. By the next day she was having trouble speaking: slurred speech, speech arrest & stuttering with unsteady gait. At that point she went to the ER. She had a CT of her brain which was normal. She was admitted to the hosp. She had an EEG which was abnormal. She had a MRI of the Brain & an MRA, both which were normal. On 4-20 Keppra came back > 150. (Normal is 20-30). Last Keppra level was 3-24-07 & it was 48. The doctors there have never seen a Keppra level this high. Is it possible to network & see how long it will take the Keppra to leave her body? She has to walk with a walker. Her legs are too weak to support her without the walker. Her speech remains impaired with speech arrest & stuttering, plus it is very slow. ANYONE EVER HEARD OF SUCH A HIGH LEVEL??? Any treatment???

Comments

Re: KEPPRA TOXICITY

Submitted by spiz on Tue, 2007-04-24 - 23:17
informedmom, I've never been on Keppra but thought I'd put some links that might help until someone who is familiar with your questions answer. This link on dosage for children states that: Doctors figure out how much medicine to give to young children based mostly on their weight. To keep side effects at a minimum, the doctor probably will prescribe a low dose to start with and increase it slowly. Children usually start with a dose of 10 milligrams (mg) for each kilogram (kg, about 2.2 pounds) of their body weight per day. This would be 250 mg per day for a 55-pound child, for instance. Half this amount is usually given two times a day. After a gradual increase, most children do best taking about 20 to 40 mg per kg per day, Adjusted for weight, this is a little higher than the adult dose because children's bodies eliminate Keppra more quickly. This link gives the most common side effects . There is more info located on the right-hand side of the link page too. Hope this helps some. Take care! -Spiz

Re: Re: KEPPRA TOXICITY

Submitted by informedmom on Wed, 2007-04-25 - 06:28
Thanks. I have gone on the UCB Pharma sites & have gotten side effects. They say loss of motor coordination is a side effect. It says that with discontinuation it may take 1-2 weeks for some side effects to subside. My daughter is a college student & has only 2 more weeks to finish this semester but she has been incapitated by the incident. The Keppra was discontinued April 20th, 2007. Grateful for any help...

Re: Re: Re: KEPPRA TOXICITY

Submitted by daydreamer410 on Wed, 2007-04-25 - 18:41
Hi I am 26 years old and started Keppra at the end of February. I take 500 mg, morning and night. The side effects did become easier for me to handle after 3 or 4 weeks. In comparison to Topamax which I also tried the side effects were favorable in comparison. I have not had the issues that you are describing but I do have problems with coordination, typing, processing information, those types of things. They are not dibilitating just irritating. I haven't had a Keppra level taken yet. I am amazed that her level became so high so quickly. How often do neurologist do the levels? I haven't been diagnosed for very long and still relatively new to this.

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