weaning off Dilantin and on to Keppra

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I am currently being weaned off of Dilantin and on to Keppra XR. I have been taking 200mg to 300mg of Dilantin daily for over 20 years and my seizures have always been well controlled and I have had limited side effects. My neurologist recently suggested I switch to a newer drug as she said long term use of Dilantin can cause bone loss and liver damage. I was in my final week of weaning off of Dilantin and taking a 100mg Dilantin every other day and two 500mg Keppra XR daily. I began having terrible problems with numbness and tingling in my fingers and hands. My job is very detail oriented and I type a lot so this has become a huge problem for me. I have also had trouble with severe drowsiness which usually leads to irritability. I finally called my neurologist yesterday as I was having physical difficulty with typing and functioning at work and was finding myself very emotional. She suggested Dilantin withdrawl may have been causing the problem with my hands and I am now going back to two 100mg Dilantin a day with an eventual 6 week weaning while staying on the full dose of two 500mg Keppra XR daily. I took two Dilantin yesterday and I do feel like my hands feel better today. I am also experiencing a heightened sense of smell which I have never experienced before. It isn't a constant issue, but I do find myself overwhelmed with smells several times a day. This is a new thing so I am thinking it must be the Keppra. It is really troubling to me. I actually took a "mental health" day today from work because I just needed some personal time to deal with my frustrations. I am feeling very tired, sleepy and upset that I am having such difficulty with small everyday tasks. No one else really understands what it is like to feel this way. Has anyone else experienced these symptoms? Please tell me they will go away.

Comments

Re: weaning off Dilantin and on to Keppra

Submitted by toddswed2169 on Sat, 2013-06-15 - 13:19

Hi I would recommend getting off Keppra. I currently take it and it has been a bad experience. High Anxiety issues, caused me to lose my job. I don't have others to get objective opinions about it however. that is why I am still on it.

Re: weaning off Dilantin and on to Keppra MEDICINE IS PROFIT...

Submitted by Googledude on Sat, 2013-07-06 - 20:30

I PERSONALLY SURVIVED BEYOND THE TYPICAL DOCTOR THEORIES ABOUT HOW TO MEDICATE AND FORGET OTHER ELEMENTS BUT... MY ONLY FAMILY WAS DYING AND THE SYSTEM WAS TRYING TO LOCK HIM INTO A MENTAL INSTITUTION INSTEAD. MY BODY COULD NOT TOLERATE ALL THE ELECTRICITY AND SO I HAD TO BUFFER IT. LITTLE DID I KNOW, I WOULD BE OVER-MEDICATED AGAIN JUST LIKE WHEN I WAS 8 YRS OLD. SEE, MANY AMERICAN MEDICAL SCHOOLS WERE HEAVILY FUNDED BY THE CARNEGIES AND ROCKERFELLER FAMILIES AND ACCORDING TO MY STUDIES, THEY PLAY OR PLAYED A HUGE PART IN (BIG PHARMA). SO, OF COURSE THE SCHOOLS TAUGHT HOW TO MEDICATE RATHER THAN SIMPLY ADJUST THE PATIENT'S DIET AND LOWER OR ALLEVIATE THE NEED FOR MEDICATIONS. I WAS WITHOUT MEDICATION FOR DECADES AND I AM FINDING, SO WERE OTHER AMERICANS AND EUROPEANS. WHAT YOU CAN FIND IS SOMETHING CALLED (THE KETOGENIC DIET) AND BASICALLY IT OFFERS THE SAME SORT OF THING I AGREE WITH WHICH IS TO (INCREASE) ANIMAL FATS BUT NOT, CHEMICALS INTO THE DAILY DIET. SEE, AMERICAN MEDICINE IS STARTING TO BE FOUND OUT AS A PLACE WHERE THERE IS JUST TOO MUCH MONEY TO BE MADE FROM (SICK) PEOPLE NOT, (HEALTHY) ONES. NOW, THIS IS A BIT HARD TO BELIEVE I AM SURE BUT, DURING THE (OVERDOSING) DONE TO ME, I LET A CANCER GROW ON MY FACE TO MONSTER PROPORTIONS AND SIMPLY COULD NOT FATHOM THE SEVERITY DUE TO BEING DULLED BY ONE OF THE MOST WELL-USED SEIZURE MEDICATIONS KNOWN. FOR ALMOST A DECADE, I JUST COULD BARELY FIGURE OUT HOW TO SURVIVE DAILY AND WERE IT NOT FOR MY INVESTING EXPERIENCE FROM LONG AGO, I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE NOT SOLD MY REAL ESTATE B4 THE 2007 CRASH. I WAS LUCKY TO HAVE A RABBITS FOOT FOR A WHILE... OF COURSE IT WAS DIFFICULT TO HEAR NOSEY NEIGHBORS AROUND ME TALK AS THOUGH THEY WERE SOMEHOW BETTER THAN ME AND I WAS SO (PRIVLEDGED) TO HAVE GRAN MALS, PSYCHO-MOTORS AND PETIT MALS INSIDE MY LONELY RESIDENCE UNTIL I FIGURED OUT THE (REAL) PROBLEMS WERE THE MEDICATIONS AND UNDERSTANDING THE SIDE-EFFECTS OF SOME SEIZURE MEDS ONCE AGAIN. EVENTHOUGH, I WAS DEVISTATED DUE TO THE FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES I HAD, WERE IT NOT FOR THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE ONE MEDICATION AT THE LEVEL IT WAS PRESCRIBED, MY FORTIES WOULD STILL BE IN MY MEMORIES AND WHO KNOWS, MAYBE SOME WOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD. I KNOW THIS BECAUSE EVERYTHING STAYED AS TOXIC UNTIL I READ SOMETHING ABOUT OVER-PRESCRIPTION OF MEDICATIONS THROUGH THE FOG I LIVED IN AND CALLED A FRIEND ABOUT IT, THEN WENT BEYOND DOCTOR ADVICE AND LOWERED MY DAILY DOSAGE. I AM TOLD WITHIN (3 WEEKS) MY ABILITIES TO COMPREHEND WENT UP MARKEDLY AND WHILE NOT A TOTAL RECOVERY FROM THE TOXICITY, I KNEW INSIDE MYSELF THAT MY BEHAVIOR ALONE HAD IMPROVED TO THE POINT WHERE I MIGHT START LOOKING FOR EMPLOYMENT ONCE AGAIN. BEFORE,IT LOOKED LIKE I COULD NEVER LEARN AND REMEMBER AGAIN SO, TRYING TO PLAN FOR A FUTURE WAS NOT GOING TO BE THERE EITHER. IF YOU TAKE SEIZURE MEDS, YOU MUST (NOT) DRINK COFFEE OR ANY SODA POPS NOR, EAT FOOD OUT OF A CAN... A SURGEON NAMED DR RUSSELL BLAYLOCK HAS VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE.COM ABOUT (EXCITOTOXINS) THAT MAY CHANGE THE WAY YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE AND I WONT RECEIVE A DIME FOR TELLING YOU ABOUT IT. TAKE CARE AND, BE WELL ALWAYS.

O my goodness all these

Submitted by Sel on Sat, 2017-04-22 - 00:17

O my goodness all these stories r beginning to freak me out to the point where I don't want to start on keppra n stay on dilantin. This is scary. I only have less then half of Dilantin left n im not gunna get dilantin again cus im supposedly on keppra now. But wat im hearing i mean reading is that keppra is not good. So shit im screwed.