Community Forum Archive

The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.

here i am again having issues with medicine

Mon, 02/29/2016 - 08:40
So i was put on generic keppra 500 mg 2x a day in October 2015 for partial seizures. A month later they tried to increase it to 750mg 2x day. 2 weeks in and it was worse than when I first started keppra. So they said to go back to original dose. I was ok until January. I was sent back for another eeg and it was still abnormal so they added generic lamactil 25mg 2x a day. It was wonderful. I felt great. 2 weeks in I broke out in hives. I had to stop taking it. Get a steroid shot and started taking generic trileptal. First week was hell. I couldn't get out of bed. Second week was better. I was alert and felt great. Besides some weird painful muscle cramps I went to my primary doctor because I have a knot in my neck that seems to kepp growing. He set me up for an ultrasound. I told him I was more concerned about this knot since I have a lot of cancer in my family. Later that night I noticed I am covered face to feet in reddish purple dots under my skin. Since I had already taken my dose of the trileptal I decided I would call the Neuro answering service in the morning. My husband kids and me were headed out for a weekend getaway. I wasn't sure if Neuro would tell me it was ok to keep taking it because it wasn't hives this time. So on my way out of town I called the answering service like I had done when the lamactil broke me out. My Neuro called me back fast that time. This time the answering service told me to call back Monday. I said I was having a reaction to my medicine and she said go to the Er. I was so mad. She wouldn't send a message to my Neuro. I didn't go to er because I didn't want to pay a bill for them to tell me to stop taking it when my Neuro could have told me for free. So I hung up on her and I haven't taken the trileptal since Friday night. I called the pharmacy and was told I could take zyrtec so I have only been on keppra and zyrtec all weekend. I'm so tired of this. I've been sick with only 2 week breaks here n there for over a year. I am wondering how I can be allergic to every kind of medicine or if it's something in the generic medicines that is not working for me. They are making my head feel better just making me have an undated reaction. I also wonder about this tapping feeling under my right ribcage. Feels like a baby in there.

Comments

WelcomeI see you are having

Submitted by just_joe on Mon, 2016-02-29 - 11:09
WelcomeI see you are having some issues with a couple of medications. Side effects do happen. Been there done that. Have you ever read that really small writing on your over the counter meds?? If not then read one some time. They too have side effects. Aspirin has killed some people.I do know that at times I need answers to my questions too. I call Doc and leave a message if O don't get his assistant. I leave the question ans I get a call back. The question is answered. I get an answer to my question. At times I do get a call from Doc. What you may not know is if the neurologist is busy  he does get the question. I waited2 days but I got my answer. He explained he was busy with his patients ab working with a neurosurgeon because someone was having surgery. My question was about a medication and a side effect. After hearing it directly from me a change in medication was made and a visit was set up for 2 weeks later.October 15th is when you posted you started medications.. That time period is short so the therapeutic levels  for the keppra. When they added another medication you had a reaction. They switched it and you had another reaction. So 2 medications you had reactions to. Now side effects do happen. Been there done that in the last 50+ years I have had epilepsy.  Side effects do happen and with most side effects they happen to 5-8% of the people taking it. So you are not the only person this issue has happened to.Relax and talk to your neurologist about the medications he wants you on. Two medications are a small number compared to the list of all the different medications on the list. As for generic medications, Generic drugs, both over-the-counter and prescription medications, are very strictly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Regulations include:    A generic's active ingredient, dosage, and strength must be the same as its brand-name equivalent.    Generic drugs must be "bioequivalent" to brand-name drugs, meaning they have to show up as the same in the bloodstream and work in the exact same way.    Manufacturing, testing, and packaging sites are subject to the same FDA regulations, whether the product in question is a brand name or a generic. (About half of generic drugs are actually made by the same companies making the brand-name versions.)I have been taking keppra since before there was a generic. I was in drug studied done by a group of neurologists here in Dallas. Doc was one of them. He knew he had patients that keppra would help but those patients could not afford it because of the price. I was his test patient. So far I have used generic keppra made bu 5-6 different manufactures.I hope this helps and you get your seizures under controlJoe

I had petite mal and focal

Submitted by just_joe on Sun, 2016-03-06 - 23:49
I had petite mal and focal motor seizures for 2 years before I had my grand mal seizure. during the next year they did 20-25 EEG's and they all came back normal. It was into the 3rd year that Dads insurance company wanted a diagnosis so the testing was dome.The neurologists had told Mom that all the tests had come back normal and they had one more EEG to do. Well going thru a battery of tests and being in the hospital; wasn't fun and I got little sleep/ In that EEG I fell asleep and they saw what they needed. Looking at the mri of that time in the area they saw the spikes or waves they found scared brain tissue. It came from a blow to my heas. So testing can bring the diagnosis. But just so you'll know many people go thru tests and their tests come back normal. All that is needed for a diagnosis to be made is 2 seizures

Sign Up for Emails

Stay up to date with the latest epilepsy news, stories from the community, and more.