Keppra problems

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This is my first post on this site. I'm hoping for responses about medications OTHER THAN keppra that have been effective with minimal side effects for grand mal seizures? On April 19th my husband, a healthy 39 year old with no medical problems, had his first grand mal seizure. He was taken to hospital where they said it could be a one time thing and they may never know why it happened. The very next day he had a second seizure and though his EEG and MRI came back normal, his neurologist diagnosed him with epilepsy and put him on keppra, 1000mg per day. It has now been a month and a half and the side effects are TERRIBLE. He is depressed, agitated, gets sick if he doesnt take it with food, and just does not seem like the same person at all. We have an appointment for a second opinion with a different neurologist on june 25 and i would love to bring him a list of medications that have worked well for others with less severe side effects. If anyone has a similar situation and has been on a drug that works better, i would really appreciate feedback. Thanks in advance!

Comments

Well welcome to the club.i

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2015-06-12 - 17:57

Well welcome to the club.i would love to bring him a list of medications that have worked well for others with less severe side effects. The neurologists knows the medications that work because he has had patients on the medications. He also knows the dosages to start with. If anyone has a similar situation and has been on a drug that works better.. You are asking for someone to tell you they have this medication and that medication and it has been great. Well relax and think some. A medication that works for one person may not work for the next. The dosages are like that top.I will tell you one thing. I have been on almose evry medication that has been created for seizure control. All of them worked. Some better then others. I quit some because of side effects. One I was taken off of because I got toxic on it after it had been working great for years. I was never on one medication until I was put on keppra. Keppra shortened the time in the seizure and the post tical time (time to get back to normal) The seizures I have can land in simple partial seizures or even into complex partial (or did) Before Keppra those seizures were 2-8 minutes long and the time to get back to normal was 15-45 minutes and at times longer. The times now are 2-8 seconds in the seizure and time to get back to normal is aboiut 10 seconds. Before my PCP knew when I was in a seizure if I had one in his office. The last time I saw him I had a seizure while discussing something woth him. When I sake him what he thought the delay in my answer was he stated he thought I was looking for the right words, when I told him that the delay was because I was having a seizure he was amazed and told me to stay on that medication. In other words I could have a seizure while talking to you and you wouldn't know I had it. I know all the medications created to stop seizures work. If they didn't the FDA wouldn't let them be sold. They are all tested for years. First they test for the type of seizure it was created for. Then other types of seizures. Then they test to see which medications the medication can be oupled with.As for keppra. I saw what you posted about "OTHER THAN keppra " but I do know it has been the best medication I have ever used. I do know the side effects. I also know that it takes time for the theraputiic levels to be built up in his body. Which can take 6-8 weeks and at times 2-3 months. If his dosage has been changed after he started taking it then a time period starts again. You will find lots of posts about keppra being a bad medication. Well if a persons side effects don't go away after 3 months then new medications are needed. That person is generally one of the 5-8% that have the side effects. You may never see a post by people whose medications are working as they should be. They are the people in the 92-95%.Now for side effects. Any and all medications have side effects and that includes over the counter medications. Most of the side effects you read about on keppra are on most of the medications used to control seoizures. You see I've been there done that. I know about how the side effects get put on by the manufactures since I have been in drug studies. I get in them at times because Doc knows I want newer medications to have fewer side effects then the old ones which druged me down when I was younger.Now for how he takes his medications. If the perscription and it is 2 times a day. Well taking one at 7 am and the other at 10 pm it doesn't help. @ times a day means the dosages need to be 12 hours apart for the theraputic levels to build correctly and the possiability of a breakthru seizure not happening. The second neurologist may tell you he has epilepsy. The neurologists generally prescribe medications they know work on the type of seizure your husband has had. They know that because they have a patient on it and the dosage is working for them. I hope this helps Joe

Well welcome to the club.i would love to bring him a list of medications that have worked well for others with less severe side effects.  The neurologists knows the medications that work because he has had patients on the medications. He also knows the dosages to start with. If anyone has a similar situation and has been on a drug that works better.. You are asking for someone to tell you they have this medication and that medication and it has been great. Well relax and think some. A medication that works for one person may not work for the next. The dosages are like that top.I will tell you one thing. I have been on almose evry medication that has been created for seizure control. All of them worked. Some better then others. I quit some because of side effects. One I was taken off of because I got toxic on it after it had been working great for years. I was never on one medication until I was put on keppra. Keppra shortened the time in the seizure and the post tical time (time to get back to normal) The seizures I have can land in simple partial seizures or even into complex partial (or did) Before Keppra those seizures were 2-8 minutes long and the time to get back to normal was 15-45 minutes and at times longer. The times now are 2-8 seconds in the seizure and time to get back to normal is aboiut 10 seconds. Before my PCP knew when I was in a seizure if I had one in his office. The last time I saw him I had a seizure while discussing something woth him. When I sake him what he thought the delay in my answer was he stated he thought I was looking for the right words, when I told him that the delay was because I was having a seizure he was amazed and told me to stay on that medication. In other words I could have a seizure while talking to you and you wouldn't know I had it.  I know all the medications created to stop seizures work. If they didn't the FDA wouldn't let them be sold. They are all tested for years. First they test for the type of seizure it was created for. Then other types of seizures. Then they test to see which medications the medication can be oupled with.As for keppra. I saw what you posted about "OTHER THAN keppra " but I do know it has been the best medication I have ever used. I do know the side effects. I also know  that it takes time for the theraputiic levels to be built up in his body. Which can take 6-8 weeks and at times 2-3 months. If his dosage has been changed after he started taking it then a time period starts again. You will find lots of posts about keppra being a bad medication. Well if a persons side effects don't go away after 3 months then new medications are needed. That person is generally one of the 5-8% that have the side effects. You may never see a post by people whose medications are working as they should be. They are the people in the 92-95%.Now for side effects. Any and all medications have side effects and that includes over the counter medications. Most of the side effects you read about on keppra are on most of the medications used to control seoizures. You see I've been there done that. I know about how the side effects get put on by the manufactures since I have been in drug studies. I get in them at times because Doc knows I want newer medications to have fewer side effects then the old ones which druged me down when I was younger.Now for how he takes his medications. If the perscription and it is 2 times a day. Well taking one at 7 am and the other at 10 pm it doesn't help. @ times a day means the dosages need to be 12 hours apart for the theraputic levels to build correctly and the possiability of a breakthru seizure not happening.  The second neurologist may tell you he has epilepsy. The neurologists generally prescribe medications they know work on the type of seizure your husband has had. They know that because they have a patient on it and the dosage is working for them. I hope this helps Joe

Well welcome to the club.i would love to bring him a list of medications that have worked well for others with less severe side effects. The neurologists knows the medications that work because he has had patients on the medications. He also knows the dosages to start with. If anyone has a similar situation and has been on a drug that works better.. You are asking for someone to tell you they have this medication and that medication and it has been great. Well relax and think some. A medication that works for one person may not work for the next. The dosages are like that top.I will tell you one thing. I have been on almose evry medication that has been created for seizure control. All of them worked. Some better then others. I quit some because of side effects. One I was taken off of because I got toxic on it after it had been working great for years. I was never on one medication until I was put on keppra. Keppra shortened the time in the seizure and the post tical time (time to get back to normal) The seizures I have can land in simple partial seizures or even into complex partial (or did) Before Keppra those seizures were 2-8 minutes long and the time to get back to normal was 15-45 minutes and at times longer. The times now are 2-8 seconds in the seizure and time to get back to normal is aboiut 10 seconds. Before my PCP knew when I was in a seizure if I had one in his office. The last time I saw him I had a seizure while discussing something woth him. When I sake him what he thought the delay in my answer was he stated he thought I was looking for the right words, when I told him that the delay was because I was having a seizure he was amazed and told me to stay on that medication. In other words I could have a seizure while talking to you and you wouldn't know I had it. I know all the medications created to stop seizures work. If they didn't the FDA wouldn't let them be sold. They are all tested for years. First they test for the type of seizure it was created for. Then other types of seizures. Then they test to see which medications the medication can be oupled with.As for keppra. I saw what you posted about "OTHER THAN keppra " but I do know it has been the best medication I have ever used. I do know the side effects. I also know that it takes time for the theraputiic levels to be built up in his body. Which can take 6-8 weeks and at times 2-3 months. If his dosage has been changed after he started taking it then a time period starts again. You will find lots of posts about keppra being a bad medication. Well if a persons side effects don't go away after 3 months then new medications are needed. That person is generally one of the 5-8% that have the side effects. You may never see a post by people whose medications are working as they should be. They are the people in the 92-95%.Now for side effects. Any and all medications have side effects and that includes over the counter medications. Most of the side effects you read about on keppra are on most of the medications used to control seoizures. You see I've been there done that. I know about how the side effects get put on by the manufactures since I have been in drug studies. I get in them at times because Doc knows I want newer medications to have fewer side effects then the old ones which druged me down when I was younger.Now for how he takes his medications. If the perscription and it is 2 times a day. Well taking one at 7 am and the other at 10 pm it doesn't help. @ times a day means the dosages need to be 12 hours apart for the theraputic levels to build correctly and the possiability of a breakthru seizure not happening. The second neurologist may tell you he has epilepsy. The neurologists generally prescribe medications they know work on the type of seizure your husband has had. They know that because they have a patient on it and the dosage is working for them. I hope this helps Joe

I'm on keppra also and it

Submitted by AMPetti on Sat, 2015-06-13 - 00:21

I'm on keppra also and it causes me to have mood swings and random anger/rage, someone on here joked about calling it kepprage in another post. Unfortunately it's something my husband and I have learned to work with until I see my specialist on the 18th and see if I could take something to lower the mood swings or switch to a different AED, I don't know your husband but I know I get pretty nasty at times and then an hour later I don't even remember it, but my husband always reminds me lol. See your specialist and talk to them. What works for patient A with the same seizures may not work for patient B with the same, we're all different. I'm new here but from all the posts I've read, talking to your specialist to find what works best for you and him is the better option, only your specialist can really find out