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Keppra Side Effects-need advice (with Lamictal)
Tue, 03/28/2017 - 19:58Topic: Medication Issues
I'm 24 and I've been taking Lamictal for 6 years now, 200mg doses morning and evening. I used to have grand mal seizures once a year or so (while on the Lamictal) but they've increased over the past 6 months.
My doctor wants to add Keppra on top of the Lamictal. I've read horror stories about depression, anger, memeory loss and other Keppra side effects. Is it really that bad? And does it go away after a month or two? I'm naturally a very happy and easy going person with no mental health issues in the past so I feel like I could handle it but I'm not sure how bad it could actually get.
Advice or personal experiences would be much appreciated!
Comments
our child's neurology group
Submitted by Amy Jo on Wed, 2017-03-29 - 12:52
our child's neurology group says one third of patients drop keppra (noted as we were discussing dropping it, which we did) and they do encourage people to give it a good chance so I think the number of people who still have lasting bad side effects is higher than 5-8%. but you can only know your reaction after trying it. when a drug works, it is wonderful. keppra has some worthwhile reasons to try it - it can start working within a day (we saw reduction in seizures before getting to target dose), body breaks it down fast, doesn't interact with pretty much any other drug (serious plus), etc.. our neuro recommended taking extra B6, it seems to help some people with mood issues.
I took keppra and within 3
Submitted by markedw45 on Wed, 2017-03-29 - 17:48
I took keppra and within 3 months was suicidal and experiencing rage issues. But medicine affects people differently.
Some people keep side effects
Submitted by just_joe on Tue, 2017-03-28 - 22:39
Some people keep side effects. But I would say 92-95% of the people taking it lose their after their bodies get used to the medication and the therapeutic levels build in their bodies. For me it has helped tremendously. The seizures I had could land in the complex partial area and some in the generalized area. Today those same seizures are seconds long and even my GP didn't know I had one when I was in his office to resolve an issue for the coughing I was doing. I have been living and dealing with epilepsy for 50+ years, Keppra is the best medication I have ever used.