LOVE KEPPRA HERE

RE: Just Prescribed Keppra

Submitted by akelton on Wed, 2005-05-25 - 07:18

My husband was on Keppra for about 8 months, in addition to Lamictal and Topamax. We was up to 1000mg of Keppra/day. He had no problems/side effects with the Keppra, but we don't think it was helping contol the seizures - so we was weaned off Keppra last month. For him, it was a very tolerable drug.

The one thing we've learned through his recent & drastic med changes is to really pay attention to your own body. He even began writing in a journal every side effect he experienced, including any environmental issues (such as what he had being doing, what he had recently eaten), so we could really figure out what the AEDs were doing to him. It was also nice b/c the Topamax was reeking havoc on his memory.  Having the journal while talking to the doctor was great. Just an idea

Good luck with the med change - I know how frustrating it is.

RE: Just Prescribed Keppra

Submitted by simon2312 on Wed, 2005-05-25 - 08:11

HiI too have just been prescribed Keppra. I am 46 and have hade epilepsy for the last 30 or so years. When I think back I seem to have been on most AED, but most recently on Tegretol. This seemed to be doing the trick until recently when things got worse and I started having dizzy spells and these increased to major seizures.I eventually got to see a neurologist who has prescibed Keppra, 500mg 2 per day, in addition to the Tegretol. I am still having really bad side effects: tiredness, disorientation, clumsiness, inability to concentrate, you name it it appears to be there. The only plus really is that I haven't had one of the dizzy spells or major seizures since I started on Keppra, because of this I'm prepared to persevere. According to my wife, there are no mood swings, however, but perhaps this is because I know that this is her major concern and am trying desperately to accommodate her. One of the major side effects, however, is what I can only describe as "heightened lucidity," which I get about two to three times a day: my sense of smell and taste appears to increase, I feel like I can see behind me and my periferal vision seems to increase. These are the scary ones, and their frequency also matches the frequency of the "dizzy spells" under the old Tegretol regime.I contacted my GP (I live in Scotland) to discuss all this and basically got nowhere. All he was prepared to do was speculate: the lucid periods could be another form of the old seizures, then again they might not- - you know the kind of thing I'm sure.I am supposed to increase the dosage by another 1000mg, today actually, but have no intention of doing so. I am trying to get back to see the neurologist, but here that takes time: too much time. I have two critical exams tomorrow and Friday, and am going to have enough problems dealing with those in the condition I am in, let alone with an huge increase in dosage.I would echo grez-monkey: start low, very low and build up slowly. Monitor yourself, and get your son to help if he is old enough to do so. Keep in touch and I'll compare notes as we go along.Good luck, Keppra does have some pluses to it.

RE: Just Prescribed Keppra

Submitted by valhdz on Wed, 2005-05-25 - 10:33

Keppra and Lacmital are working for me. Just be aware of the mood swings with Keppra , anything will get you mad. It's a good drug but not powerful enough to work by it's self, needs another med. Keppra is a new drug, came out in 2000.