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Is my 2 year old stuttering because of her meds???

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 11:33

Hi.  I am the proud father of an amazing 2 year old little girl named Madison.  Madison had her first seizure this year on Father's Day and then had another one the following Sunday.  Both seizures occurred within 15 minutes of her falling asleep.  Immediately following the second seizure, she was put on Keppra.  Keppra turned my little girl into a completely different child.  She was angry, irritable, violent, and just really difficult... but the biggest thing (for me) was the she developed a severe stutter.  It got to the point where she couldn't get a sentence out.  I called her Neurologist and we switched her medicine to Trileptal.  The stuttering has not gotten any better... in fact, now she knows there is a problem with her speech, so she avoids talking in full sentences and just says certain words or points as much as possible.  Nothing like a 2 year old trying to tell you something and she says "nevermind Daddy... I can't talk".  It's sad.  I stuttered very bad when I was a kid and into my early adult years.  I have since learned to control it 80% of the time but it is like looking in the mirror at my little mini-me and not wanting her to go through life with that issue.  I just know how it feels and the struggles that go along with it.  I believe it is the medicine that is making her stutter, but don't know for certain.  Good news is that all her tests have come back normal and she hasn't had anymore seizures.  I know it could always be worse, but I just want to be her advocate and her voice... her hero that makes everything better... it's what guys do... we fix stuff... she needs me.  Any advice?  

Comments

There are side effects to all

Submitted by just_joe on Wed, 2015-09-09 - 17:53
There are side effects to all medications. That also includes over the counter medications like aspirin and others. With seizure medications the side effects generally go away after the body gets used to the medication. Which takes 4-6 weeks. Keppra had people who changed the name to Kepp-rage. I know I am taking it and I was irritable for awhile. However I am back to normal and it has helped. As Amy Jo posted mood swings and emotional issues are common. If you look at all the posts about the medications not working and the posts about it being bad you will see a lot of posts. However only a small percentage of people have side effects. Depending on the medication and the side effect it is 5-8%. In other words the other 92-95% have no problem with it. I know about this because I have been in drug studies. I had a diary  to fill out and ANYTHNG DIFFERENT THAT DAY was one thing listed.I do know it wasn't easy at times when I had seizures and I babbled some. But I didn't stutter. Because of the medications I was tired a lot but I learned how to get things done. Running around with my friends they beat me in sprints or a short race to a certain spot. Give me a longer race I waxed them.I know what guys do and know where you are coming from. I'm a guy. They wouldn't let me take auto shop but I over hauled Mom's car in the garage.If you are looking at a mini me then to help her teach her what you know. 80% aint bad. If you started now she could change that to 95-98%I hope your daughter Madison stays seizure free and she stops her stutteringJoe

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