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14 month old and Keppra...anyone else?

Thu, 08/24/2006 - 07:14
My son recently was switched to Keppra.We are slowly lowering his dose of Phenobarbital.and working towards a 500mg dose of Keppra.I am very anxious about any side effects.HAs anyone had good/bad results with infants and Keppra?

Comments

Just Diagnosed

Submitted by Fireman Sam on Thu, 2007-12-13 - 07:08
My 7 mo. old granddaughter has just be diagnosed after about a month of siezures. After reviewing the comments here I noticed that 5/7 months is a common time frame for many children mentioned here. My daughter-in-law was borderline gestational diabetic during her pregnancy with this child. Did anyone else have this same experience? Thanks, Fireman Sam

Keppra has worked for us

Submitted by eanj on Thu, 2007-12-13 - 10:44
Hello! I have a five year old daughter who has been on Keppra for over a month now. We have seen some crying jags and tiredness, but so far so good. Our seizures (the visible ones) have slowed down to one or two a week. Family members have commented that my daughter seems to be more happy now actually. (Oppisite of what I was told the Keppra would do.) I think the key is to start slow with th med increase. We have increased twice. We also advised that B6 helps with the side effects and may try this route as well. I will tell you though that we vomited up a dose of meds and were unable to redose. So then when we got our next dose, it threw her into a very emotional jag for about two days until the meds were back into her bloodstream. I have had seasoned Keppra users tell me to try to wait out the emotional ups and downs for at least a month before giving up on the Keppra. My eight year old son will be starting Keppra over the holiday break. I expect him to have a harder time with it just because his emotions already are a mess. Good luck! Jean

Re: 14 month old and Keppra...anyone else?

Submitted by MissysMom on Fri, 2008-03-28 - 23:36

Sara,

      My daughter, Missy, is 3.5 yrs old.  She has had seizures since 1 week old, but was not diagnosed until 2.5 months old.  Her seizures began as partial seizures.  This type of seizure usually begins in one part of the body then moves to another.  Similar sounding to how you described Creed's seizures.  Missy was started on topamax and her seizures went from affecting her neck and arms to only being focused in her eyes.  Her eyes would dart to one side and then bounce around. When we started Missy on keppra, we were able to start weaning her off of the topamax.  The keppra has controlled her partial seizures very well; however, her seizures changed to myoclonic (startle) seizures.  We have had to add two other meds (klonopin and zonegran)to help control the myoclonic seizures.  The combination of meds is working fairly well, but Missy is still not seizure-free. 

It does sound like the keppra is working well for Creed.  If you haven't noticed any seizure episodes since beginning the keppra, then it is probably keeping them under control.  Continue to keep a close eye out for any unusual behavior or changes, such as suddenly being startled over sounds that never seemed to bother him before.  Keep a log of everything unusual and let your neurologist know if you feel like something isn't right.  I hope all goes well for Creed and your family.  Good luck and God bless.

Missy's Mom

Sara,

      My daughter, Missy, is 3.5 yrs old.  She has had seizures since 1 week old, but was not diagnosed until 2.5 months old.  Her seizures began as partial seizures.  This type of seizure usually begins in one part of the body then moves to another.  Similar sounding to how you described Creed's seizures.  Missy was started on topamax and her seizures went from affecting her neck and arms to only being focused in her eyes.  Her eyes would dart to one side and then bounce around. When we started Missy on keppra, we were able to start weaning her off of the topamax.  The keppra has controlled her partial seizures very well; however, her seizures changed to myoclonic (startle) seizures.  We have had to add two other meds (klonopin and zonegran)to help control the myoclonic seizures.  The combination of meds is working fairly well, but Missy is still not seizure-free. 

It does sound like the keppra is working well for Creed.  If you haven't noticed any seizure episodes since beginning the keppra, then it is probably keeping them under control.  Continue to keep a close eye out for any unusual behavior or changes, such as suddenly being startled over sounds that never seemed to bother him before.  Keep a log of everything unusual and let your neurologist know if you feel like something isn't right.  I hope all goes well for Creed and your family.  Good luck and God bless.

Missy's Mom

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