Keppra for kids

Hi My son is 2 and began taking Keppra and Topamax in Feb. It has done a great job controlling his seizures but it can has some nasty side effects. In the beginning he was very lethargic but thanks to taking B-6 he has much more energy and focus these days. I have also heard that it can cause rage in some children. Thank God not mine. Good luck with your decision. Take care, Paws

Our daughter (4.5 yrs old) started on Keppra four weeks ago, weaning off Topamax at the same time. The topamax was completely useless for her, so she was having up to seven seizures a day on full dose, plus at nighttime, and her speech went completely. It was as if we had completely lost her. Since starting on the Keppra (and coming off the Topamax) we feel as if we've been slowly getting her back. Her speech has improved hugely, and she is having fewer and fewer discernible seizures during the day, although still at nighttime. Some of the aggressive behaviour we saw while she was on Topamax seems to be dying away too, although she still has 'crazy' periods when she runs across roads, chucks food etc, laughing her head off - we wonder whether that's when the drug hits max level in her blood. We've also noticed that, compared to Tegretol, which she started on, and which made her permanently tired and grumpy, she seems very happy on Keppra, and less sleepy, although we have noticed that physically she is less energetic than she has always been in the past. It's early days, but so far we're fairly positive. (I was concerned about the fact that Keppra is still unlicensed for under-6s here in the UK, but apparently it's standard practice for consultants to issue it on a 'named patient' basis.) I hope you find it works well for you.