Hello I have been taking Keppra for migraines. It doesn't seem to be helping much and I don't want to put up with the side effects. In my research I see that people take it mainly for seizures and taper off of it very slowly due to the risk of their seizures returning. My question is since I don't have seizures and was taking it for migraines is there any need to taper? Thanks for any info!
If a person has epilepsy since they were a child and requires an anti-convulsant it should be noted that some anti-convulsants are used as mood stabilizers such as Depakoate, Trileptal, Keppra and of course Lamictal (and others) but the dosage and adjustment for bipolar would be different. Since some medications can on occassion raise the seizure threshold it would involve a close conversation between your neurologist and psychiatrist as for what medication is right for you.
Or maybe I am just bipolar and was misdiagnosed...anyways I have irritability, anger, mild depression, hypomania, am very figity, have sleeping problems...I've tried abilify (caused too much muscle twitching and about 10lbs of weight gain but worked extremely well) also only was on 1 miligram when it was working -half a pill. I've been told I may metabolize pills differently so small doses to my body are larger.
I read something on rxlist about moodswings and irritibility related to Keppra. It's believed that Keppra makes your brain "dump" Vitamin B6 at times which lowers dopamine or seratonin levels and makes you feel horrible.
Does your daughter take vitamins? I'd try some Vitamin B6 if her multivitamin doesn't contain it. I started taking Trader Joe's High Potency vitamins and feel much, much better since starting.
Good luck.
Neurontin, Topomax, Keppra, Trileptal, Lovaza (anti-cholesterol medication used experimentally for bipolar it works like fish oil but is an FDA approved medication) and Clonidine (which I take having exhausted all other options). Those are only the ones I've tried and am familiar with. I wouldn't reccomend one over the other but speak to your psychiatrist about any of these options (or others listed on that site which is clinically accurate).
His neurologist recently added Trileptal to balance his levels because he was having seizures so often. His therapist also prescribed him Celexal and Elavil for depression medication due to bipolar disorder. Now it seems that the 2 anti-depressants have a side effect of seizures, which causes him to seize more than usual. Should the 4 meds be mixed, Keppra, Celexa, Elavil and Trileptal?
My daughter is now experiencing several side effects to keppra. She is extremely drowsy, very short tempered, depressed, and is reporting to me that her memory is 'foggy'. She's on a very low dose of keppra, only 250 mg at night and 125 mg in the morning. She's been on it a total of 3 weeks now. I've been with her and she seems to be very melancholy and also short fused over the many situations. She weighs 100 pounds and is 20 years old.
They are like a partial complex seizure. I saw a neurologist and was started on Keppra. I was up to 2,500mg a day and they were not stopping. I began to track them carefully and I believe I saw a pattern of only during the 2nd half of my monthly cycle, days 15 - 28 (and usually between 18 and 21) My neurologist decided to put me in the hospital to do a video EEG monitoring and I told him the dates it needed to be. We hit it right and it was determined that my seizures are NES.
Anyone else on Keppra to prevent myoclonic jerks (JME diagnosed)? I am, and have been on Keppra for almost 5 years. Started at age 23 and I am now 28. At the beginning they made me very sluggish, but after about 2 months I felt wonderful (since it was the first time in my life I wasn't having seizures!!
After a very frightening last 2 weeks of my boyfriend on Keppra my doctor did say to ween him off which I've done. Today is the first day off it and he still seems to have the dillusional aggressive side effects that I am hopeful after reading your post.....I pray to god that the old person before this drug comes back. How was those last few weeks for your son?
After much thought my Family, Manager at work, Partner and friends all believe I am also suffering with Bipolar Disorder, ive read through the symptoms and it sounds what I have been experiencing since I was 13, I am now 27. I have tried to comit suicide on many occassons, I am very sensible and I am totally against this but when I switch into a different person its all I can think about. Can anybody help me please?
I have had epilepsy since I was 4 years old, and have been diagnosed with bipolar since I was 25 years old. I am 34 years old now, and have been on many different medications due to this. I have also had a hysterectomy (March 30, 2011) due to me only having seizures once a month during my period time. Is there anything I can do or take to stop these seizures?
Was on lamicatal er when shaking started on right side of body but had a allergic reaction to it..
I to have been taking Keppra and told can't drive for six months, yesterday my Oncologist informed me that only a Neurologist can authorize driving and I will need to probably get off keppra to get permission to drive. Was also informed that you can not just stop this drug.
So after staying overnight and at the vet the next day he came home and has been on Keppra and phenobarbital. 500mg 2x a day Keppra and 60mg 2x a day pheno. He has the side effects which are lessening but hasn't been as bad as I read could be. He is very responsive and is pretty much himself besides the side effects(weak legs, tired). It's been 6 days and no seizures so far. Will be going to vet in a week for check up and blood test again. I am so on edge..
I have no health insurance. I was finally got a really basic coverage, but it doesn't cover keppra. i've been taking keppra for a 2 months. I was switched to phenobarbitol for when I run out. since keppra is not on the charity's formulary.
I hope to God that I cant find some source of keppra before I run out. The phenobarb is scary.
So I'm excited about the links here:
http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/index.php
http://www.needymeds.
I am pregnant with my second child. I'm 37 +2 and I have epilepsy. My 1st pregnancy was 11 yrs ago. I was actually on Depakote and high risk but I have a very health normal very active 10 yr old boy! I'm taking Keppra now and they still consider me high risk but the risk is much lower with Keppra then it was with Depakote. They have done several ultrasounds and baby is great!! They have me taking 1000mg of Folic acid in top of my prenatal vitamins.
My son has been on Keppra since he was 3 months old, he is 3 now and still on it. It works well with other meds. I know that this med can cause behavioral problems. If you do some research you will find that one of the side effects of Keppra is irritability. Things will even out as he gets used to the med but if this is a problem I know it will continue to be a problem. My son still gets cranky from this med. I also know that a seizure can cause them to be a little cranky too.
As my DD is in Keppra, and has previously been on other seizure meds, the Keppra, by far has had the least amount of side-effects. You could ask if some of her mood changes, memory loss, etc. are from the stroke vs. the Keppra. Please do not wean her off the medication without a Dr's directive... that could cause withdrawal seizures.
My thoughts are with you that your mother gets well soon.
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