Sleeptalking

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My son has always been an occasional sleep talker. However, a couple of nights ago, he was asleep and talking quite loudly, as well as moving quite a bit, but not like T/C. I wasn't home, but my husband witnessed it. He said he was saying words but none of it made sense. It wasn't like previous sleep talking episodes where he would just say an understandable sentence or two, but his body wouldn't be moving. Could this be a side effect of Keppra, or even a possible partial seizure?
 
Hi Jack's Mom.

I am always interested in hearing about sleep behavior because of my experiences.
In my case, I have been on Keppra for quite some time, but I stopped when I was in my early 20's. About that time I started moving a lot in my sleep, punching and kicking, talking more than usual. My wife got used to it.
This carried on even after I started taking my medicine (because of a T/C). As the behavior carried on, my neurologist diagnosed it as RBD (Rem Behavior Sleep Disorder). My doctor prescribed Valium which controlled it to an extent.
Later I had an at home video EEG. The data all read normal, but after observing my behavior, my neurologist noted the specific behavior as not being normal dream behavior and likely a partial of some sort even though there was no sign of it on the EEG. I was prescribed Vimpat and I sleep like a baby.

It is something definitely worthy of taking to the doctor about. Things to look for (and probably record for the doctor) would be repetitive movement, such as kicks, punches, awkward contorting, etc. Also the gibberish is something I would want to talk to a doctor about. During partials, when awake, I would speak gibberish. My behavior became odd when "asleep". I would throw things and not know it, or slap my wife. Yes, that happened.
One thing I forgot to mention, according to the EEG, I was awake.

In a nutshell, get him to the doc.
 
Not that sleep talking is not caused via Keppra, or even a possible partial seizure, but for as much as I can remember in my life, sleep talking has been a part of many of my nights. My wife tells me she almost always cannot understand what is being said, but on a rare occasion does understand. Body moving for me is there through the night, talking or not. Oh, and I am not on keppra.

I doubt that seizures are a part of this in my world, but that does not mean it isn't in your son's. I suspect that to know with certainty, as N Sperlo mentioned, it might be best to talk with your sons doctor (or neurologist).
 
Thanks. I'll talk to the doctor about it when he goes back in 3 weeks. The talking wasn't really gibberish as you can understand words. He just wasn't making sense. For instance, one thing he said was "Don't carry dog shoulder."
 
I've taken keppra for over 5 years and I will talk in my sleep every so often. I don't think the medicine has anything to do with it though.

It seems that when I'll be talking it's dealing with a dream that I'm having. I've woken myself up talking but realize I'm saying what ever it is that I was saying in the dream.

Recently I had a dream when I was asleep on the couch that my husband told me it was time to eat. I told him aloud that "I'd be there in a minute." I woke myself up because I was trying to get my hand out from under the blanket to put one finger up in the 'one second' position.

My husband and I sleep in separate bedrooms so I don't know how often I do these things. When I talk I don't know if what I'm saying are actual words or just gibberish either.

I would mention it to the dr that he's doing it. If he's doing it very often I'd give your dr a call.
 
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Thanks. I'll talk to the doctor about it when he goes back in 3 weeks. The talking wasn't really gibberish as you can understand words. He just wasn't making sense. For instance, one thing he said was "Don't carry dog shoulder."

In that case the "talking" wouldn't worry me too much. It could just be segments of what he is saying in a dream. Everyone dreams and moves in their sleep every once in a while. Its when and odd sleep behavior becomes too common that you may have a problem and it may be in no way epilepsy-related. Very doubtful that it is Keppra-related.
 
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