Starting Meds Today

[Beanogirl]

Life has been busy so I haven't posted in awhile. On Oct. 27th I gave birth to a very healthy baby girl. To update some of you I was diagnosed with epilepsy during my pregnancy. I go today for my first neurologist appt. since I had her to start medication. Last time I went the doctor was leaning towards Keppra and Lamictal. Any feedback on either of these meds would be great! Since I had my daughter I've only had 3 episodes. She is a great baby and the best sleeper of all my children. She must know that Mommy needs her rest! I'm nervous and excited to finally start my medication and hopefully get this under control.

[Loopy Lou]

First of all, congratulations on the birth of your baby daughter!

I'm on Keppra 3000mg a day (as well as another one at the moment) and its the best out of the meds I've tried so far. I get very few side effects from it but it doesn't completely control my seizures on its own. Lamictal didn't work for me and had too many side effects to deal with.

The important thing to remember is that everyone reacts to medication differently and it may take a while to adjust and find the medication that's right for you.

[Laughing girl]

Congratulations on your new baby!
I'm on Keppra 3000 mg/day and Vimpat 300 mg/day. So far, no seizures (yeah) but I lose my balance easily (boo). My neurologist and I are still trying to work it out.

[Nakamova]

Congrats on the new little one!

Both meds have plusses and minuses. With Keppra you can get up to a working dose very quickly. Downside for some is the effect on mood -- it can potentially cause depression and anger issues. Lamictal takes longer to ramp up onto (you need to go slow to avoid the risk of an allergic reaction), but generally is considered to have fewer cognitive side effects than other meds. I'm on Lamictal currently. There were some side effects at the start that went away (hair loss, very poor sleep), and others that have lingered (blurry vision, dry eyes and mouth, chin acne). I think Lamictal tends to interact with estrogen, so if your estrogen levels are fluctuating that might make it problematic. If you're breastfeeding, you might want to ask if the meds are a factor there too.