Can SE's of meds b worse then the sz's themselves?

[kostareyna]

Well my seizures ar a joke but i want license so much that i take them.when i first started keppra din't have side effects and the siezures stoped until the evening(250mg once a day is way too low especially with such a low half life),infact it was so good and i had such a good mood than finnaly after 7 years no seizures(i had myoclonic jerks through the day only like once or twice especially in the morning).Those seizures are so minor that most of my friends din't even think i had epilepsy and some din't even knew or forgat i ever had something.Now im on 500mg a day of keppra which is fine and i hope i will stop at 375bid which is 750mg daily..that's the minimal dosage.the tiredness usually goes away and the most important thing is being with people that makes you happy and working out,both are a big plus even with the side effects.IF your tired just power nap for 30 minutes not more cause you'll likely will be more tired than you were and after the 30 minutes nap start exercising!!

p.s=when i toke the generic it was worse now on the brand i actually feel better,more tired which is probebly because the active ingridient which is higher but i got used to it.btw try to upper the dosage even by 125 a week or even 2 weeks.It's eisier with the side effects

[gigi]

with being on one anti-epileptic drug side effects have been long term, and have built up over the years. I have gone as long as eight years between seizures, but because I have the big kind, I choose medication and healthy lifestyle over seizures. Coming out of a T/C i would describe as a scary movie yet to be written. Can you say, terrifying?! I was kind of a weird kid - B.S. (before seizures) so as I have aged, 53 at this writing, I sometimes can not distinguish between weirdness or what long term use of Dilantin and seizures have done to me. Physical symptoms are there, but not necessarily a disability. I would say cognitively I am deficient in some areas, not to mention the memory issue. I went status in 03, which made me pay attention to my body, a good thing, but put me in a state of paranoia, but I think also changed my personality to a degree, and not for the better I might add. So, this is not a one size fits all problem.

[KimberlyD]

The SE I hate are the ones the doctor or pharmacist don't tell you about. About 10 years ago I decided I wanted to get braces to straighten my teeth (was already on the AC meds for about 20 yrs). The dentist had to send me to a gum surgeon because he said in my x-rays it showed that the meds I was on had eaten away at the bone in my gums. I had to have the bone replaced and my front teeth removed in order to have straight teeth because they said the damage done by the meds was too bad to allow for braces. I also wasn't told about not eating grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice until I was on the tegretol for more than 15 years.

[neil129]

I really dont know to be honest all i can truthfully say IS having to take anti-epileptic drugs is CRAP and taking seizures is CRAP,its catch 22 in my book
Neil129

[saltydog]

Can be very sick;and you could probably die without treatment from being
over medicated.Some of theese seizure meds are very powerful meds.

[Martha KP]

I appreciate everyones postings very much. I took tegretol for >20 years after having grand mal seizures X2. I started having some brief aphasic spells and found a neurologist (first one in years!) He is great, put me on Keppra but I still had some slight symptoms. He started Vimpat but the SE's were too much. I didn't tolerate having a reduction in the Tegretol so now we are back to square one. I feel like crap and am discouraged. I am an active 59 year old who now feels too dizzy to get out and walk much less hike distances.
Sorry to go on but I think I need to hear what other people are doing!

[k2s4ever]

In my case, because thus far I have auras only, my recent experience with Topamax was a SE frenzy which I've written about here. Horrible facial twitching and what I think too were some tremors. My lower eyelid was terrible-the worst, literally and visibly jumped. It was more uncomfortable than the persistent burn smell from the aura. I actually started to wonder if I was now having motor involved simple partials! But it started only after the Topamax, so I was able to do a DUH-obvious SE, and sure enough, as soon as I came off of it-twitches were gone.

[saltydog]

I appreciate everyones postings very much. I took tegretol for >20 years after having grand mal seizures X2. I started having some brief aphasic spells and found a neurologist (first one in years!) He is great, put me on Keppra but I still had some slight symptoms. He started Vimpat but the SE's were too much. I didn't tolerate having a reduction in the Tegretol so now we are back to square one. I feel like crap and am discouraged. I am an active 59 year old who now feels too dizzy to get out and walk much less hike distances.
Sorry to go on but I think I need to hear what other people are doing!

Do some research some of theese meds are not desighned for long time use;
I have been on keppra myself,and back on it. Also make sure there not
giving you to much. Most of these Drugs are supposed to be at a certain level
in your blood stream;if not can make you feel that way.

[Martha KP]

Thanks but I have read everything possible about my meds and meds that I haven't taken (including research). I just never had this problem after all these years. I've had SE's but they went away after a week or two. Maybe I've just been lucky. I will discuss it with my MD. He is very open and thoughtful about all of this. I just get tired of going and whining about it. I have a lot more exciting things in my life to do!

[Kixnggls]

Let's see, nausea/ vomiting, dizziness, confusion, extreme fatigue, intense bone pain, increased seizures, irritability and double vision 24/7 from the meds or a few seconds of seizure followed by a couple hours sleep?

I will take the seizures any day over the anti-epileptic drug's. -insert wink here-

Although I would have to agree with you, I'm not sure my hubby would.. lol
My wonderful(insert eye rolling here) neurologist, took me off Dilantin, which was fine for me cept I still had occasional seizures, they felt like "resets" of my brain.. I've had epilepsy since I was 5-6yrs old. But now I'm on this Keppra, I HATE IT! still foggy in the head, but it messes with my SYnthroid, (yep I was blessed with hypothyroid which WAS controlled on Dilantin and I was very trim) on keppra, I gained 30 pounds in 6 months, also, on Dilantin my cholesterol was that of a healthy 20yr old (I am 47) but after only one yr on Keppra, it's now 275!! And I don't eat red meat, I'm dairy allergic so I don't eat that, I eat lots of tuna(water packed) and cherrios (in rice nonfat milk)..
Tomorrow I am calling my neurologist, and getting OFF this ishy stuff, as it is I reduced it my own self from 1000mg/day to 500mg/day..