Itching as a side effect of Keppra?

[forward2007]

Has anyone else here experienced itching as a side effect of Keppra? I started scratching my legs/arms all the time once I started taking Keppra.

[brain]

I was fine with Keppra @ 1500 mg, but
once the epileptologist raised it, by the time I was
at 2000 mg a day, I only itched for a
short time only and it went away, but
by the time I hit at 3000 mg a day, I
had all kinds of side effects; whereas
it put me into a state of psychosis!
I had to be taken off of Keppra. Now
I know why they nicknamed it Kep-Rage!
My Gosh! That drug is on my anti-epileptic drug Allergy
list right!

But KEPPRA IS A WONDER DRUG
for SOME PEOPLE but a hellish
nightmare for others!

[Bernard]

According to drugs.com (Keppra side effects):

Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur when using Keppra:

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue);

[angel]

If its not a allergic reaction (use a lotion like cetaphil on your skin) keppra makes my skin dry and itchy. Hugs forward....

try to stay from anything with a lot of perfume...strong soaps... Ive always told the doctors if i have any kind of rash.. it might just be the laundry soap or body soap your using ...something like that

love
angel

[renee97]

Has anyone else here experienced itching as a side effect of Keppra? I started scratching my legs/arms all the time once I started taking Keppra.

Yes, it certainly is one side effect. I've been on Keppra about 18 months and I dislike it more every day. Plus I have chronically dry skin and I live in Minnesota where the (high for the day) air temperature is forecast to be about 5 above by Thursday (January 17). And I get to catch the bus to appointments. Yes, I am looking forward to the end of this week----!
I agree with all the other comments 100%. Cetaphil is one of the very best there is. You might ask your prescribing doctor if there is a test to see if the itching is an allergy to the medication because it could be an allergy.
Renee97

[speber]

...I was hospitalized with a Keppra rash!

Itched like a son-**-*-***CH!!!!!!!!

But it did work well on E

*sigh*

[quay]

I know that breaking out in hives can be a side-effect of Keppra, but my experience has been different.

I'll have periods that range from a few days to weeks in which my entire body will itch; arms, legs, torso, scalp, everywhere. There's no swelling, redness, or any visual symptom around the areas where I scratch.

I don't need to express how maddening it can be sometimes. At first I thought I had developed an allergy to environmental factors, so I switched to hypo-allergenic soaps and laundry detergents, to no avail. I have to conclude that Keppra is the cause.

[Endless]

I didn't get that effect with Keppra, but did with Lamictal. It was a prerequisite to a drug reaction rash, so be careful and keep an eye on yourself. During the time I had just the itching it was all over my body. There was no rash really at that point.

My dermatologist said to use CereVe moisturizer and body wash. You can get it at Walgreens or drugstore.com. Right now it's on sale at walgreens.com. You can get it in the physical stores, too.
http://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=cereve
http://www.drugstore.com/search/sear...e=1&Ntt=cereve

It really helped the problem, but didn't take it away. Getting off the lamictal the first time solved the problem. I'm back on it now, but this time I ramped up at about one quarter the speed, and that helped me avoid some of the problems.