Longterm keppra problem?

[poptart]

Not sure if this would be at all related to my experiences on keppra or just coinicidental timing. I'm no longer on keppra but these symptoms began just after my last dosage incrase and have steadily gotten worse.


(This paragraph discusses bathroom issues so skip it if that grosses you out)For the most part now, I can not eating more than a few bites of anything without having diarrhea 20 minutes later. This began with diarrhea about 3 times a week, and has progressed to this point. Early on I had an endoscopy and a gastrocopy when blood was found in my stool. It showed mild stomach inflammation, but nothing else. They never did find out what was inflamming my stomach. I now rarely get more than 2 minutes of warning when diarrhea about to begin, sometimes no warning. Many times its the food I just ate, but not always. Since I've been keeping track of this happening, there has only been one day in the past month where it didn't. The same food I ate that day has given me diarrhea in the past. In the few instances where I've had "normal" bm, they've been very narrow and though brown, have a grey tinge to them. I no longer eat breakfast or lunch on days I have to work because it just isn't safe too. I also get full after eating a small amount of food (even when I feel like I'm starving before I began eating) and have a tender spot just below my belly button on my left side - when I could eat a full meal that spot would actually hurt after eating.

I've no idea if its related or not, but last month, I also noticed my lips were beginning to turn the same color as my skin (I'm caucasion). Ie. My upper link is pale pink on the top, then there is a line that is skin color, then its darker pink below that. The same phenomen, except reversed) is occurring on my lower lip though its not as noticeable there. Its much more pronounced now, but I believe you can see what I mean in this picture. I've tried looking online for causes of the lip issue but its nearly impossible to weed through all the posts about chapsticks, dry lips, lipstick, herpes, etc to find anything useful. I'll appreciate any leads from "You will die in the next 5 minutes" to "It happens to everyone" on what could be causing this.

just remove the space before jpg and copy into your browser.
i43.tinypic.com/154hfk6. jpg

[Nakamova]

Definitely check in with your neurologist to re-evaluate Keppra. The likelihood and severity of most anti-epileptic drug side effects increase as the dosage increases. Diarrhea, anorexia, and GI inflammation are all potential side effects of Keppra, along with dehydration as well. If your diarrhea has been going on for more than two weeks, and can't be linked to something like food poisoning or any particular dietary change, then Keppra seems to be a reasonable suspect. It can be an appetite suppressant, and that in combination with the stomach irritation has probably thrown your digestive system off.

Given the chronic diarrhea, it's important that you make sure you're getting enough to eat and drink. Avoid dairy products (with exception of yogurt with probiotics) and any other foods that seem to make the irritation worse.

I had a similar problem when I was on Zonegran. It affected my digestion and made it hard for me to eat. Because low blood sugar is a trigger for me, I ended up having a massive tonic-clonic on it, and have since switched to Lamictal.