Not sure if Keppra is working or not...

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy Forums

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy forums - a peer support community for folks dealing (directly or indirectly) with seizure disorders. You can visit the forum page to see the list of forum nodes (categories/rooms) for topics.

Please have a look around and if you like what you see, please consider registering an account and joining the discussions. When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no ads, access to members only (ie. private) forum nodes and more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!

C

ctlnld

New
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Points
0
My neuro has had me switching to 1000mg Keppra from 1000mg Depakote & yesterday was the first day I took Keppra alone. Depakote pretty much completely controlled my myoclonic & tonic clonic seizures but now I'm worried if Keppra isn't working.

This morning I went to go to work & my right arm kept tingling and going numb from my pinkie all the way to my elbow while I'd feel really hot and begin sweating. I'd feel this extreme panic and like I was about to have a seizure in a way that I can't describe- it was just a feeling that if I didn't go sit down and get out of there I'd have one (I don't know if that was just me being paranoid or what). After getting home I felt a little better, still some of that feeling but it's mostly gone now though for a while I was unable to stop crying. Didn't even know what to make of it, just that it probably shouldn't be happening?

Called my neuro & of course he's out of town but I'm supposed to call the on-call dr. later today and see what they can do... I've just been feeling so terrified because I don't know what's going on or what the dr. can even do when I tell them that I 'just felt like I was going to have a seizure'. I really need to go back to work as I can't afford to miss any more days, but it's a little hard to be in there when I feel so panicked & like I'm on the verge of having a seizure.

Whew I guess that was more venting than anything (sorry, probably in the wrong forum for that haha), but does anyone have any advice or tips on what to do if you think your new meds aren't working right?

Much appreciated.
 
Give it a couple of days. It could be cause it was the first day on your new med. Yesterday was my first day on Trileptal alone. I had a tremor in my right hand and forearm for an hour then was OK. Your body may need to adjust to it.
 
thanks so much, i think giving it some time will definitely help- at least with the anxiety for sure. it's been so long since i switched meds i think that put me a little too on edge :) thanks again!
 
It definitely takes time to re-balance, It may even be likely that you'll have a few seizures until things are levelled out again. And as you say, you're probably more than a bit anxious about it, and keppra can cause heightened anxiety anyway :/

One thing I wanted to ask- are they just stopping the depakote cold from 1000ml and moving straight on to 1000ml keppra? All the advice on here is to ramp up and wean down with meds.

I realise it maybe difficult, but I remember years ago when they cut me from Epilim/sodium valporate straight to Tegretol/carbomazepine and lamatrogine and it blew me away. Not just random increased seizures, but the side effects were pretty bad for a while. Even just increasing an extra 50ml lamatrogine suddenly a few years ago really affected me.

Hopefully someone with depakote knowledge will post with their experience.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom