Hello everyone, I'm new to this site although not new to Epilepsy. Had the Right Temporal Lobe Lobectomy 4 years ago since I was having violent gran mal seizures. Was seizure free for approx. 4 years and just recently started having nocturnal seizures (only in my sleep) and they're not nearly as long (approx. 10 seconds) and only my arm bangs. Although it could be longer now (not sure) since my husband immediately stops them by placing his pointer finger on the dent above the lip / below the nose and this pressure point seems to immediately stop the seizure. I was put on Keppra (500 mg. 2x daily = very low dose) and the side effects kicked my butt! Lost 20lbs in a month, crazy mood swings (from spiritual peaks, to rage, to depression), alopecia areata which I'm now having to get steriod shots in my head for. Neuro gave me Tegretol XR and at the moment I haven't started them. Does anyone know the difference between Tegretol and Tegretol XR? I can't seem to get enough info. on the XR. I've been off Keppra for about a month 1/2 and opted to take nothing due to the crazy side effects (I know : (. Ironically prior to surgery (Dilantin, Lamictal, Tegretol, etc.) I didn't get ANY side effects and now after surgery I seem to get every one listed, which actually hindered my recovery and they took me off all meds after one year rather than the minimum 2 years because I was below 90 lbs. Anyone on Tegretol XR and if so, should I expect hair loss, weight loss, and crazy mood swings? To be honest the hair freaks me out the most since I lost a lot during my recovery (was on Lamictal for the year after surgery) and YES my hair did grow back and it was thicker and healthier than ever, but this time I'm on meds for good and I would like a med with the least side effects (yes, I know that's asking way too much : ) or at least one that's not going to make me go bald. Lamictal I lost a lot of hair all over my head and it was gradual, whereas Keppra (shewwwww) bald patches quickly! I'm considering alternative medicine since at the moment my seizures are small ones in my sleep and I don't have them every night. To be honest, I can't believe I'm dealing with seizures again after already having the surgery : ( I guess I should be grateful they're not as bad as they use to be and I was seizure free for 3 years. Any info would be greatly appreciated : ) Thanks! And I hope I can be of help to others.