anyone on keppra?

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rory

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Hey
i'm newish here. im on keppra about 6 weeks now 750mg twice daily for almost 2 weeks and im just wondering how does does it take for it to work fully, as in stopping the seizures, had one a few minutes ago, a partial i think. i dont know if the fequency is decreasing as i wasnt really paying attention to them before.
has anyone had problems with dizziness also? im unsteady at the best of times but this is getting bad.
in for an eeg next week, should be fun
 
Hey Rory --

If you've been at your full dose for 2 weeks, then the Keppra should be working by now. It might help to keep a seizure diary, so you can see if the Keppra is making a difference, and also to track any side effects. If you think the Keppra isn't helping, or is making things worse, get in touch with your neuro.

It can definitely have dizziness as a side effect:
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/keppra-dizziness-8609/
http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f20/anyone-out-there-keppra-7082/
 
I'm on Keppra 1000mg per day and the doc added Epival because the Keppra wasn't doing enough
 
The keppra itself might not be enough. The dizziness should stop soon, but some people experience it as a continuing side effect. I take 2,000mgs of keppra, 1,000mgs of carbatrol, 200mgs of vimpat and still have seizures :)
I am just so special!! Good luck on your eeg next week.
 
Everyone is different. I am on 3000mg daily of Keppra and had a breakthrough seizure so they added 400mg of Vimpat. I am under control if I get enough sleep.
As for the dizziness it took me months to get rid of that but it still returns. Any time I take a painkiller it comes back.
 
knothing said:
I am on 3000mg daily of Keppra and had a breakthrough seizure
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Me too, but I also take a small dosage of Topamax along with it and have the VNS to help stop them, but it doesn't always work.
 
hey there i am new here too! my 4yr old son was taking keppra and the side effects for him where unsteadiness and temper/anger problems. it didnt control his seizures at all and the unsteadiness just got worse and worse. keep an eye on that (you dont want to look drunk all the time!) and i really hope that things come around for you!
 
tjsmom said:
hey there i am new here too! my 4yr old son was taking keppra and the side effects for him where unsteadiness and temper/anger problems. it didnt control his seizures at all and the unsteadiness just got worse and worse. keep an eye on that (you dont want to look drunk all the time!) and i really hope that things come around for you!
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My daughter was just diagnosed with epilepsy and has just started taking keppra. She has been complaining that it makes her feel dizzy. It is also affecting her moods. I am glad you shared your experience because I'm still watching out to see how this affects her.

She just had a seizure today so I don't know that it's helping either.
 
mommieinmi said:
My daughter was just diagnosed with epilepsy and has just started taking keppra. She has been complaining that it makes her feel dizzy. It is also affecting her moods. I am glad you shared your experience because I'm still watching out to see how this affects her.

She just had a seizure today so I don't know that it's helping either.
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yeah he had his first seizure april of this year and keppra was the very first thing that we tried, it didnt work either, then we went to topamax, and that made him have over 100 seizures in one day, but everyone is different and hopefully you will have better then we did. but the mood swings with my son about five weeks in got very scary! he even had a very calm conversation with me about how cool it might be to stab me with a knife!!!! very off behavior for my very loving son. but unfortunatly a lot of the anti seizure meds can affect moods!
 
I take Keppra also I take 2000mg every day, also take Lamictal 400mg day and Zonegram 300mg aday. Each one started with dizzy and lightheadness, I also have headaches with each one. My moods do not seem to be bad.each person side effect could be different. I still have seizure, they are not under control and i have had them for over 50 years.
 
i am getting qiute a lot of headaches lately, i got the same on prozac but it eased off. i know any meds that do things to your brain can take some time to get used too ive been been on lots for psychiatric reasons which it now turns out could have been the TLE, partly anyway. keppra hasnt been too bad compared to some meds ive been on, the diziness isnt as bad the last couple of days thank god, it was getting very intense.

thanks and good luck to you all, epilepsy sucks but what can you do, we all have our crosses to bear and such.
 
I take 2500 mg of Keppra per day, along with Tegretol and Lamictal. I started on the Tegretol first. I got up to about 1200mg per day and they added the Keppra. They increased that dosage slowly up to the max dosage which is 3000mg. I was still having a lot of breakthrough seizures, so I was sent for a 4-day video EEG, and then they added Lamictal. It worked so well that my doctors were going to try to take me off of the Keppra and Tegretol, so I decreased those doses, but I wasn't able to decrease the Tegretol by more than 200mg and the Keppra by 500mg.
So now I take Tegretol 1000mg, Keppra 2500mg, Lamictal 400mg
Someone else is correct when they said that Keppra should be working at its maximum after about 2 weeks. So you might need a dosage increase or an additional (or different) medication.
 
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I am taking Keppra XR 3000mgs a day (1500mgs in the AM, 1500mgs in the PM) so far things are going good for me!
 
Thanks guys.
I dont think ive had a seizure since last week, may have had one the other day but its hard to know if its panic or epilepsy. EEG in the morning, had one before but didnt have a diagnosis and the tech guy was rude, now i have a diagnosis i wonder will he be nicer or what it will be like, its been a long time.
 
Good Luck with the EEG! Ive had so many during my lifetime, I lost count! :lol:

Im sure things will go fine! :)
 
Iam on Keppra for 2 years now . I was getting sick off the Dilantin so i was put on the Keppra with a side of Prozac (3 prozac per day)...Can you say ZOMBIE !!! the Keppra has givin me a bad case of Plaque Psoriasis and very ichy skin.But the Dilantin landed me in the ER and my heart stopping...so now ill be scratching myself any time and later realize that im bleeding...not fun....
 
Is any one having appitite issues? Its getting worse, even looking at food is making me nauseated. I am using meal replacment drinks just to keep my weight level.
 
yea i have a terrible appetite if my wife don't put it in front of me at 6 i don't eat my 1 meal a day cause that's all i eat i may have a breakfast drink to supplement at everyone else's request.and i have been on it for yrs and still get the side effects but that's my personal experience.
 
Hey. I'm on 2000mg of Keppra a day. I have no appetite either. I know that I have to eat so make sure I do and it tastes good but I forget about food.
It makes me dizzy. Especially when I'm due for my next dose and when I wake up in the morning.
It has helped my seizures but not got rid of them altogether yet. I still experience them daily. Just not as many so I guess that's good.
Sometimes I feel hungover and drunk in the morning (I don't drink anymore) and I chalk that up to the meds. Either that or nocturnal fun that my brain has been keeping a secret from me.
Don't worry about the rude tech guy. Where I live all the health care people I encounter are stressed out to the max. I don't think they pay attention the individuals after awhile and the job simply becomes a job. You're like another car they have to service.
 
the tech guy was lovely this time. ive to go in for 24hr telemetry for 5 days in the next few months, not looking forward to that but i suppose if its got to be done. my mri showed shrinkage of the left mesial temporal lobe, does anyone else have that.
i have an appetite but i feel nauseous a lot, its comes and goes in waves and i do sometimes wake up feeling hungover yet ive not been drinking.
still dizzy a good bit and still having some seizures but not a lot and they seem watered down or something
 
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