B6 vitamins to mitigate effects of Keppra

[ccaronn]

Hi, it's comforting to be here. I have a 27 yr. old, developmentally delayed son who was diagnosed with epilepsy 23 months ago. He was on 400 mg of dilantin (phenytoin) per day and appeared to be seizure free until March 10, 2014. That day, he had 2 tonic clonics and has had 5 partials in the last 8 days. We are new to partials. He gets headaches, hand cramping, sweats and flushing, and severe anxiety when the partials occur. Our neuro added another 100 mg of dilantin and put him on 1000 mg of Keppra to help with the partials. He's 220 lbs. and I want to use the B6 and multi-vit supplement (our neuro said it was okay but didn't prescribe the dosage) to mitigate the angry effects of the Keppra but I don't know what amount is safe. Can anyone help me, please?
Thanks, Christine

 

[Juju26]

Stress B-Complex

Hi Caron

This March has made it a year since I've been on Keppra, but I didn't start taking B vitamins until after 4 months while on Keppra.....and it was awful.

It brought stress and extreme drowsiness for me, I had to take a 4 hour nap in the afternoon and still sleep 8 hours through the night fine.

I take Stress B-Complex by Nature Made for energy and of course stress and now I can go the whole day w/o a nap, I buy it from Walgreen's, it's over the counter and water soluble so it doesn't build up inside of you, you just have to take it with meals.

Everybody is different so talk to your pharmacist and doctor about it.

 

[travel bug]

Hi ccaronn, welcome to CWE!

I'm not an expert, so I'll just tell you what has been working for me. I take a B complex supplement that has 2 mg of B-6 and 30 mcg of B-12 along with some other vitamins such as C and folic acid. I was really nervous when my doctor upped my dose of Keppra to 2000 mg a day, but with the b complex, I haven't had any major issues.

You can talk to your pharmacist if you feel the recommended dose of b complex isn't enough, but from the things I've read here, it's usually enough to at least help some.

Good luck to you and your son

 

[N Sperlo]

Hi ccaronn.

I am 125 lbs and am on 2000 mg of Keppra 2x/day. I do have rage issues that appear to be connected to Keppra.
I take 1000 mg of time released B12 in the morning along with 100 mg of B6 (not time released). This gets me through the work day. If I felt like I needed it, I would take another 100 mg dose of B6 in the afternoon, but that is my time to chill out. I feel it makes a big difference in my mood.

 

[ccaronn]

Thank you so much for your help, Juju26, Travel Bug and N Sperlo. I am going to Walgreens tomorrow and will talk to the pharmacist, thanks again! Best wishes to you all!

 

[valeriedl]

I take keppra and I've got some pretty bad keprage from it. I take folic acid and a multi vitamin every day.

I tried taking B6 a few years ago, without talking to my neuro, and I started having more seizures while I was on it. I'd suggest talking to someone about putting him on it before you do.

 

[Bernard]

... He's 220 lbs. and I want to use the B6 and multi-vit supplement (our neuro said it was okay but didn't prescribe the dosage) to mitigate the angry effects of the Keppra but I don't know what amount is safe. Can anyone help me, please?
Thanks, Christine

Hi Christine,

Initial studies on B6 supplementation to mitigate Kepprage had patients using anywhere from 50-400mg/day:

.... Average vitamin B6 dosage was 118mg/day (range 50–400mg/day). ...

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/kepprage-how-do-you-de-stress-5169/#post48452