B6

[Staceypt]

Jason had a f/u EEG on Monday - still showing lots of spikes, but significantly less since starting the Keppra. We are still seeing seizures at home as well, though not as often. I spoke with his neurologist on the phone yesterday and she suggested we up the dosage of Keppra from 2.5mL AM/2.5mL PM to 4mL each. Everytime we up his dosage we get some side effects (aggression, tiredness, etc) and I asked her about B6. She told us he could start with 50mg/day.

I have a few questions - how much B6 can a 50 pound 7 y/o be on? She said he could take up to 100mg a day, but he already has B6 in his multivitamin. ALSO -- do they make it in chewable or liquid form? We got him to take it this morning, but it was tough for him to swallow. We cut a 100mg in half and then halved that -- put the two quarters on a spoon with applesauce. any other tricks to get them to swallow a pill??

He has an MRI on Monday and I'm a nervous wreck. Can't wait until that is over!!

 

[Nakamova]

The reason for taking a B6 supplement is that the Keppra is interfering with its uptake and metabolism. So you're counteracting a deficiency rather than piling on extra B6. For this reason it's okay to be a little higher with the supplement (though there's no need to exceed the 100mg upper limit). Since you don't have an exact measure of how quickly his B6 is being metabolized, it makes sense to be a little conservative, and only give him enough to see if it makes a difference in his behavior.

There are chewable forms out there. Here's one:
http://www.mountainnaturals.com/for_people/vitamins/magne_b6_magnesium_vitamin_b6_vitamin_c/ It's a combo with vitamin C and magnesium, which can be a good thing. There are some studies that suggest that the B6-magnesium combo helps with attention deficit disorder -- with kids showing less hyperactivity, moodiness and aggression, and improved school attention.

 

[donnajane]

Good luck with the MRI. Hope it helps with your sons diagnosis.

 

[tjsmom]

my 5 yr old has been taking vit b6 for about 7months now, he has been taking 100mg a day and it really helped. soon after he started having seizures i got him used to swollowing pills. which was good because at one time my son was on 9 perscriptions!!! but he can take several pills all at once i like the pills better because a lot of the time its harder to get them to swollow liquids, becaus lets face it even thoe they say its flavored alot of the time they are still nasty!!! but pills are mostly taste free.. and ever quickly!!! something to consider at least!!!

 

[Staceypt]

Nakamova - thanks for the link! I ordered some!

Donna - MRI went great - everything was normal Thank goodness!

Tjsmom - he is doing good taking it with some applesauce or some pudding, but protesting the whole way! I'm waiting for the chewables to come in the mail. He actually does really, really well with liquid medication - which is good b/c his keppra is in liquid form.

Thanks everyone