keppra, lack of attention, imperfectionism

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Matthew74

Matthew74

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I believe that when I started taking Keppra a number years ago that I lost some mental focus, and stopped caring about doing certain things correctly. When I was on Tegretol alone I had great mental focus, intense concentration, attention to detail, and was a perfectionist to a fault. I seem to have lost a lot of that. In particular, I am not as good at arts/crafts and music. Has anyone else experienced this?

Thank you,

Matthew
 
I take Keppra too and it is a drug that is known to make you angry easy called Kepprage. It does for me.

Is it possible that you could be frustrated with what you are doing and get mad when you can't get it right? You might say to yourself and not realize it - "Heck with it. If this is how I'm going to do it then this is the way it's going to get done!"

You might also be having small seizures or auras that are making it not easy to concentrate? I do crossword puzzles and I'm usually pretty good at them. However if a seizure is coming on I may not be able to figure out something with an answer as simple as dog.
 
I'm sure the impatience and frustration has something to do with it. I hadn't thought of that. I don't have to feel "frustrated", but I suppose a lower tolerance for aggravation in general leads to being less particular about things. Rather than feeling frustrated or impatient I feel like I just don't care. I can't "get into" things like I used to. I used to be able to work at getting things perfect for hours, but now just want to do the best I can in the least amount of time. It used to be hard for me NOT to obsess.

I am having "auras" or small simple partials frequently. That could also be part of it.
 
I was switched from Dilantin to Keppra back in July. I seem to be having the same problems. With taking Dilantin it seemed to improve my moods. My memory was great and at work I was somewhat a perfectionist. Since being switched I feel down tired most of the time. Seem to have a really I don't care attitude. Was never like this before. I have a really hard time getting thing done at home also.
 
I definitely agree with the wobbly frustration tolerance. I do find myself having those sweeping the chess board moments, and I'm sure it's negative effect on the motor learning only increases the background level of frustration as well.

Keppra can lead you into some quite negative mental places if you let it, one of which I've certainly noticed is this lack of care about, well, most things. Unfortunately it seems to go 'well' with the tiredness/lack of energy affect, so focusing intensely on difficult tasks can just become waaay too much effort at times.

For years I wasn't really aware it was an effect, I just assumed it was part and parcel of the depression that seems to go hand in hand with E. Since being on here I've started taking a B6 supplement which does seem to elevate my mood, which does help with these negative feelings.
 
Thanks! You guys seem to be saying, that besides the obvious frustration, you feel either apathetic or just don't feel like doing stuff.

"Way too much effort" sounds familiar. I don't feel like doing ANYTHING, besides vegging in front of my computer or watching something on DVR. Even things I enjoy are a struggle. "Don't care" also sounds familiar. I used to keep my tool bag really neat, but now it's just a cruddy pile of stuff. I've been re-learning clarinet, which is going well, but I keep making the same mistakes and hardly notice them. I used to spend hours on practicing those sorts of things.

SlimBlue - How much B6 do you take, and in what form? I am taking "Solaray B-Complex Chewable, with 10mg B6 (as Pryridoxine HCI - whatever that is).
 
I'm taking a generic Pyridoxine 10mg tablet, it's as a hydrochloride (which is what the HCl means). The tiny bit of magnesium in it seemed to help me sleep better if taken in the evening, which has lead me to experiment with better magnesium supplements as well.

I did try a month on, two weeks off when I first started the B6, and whilst I'll admit it wasn't the most clinical of tests, it did seem to make me a bit a livelier. It could well be just the placebo effect, but I'm not really bothered as long as it helps...
 
I also have a new effect from Keppra that is increasing as not seen before. And not sure if its related to now, starting lamectal in small increases. Rage (at random) and appathy about lots of life stuff that never happened before. ???
 
Since i increased my lamotrogine just by 25 per dose last year, i have noticed more rage events and it does say it can cause increased irritability and agression, so just try an ramp up a slowly as you can, and be aware.

I find when I go out, I spend a lot of time checking things I'm just about to say- to try and put a barrier between that overly aggressive explosion after a missheard comment etc.. It does help, but it's very wearying :/

The lamotrogine is used as a mood stabiliser and I found that whilst I was getting stable on the new dose it definitely made some keppra effects worse, and I was an emotional wreck.

It's a lot better now, but I still worry that it makes the keprage more likely :/
 
Thank you Slim, I actually asked my doc and pharmacist a number of times about how i am convinced that the AED's make me dumber. I asked "Is it the government's plan to dumb-down the nation?" My vocabulary is a pitiful fraction of what i used to have...??
 
about tegretol

Hi Matt, Yes. I have only taken Tegretol for three months and I do experience perfectionism and being exacting -- in good ways as well as otherwise. I am doing creative work and once I get going, the Tegretol seems to help keep me at it. I tried KEPPRA very briefly and I was not much interested in anything so was not working at anything creative. I am glad you brought this up. Take care, Bidwell
 
Just before I noticed this thread, I'd just followed the NCBI - Pharmacopoeia of Prophylactic Antiepileptic Drugs link posted by qtowngirl in the Library recently and read up on my meds' effects.

This is from the adverse reactions section for levetiracetam (kep) taken from Chapter 14 of "The Epilepsies: Seizures, Syndromes and Management":

somnolence, asthenia and dizziness, which are dose-dependent and reversible. Others include headache, infection (common cold, upper respiratory infection which were not preceded by low neutrophil counts that might suggest impaired immunological status), anorexia, pharyngitis and pain. No withdrawal-related adverse events were reported during the cross-titration period. Levetiracetam interferes with rapid motor learning in humans due to suppression of excitatory activity in the motor cortex.

Caution should be exercised when administering levetiracetam to individuals who may be prone to psychotic or psychiatric reactions.
Click to expand...

Many AEDs seem to have this 'dumbing down' effect, and if you think about it- the main function of many seems to be stopping so many neurons firing at once. IANAD, but surely that's got to be a negative effect from the meds??

(Janus, info for lamatrogine and others is on there too).

It may sound trite, but I worry about this effect on things like epiphanies. During my work, I face some very difficult problems, and many times the only way to solve them is hammer away at it for ages until I get one lol
 
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IMO, most of the AEDs do have the 'dumbing-down' effect. I've tried 12 AEDs, and all of them have made me either 1)forgetful 2)moody 3)anorexic 4) suicidal, not to mention headaches, and lowered WBC plus other problems. I'm currently on Keppra and it does have some bad effects. But then again, so do seizures........

BTW, many of the AEDs are also used as mood stabilizers, and as SlimBlue said, Lamictal is one. Tegretol is another, so maybe that is why you didn't feel quite so irritated while taking Tegretol, Matthew.

Here is another list of all AEDs :

http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/seizure_medicines
 
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Hey Matthew.

Any time I have a simple partial, I talk to the doctor and we get things figured out. I have been on Keppra for quite some time and now I take Vimpat in conjunction.

I haven't had all the problems you have, but then again, I have pretty bad ADHD that I chose not to control. If it matters enough to me, I will pay enough attention to it.
Valeriedl mentioned the keprage issue which may be effecting you to a minor extent. It may have a depressing effect rather than a rage effect.
Taking a guess, it sounds like you're depressed. Take some vitamin B6 and B12. Also, I suggest seeing a therapist. I believe everyone should have one.
 
I do have Kepprages to deal with, but I'm not on much, and like SlimBlue said try to think before I speak. It's the surprises that get me. People get mad at me for acting like a baby, and it's embarrassing. I usually blow up for about 2 seconds and then stop myself once I realize what happened. After a while you're not sure whether its only the meds, or if you have become habituated to getting upset about everything because of the meds.

I agree totally that AEDs make you dumb. I think doctors should have to take them before they prescribe them. They would be stunned. That way when you told them how they make you feel they couldn't blame it on the seizures or your imagination. I tried running a book group last year, and compared to when I was only on 400 or 600 mgs of Tegretol, I was an idiot. Overall it went ok, but my intellectual function was a shadow of what it had been.

My opinion of taking Tegretol for about 20 years is that it probably does "stabilize" my mood, but I would describe it more like "deadness". If anything, for me, it's a depressive. Or, perhaps it just makes it harder to get happy or excited, and because I tend to depression anyhow, it keeps me there.

My experience on Lamictal was similar to what you guys said. I started having seizures and ended up in the hospital for a weekend. I asked for something new and they added Lamictal. I felt ok the day before. The first morning, when they released me, I woke up and literally could not find the motivation to eat breakfast, just sat and stared at it (I usually eat 24-7). I must have struggled simply to sit up for 10 minutes. I more or less slept through them taking off my EEG "hat" and wires. Then, I started crying for no reason whatsoever. I told the doctor about it, but they released me anyhow. I was fine, but some poor guy could have killed himself in that condition. The whole day I was walking around trying not to cry! I got over that in a day or so, but was on it for a couple weeks. For the most part I just sat and stared. I have never been such a zombie in my life. The good part was that I had never been so relaxed in my life!

N Sperlo: Thanks. I'm pretty frustrated with the doctors right now. I've seen several in the area, and the one I have gone to for a number of years is not helping. Maybe your "ADHD" is how you drive a race car.
 
In response to: "Maybe your "ADHD" is how you drive a race car."

Absolutely. Hyperfocusing helps a ton. Its a form of meditation.

Maybe that could help you out as well. I meditate when I can. I've been meditating since high school. I lower my breathing and heart rate to help me get a break from the world. It can make you feel at peace if not for just a few minutes. If you've never tried, I'm happy to share how.
 
I was having problems with the keppra so I started taking vitamin B6, without asking my neuro, to see if it helped. I started having seizures like crazy when I was on it so I stopped taking it. Was back to normal after that, still having seizures but not like I was while on it.

I haven't seen anyone else on here saying anything like this happening to them with B6 so it may just have been me that had some sort of reaction to it. You might want to talk to your neuro though about taking it if you decide to try it.
 
N Sperlo: Thanks. I tried deep breathing for a while, and it helped somewhat. It will help if I get back on board with my prayer rule.

Valeridl: I haven't had any problems with B6. It helps, but hasn't been a wonder drug either.
 
Matthew,

Thank you so much for this post. I have exactly the same issue. I've always worked in writing and creative professions. I took Dilantin for many years and always was able to really focus on any problems I was trying to solve or any document I was trying to write, and I had a great, detailed memory. I used to joke that I could crawl up any problems ass with a microscope and analyze the hell out of it.

Once I started Keppra all that changed. I haven't felt as smart, my memory and verbal memory isn't as good, and I just don't feel I have the focus I used to have (which is very important to me). Like you, I'm nowhere near the perfectionist I used to be.

If you bring these things up to a doc, they look at you like your just paranoid because (and lets all say this together) "Nothing in the literature says the drug is known to cause this."

In my case, I am considering going back on Dilantin. Keppra has controlled my seizures, but like I said, I don't feel like the same person either professionally or personality-wise.

Have you thought about going back to Tegretol and seeing if you notice a change for the better?
 
Dignan: I'm still on Tegretol (and Felbatol), but Tegretol alone doesn't control my daytime simple and complex partials.

I'm sure that any of the AED's can cause similar issues with various people. Like you said though, "Nothing in the literature". Aaaauughhhh! One of the last visits with my doctor I told him something like, "So ALL your patients, who are actually taking this stuff, tell you they feel *fill in the blank* because of the meds, but you don't believe them because there's no paper that says so?"

It's good to know I'm not alone in this particular. Like you and many others I find Keppra works great. I also find that all the meds alter your perception of things. For example if you are trying something and it makes you feel wretched, you don't know how just how bad until you stop taking it. Then, you wake up, and think, "Wow so that's what it's like to be alive!"

In the case of Keppra I was wondering, "Is it me?", "Am I getting old?", "Am I having too many partials?", "Was I mistaken about how good I was before?", or "Is my brain just fried?" They need a whole lot more research on the side effects of meds.

Of course I have wondered what I'm really like, without any meds. I see pictures of myself as a little kid and I was so full of affect, happy, open to the world. Even in high school pictures I look pretty good. In almost all the pictures from the last ten years I look like a broken sick person. I'm thinking, "Do I really look that way?"

If I could I would just systematically go through all the meds to experiment and see what works best. Seems logical. I have found that the only way I can ever stop taking a particular med is to just wean myself off. The doctors won't cooperate.
 
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