keppra/lamactal = sezires

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jonsey

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Just a little update on Amys progress with keppra which was added to lamactal in feb of this year. Febuary went very well , with no complaints. Then march, april, may Amy has had seziures on a regular basis

Her last one was 27th april and her recent one was last night . We stayed in the hospital and discharged early hours of this morning , sporting a sling for her arm.

We went to see our gp this morning, hoping that he can change her mediction
or at least say stop the keppra, but he didnt want to mess about with the tablets the hospital have prescribed.

So he is going to try and fast track her appointment in the hospital
 
Me too, everything seemed ok in the feb when she started the keppra. What a change in three months. Feels like we are back at square one
 
Some meds make seizures worse for some folks. I'm sorry that that was your daughter's experience, and I hope it gets straightened out quickly.
 
Sorry to hear that chaos. Could the two medications be conflicting with each other? For me, Lamictal has been great.
It could be something outside the medications. Did she have her period? Did she eat something different or drink one of those high caffeinnated sodas/iced coffees? Gluten and soy are also known seizure triggers. Did she gain more weight that could have reduced the blood serum? Did she switch over to generic?
I feel very strongly in favor of brand name medications. I will never switch back and forth between brand and generic; or from generic to brand; or from one generic to another generic. The switch is know to cause breakthrough seizures.
I am betting that the hospital gave her generics.
 
hi alivenwell

Amy had good control on lamactal , just the odd break through during her period, she would have a seziure . She has the depo every 10 weeks which helped. Keppra was what i thought was introduced to help through the times that she may have a break through . We are waiting on a gynie sorry terribel at spelling . This was only pushed by our gp and not under the epilespy clinic.

Thanks dadoftwins, the forum is wealth of advice and support . And a problem shared is a problem halfed
 
Hi

Just after some advice. Amy has an appointment in the hospital this friday . I explained over the phone what,s been happening with amy and keppra. I was suprised that they want to reduce the keppra but keep her on it . Not sure whats going to happen with the lamactal yet . I thought that they would slowly reduce the keppra till she was no longer on it . Is it the norm to do this . Any advice is truley appreciated
 
Maybe they think her side effects were caused by too high a Keppra level, but that a lower amount will help with seizure control without making things worse. A lot of anti-seizure med stuff is done by trial and error, so they may not be clear about it themselves! The best thing to do is ask them point blank what the deal is with both the Keppra and the Lamictal. Make them give specifics about dosages, timelines, and expectations. It's their job after all -- they shouldn't leave you hanging.
 
my drs hate takin me off meds especially neurologists do.i take both i dont understand when we say no why they dont get it but what they tell me is when were gonna take u off a med we have to do it slowly so u dont have overwhelming seizures and his thought of just lowering dose might be he put it to high and that's why she is havin problems but honestly i think u will continue to have problems with keppra i take not by choice.find another aed if i was you.
 
Thanks again for the advice , but how can you control triggers. She knows that sleeping, no excess drinking , good diet , stuff you can control . But how can you control hormones, is there a specific drug to take . Why are certain triggers dismissed .

I must admit that i thought after explaining that seziures occured around her cycle, and thats why keppra was introduced
 
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Triggers are a tricky thing u can only get rid of certain ones and hormones part of body function.can only reduce stress not get rid of it unless u win jackpot.
 
Keppra isn't particularly targeted towards hormones, it's just a general anti-seizure med. You may need to be persistent with her neurologist about discussing the possibility of hormonal treatment. Those treatments usually involve some sort of progesterone -- either in certain kinds of birth control, or in lozenges or creams. Her neuro may be unfamiliar with these options, or uncomfortable with any potential side effects from the hormones, or may have some other reason altogether -- but you may have to bring it up again to find out why.
 
Thank you for replying,

Not much sleep in me tonight, half twelve and a new day almost. I have all the questions needed to do battle . Maybe battle is to stronger word. I have information on troublespme hormones too, and Amys diary will do the talkng just hope they listen.
 
Jonsey, here's hoping all goes well at the hospital appointment. You may get more joy from the gynaecologist than the e-doc.

One of the best things for me about an internet forum is this: because it's round the world, someone is always awake. So although here in the UK we have nearly 1am and wish I could sleep, they have anything from Just got in from work (7-10 hours behind us, in the States) to Getting ready for another day at school, (6-10 hours ahead, way out East) so you're never alone :)
 
Morning bathtub,

Whats happening with the weather, crazy in it , not complaining tho . We are waiting on an appiontment with the gynaecologist. Epilepsy clinic not interested , its our gp who has started pushing for that appointment . He has in fairness wrote to the clinic first to refure her for that appointment , but he is doing it as well, so hopefully one appointment will come quicker . Our gp dosnt want to step on there toes, but is adament he will have input in her care , we are lucky to have him .
 
arhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i want to scream, punch a wall do something . So annoyed i never thought about it till we got home . I explained Amys seziures are different, i mean how her head pulls to the right . We mentioned this to the doctor in the clinic a while back this was before keppra was introduced , she mentioned that her epilepsy has evolved to a different level . After again mentioning this to the epilepsy nurse, she wants Amy to see the head consultant now , i beleive this should of been done a long time ago . Wait now for three months because the epilepsy nurse cant prescribe the tablets that may benefit her . But we do have a rescue med to take for seven days when she is due her period .
 
amy has started the rescue med this morning (26/5/12) She had the usual systomes leading before the cycle begins. this morning she has had a breakthrough not seziure but her period. Wait and see now how she gets through this week. Fingers crossed if she dosnt seziure while using the rescue med , point proved . Epilepsy nurse has not reduced the keppra or increased it.
 
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