Keppra XR in children

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mrsf7602

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Hi everyone,

My son (8 years old) was diagnosed with left temporal lobe epilepsy in March. He has been on Keppra since the end of April...he was very drowsy at the full dose (375 mg twice per day) so the doctor lowered it in early June. It took until the end of July, but he has adjusted to the medication. Unfortunately he has had two seizures this week and the doc wants to increase the keppra back to 750 mg per day. My son has grown nearly an inch and gained five pounds since June, so the doctor feels his current dose is no longer enough.

We understand the recommendation to increase the meds...however we are questioning the fact that the doc recommended one dose of keppra xr in the evenings as opposed to two doses of the immediate-release keppra. In looking online, it seems that keppra xr is not approved for children under 16.

Do any of you have experience with keppra xr?! I would love to hear what you noticed in terms of safety, effectiveness, and side effects....

Thanks so much,
Angela
 
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Ive been on Keppra since the age of 17. I was on other seizure medications prior to that age. But I was on Keppra from age 17 to age 29. In November 2010, I was switched over to Keppra XR because of the really had headaches I had with Keppra. Once the switch was made, all the headaches went away. Ive been on Keppra XR since then.

I dont have any experience taking the Keppra XR as a very young child, but hopefully someone here can help in that area. I do know that my dr told me the switching to Keppra XR stays in your body longer, and releases it slower, which in return decreases the chances of having a seizure, since the Keppra goes into your body and goes away faster than the Keppra XR. So for me, its worked great. But Im on a higher dose too... I take 500mg tablets of Keppra XR... 3 in the morning and 3 at night... 3000mgs a day.
 
My son (8 y/o) is on Keppra XR --- 1000mgs in the AM. We switched from twice a day Keppra about 4-5 weeks ago. I haven't noticed any different side effects then from the regular Keppra. Just an FYI - Keppra XR comes in pills only and they are pretty big -- I was surprised my son could swallow them!

Good luck
 
My daughter, 11 takes 1000mg in the morning and 1000mg at night. It took her about a month or so to adjust, she was crabby, mood swings like crazy. It didnt do much for her seizures but alot of people do very well on this. Best of luck to you!
 
Thanks everyone for your replies....it is helpful to hear that others have had good experiences with keppra xr.

Angela
 
My daughter, 11 takes 1000mg in the morning and 1000mg at night. It took her about a month or so to adjust, she was crabby, mood swings like crazy. It didnt do much for her seizures but alot of people do very well on this. Best of luck to you!



LisaBee - thank you for the information. My daughter just now started taking Keppra on top of Topamax and she is VERY emotional! So your daughter adjusted after a month? My 7 year old is only taking 400mg a day.
 
My son takes 1500 mgs AM and 1250 PM, still has seizures but the doctor has said that the XR is better for side effects. I think lots of E drugs have off label uses.
 
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