Keppra

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Phredhead

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I was recently started on Keppra 500mg BID. For the first few hours after I take it I feel like I'm having a constant aura. My brain feels loopy and my body is slow to respond and all I do is sleep. I can't concentrate either. I literally just started taking it 2 days ago. Has anyone had this experience? Will my body get used to it? I am a nurse and have had to take time off of work because I can't function properly on this medicine.


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I've been on Keppra since 2006 and I recall that when I first started I was very emotional, tired and foggy. Can't remember when it dissipated. Today I'm doing well on 1000 mgs. daily. Seizure free since 2008.
Good luck. Hang in there!
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I have been on Keppra for 5 years and remember those days all to well. I started on 1000 mg and increased to 3000 mg daily. I would take my evening dose and just go numb in my brain. I would just lay there for a couple hours and be useless. I spent 2 months getting to my dosage I am on now but it did take a couple weeks to adjust. For some reason it was the second dose that always put my down so I was able to work.

I still have times like that but have adjusted to feeling like that and functioning. Good news for you is that I had added another drug with similar side effects so more than likely it is my combination.
 
I was started on 500 mg twice daily, went to 750 twice daily two weeks later, and am now on 1000 mg twice daily. The past two evenings after I got home from work I went straight to bed and slept for 11-12 hours. I'm sitting here at work right now still drowsy.
 
I still sleep more than usual, but I can get by without a problem on 6 hours of sleep. I got very tired with increases. I'm at 2000 mg 2x daily.
 
I've been on keppra exactly a year. Remember oh so well the terrible feelings and depression I went thru when starting it. Started at 500 mg twice dual then increased to 1500 mg daily after one week. No coordination wanted to do nothing but cry and sleep. Could not eat and lost 20 to 30 lbs. I was fortunate that my job was not as demanding as being a nurse. Things have gotten better. I think some of it is just getting used to feeling like you do. Have memory issues and many days of feeling like I don't want to do anything. Some depression still but as far as seizures it seems to be doing the job. My problem is being able to sleep now. Not sure if it's meds or other reasons. I get so tired but have really bad nights being able to sleep.
 
Hi I have been on 1500 mg BID since 12/2012. Recently reduced to 1000 BID since I started Lamictal. The Keppra made me tired, irritable and unmotivated. Recently I have more energy and can focus more although I am still tired in the afternoon. I am also taking a lot of vitamins and changed my diet so not sure whats really helping. Hope to reduce again soon.
Hope your experience works out for you.
 
Thank you all for your replies. In your opinion, do you feel my Neurologist is jumping the fun here? I have been seizure free without medication for almost 5 years now. I have never had an abnormal EEG or MRI. As far as I know I could have passed out due to hypoglycemia (was diagnosed the same time as the "seizures" happened). I understand the seizure precautions, but automatically putting me on meds and sending me over 100 miles to have a video EEG seems like a lot for 1 possible seizure. You guys have a lot more experience with this than I do. I don't know if I'm taking this whole thing too lightly or if I'm just having a hard time believing it's all happening again.
 
I was on Keppra and had keppRAGE. Rage emotions. I am on VimPat now as far as I remember. LOL my memory stinks now. Keep talking to your Drs. On both Keppra and VimPat they had me sneak up on a higher dose. I talked them into a low dose and then began having seizures. The others here are more experienced than I.
 
I've taken 3000 mgs of Keppra now for 10+ years and like any most of the AEDs, they initially have the potential of making one feel tired, sleepy, dopey, and depressed, etc. Plus Keppra is well known to cause one to go into a rage/depression. Temporal Lobe Epilepsy itself has done that to me, not one specific medication, 'cause I've tried nearly all out there. But then, some of the AEDs are used as bipolar/mood stabilizer treatments, like Lamictal, Trileptal, Depakote, Topomax, Neurontin, just to name a few.

If you had another seizure after being seizure-free for 5 years, your neuro is playing it safe to make sure they don't get any worse. Plus if it was hypoglycemia, he needs to sort it out to make sure. I have E and Type 1 Diabetes, so I've had a hypoglycemic seizure and ended up in the hospital. It's better to be safe than sorry and be in a car accident. Believe me.
 
Cint Littleton I built tree house there as a kid. Some very fond memories in Littleton Co.
 
I've had the work up for Diabetes in the past, had several 3 hour glucose tolerance tests as well as a work up for Lupus since both run in my family.
 
bighealey said:
Cint Littleton I built tree house there as a kid. Some very fond memories in Littleton Co.
Click to expand...

Really?:ponder: I have a brother in the Bay area. I was just out there back in May.
 
Phredhead said:
I've had the work up for Diabetes in the past, had several 3 hour glucose tolerance tests as well as a work up for Lupus since both run in my family.
Click to expand...

Were the test results negative?
 
All of my results have been negative. I've had 3 EEG's, all negative, 2 MRI's, both negative. Just had another EEG yesterday, waiting on the results of it and will have another MRI once my insurance approves it. My issue is that the 1 seizure that was witnessed was a tonic seizure, I went completely stiff and fell out of a chair. But the person that witnessed it was my ex-stepmother who is bat crazy. She has a daughter with cerebral palsy that suffers from seizures, so I know she knows all about them. But at the time she had lost her rights to her daughter. I don't know if she told the truth or if she made it up a little to make her feel as if she was needed. All I remember from all of my episodes is having an aura and then waking up on the floor still feeling the aura (body tingling, cotton in ears, ringing in ears) and needing a few minutes to gather myself before I could stand up and being very tired. All my symptoms point to seizures and not just passing out spells. I would just like to know what kind I'm having. If they are not witnessed, how do you figure that out?
 
Phredhead said:
All I remember from all of my episodes is having an aura and then waking up on the floor still feeling the aura (body tingling, cotton in ears, ringing in ears) and needing a few minutes to gather myself before I could stand up and being very tired. All my symptoms point to seizures and not just passing out spells. I would just like to know what kind I'm having. If they are not witnessed, how do you figure that out?
Click to expand...

There are many types of seizures. Mine started as SP seizures and the doctor mis-diagnosed me and said at that time I was hypoglycemic. No one had witnessed any of those SP's. But the seizures increased in severity and then I ended up in the hospital. It was after that I started having CPs and TC seizures. Some docs don't make the right diagnosis, so you do need to go to a the specialist.

And here is more info on the types of seizures:

http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/types-seizures
http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/types-seizures/simple-partial-seizures
http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/types-seizures/tonic-clonic-seizures
 
I take Keppra 1800 mgs a day. I have no problems with it. My neurologist told me to take Vitamin B Complex, one a day. I have and I have no problems with it. I also have Diabetes Type 2. That can cause seizures too.

It is important that you keep your appointment with the doctor you are going to see, no matter how far it is. A Video EEG is more accurate than a regular EEG. A regular EEG only shows up seizures if you have a seizure during the test.
 
Fortunately my Neuro is just 15 min away from my house and my husband is able to take me if I make afternoon appointments. Thankfully my sister isn't working right now and can take me to Miami for the VEEG, just waiting on insurance pre-approval. I am happy to have found a Neuro that wants to figure out what is happening. I did receive my EEG results from yesterday and it was slightly abnormal. It showed possible beginning seizure activity during the strobe lights. Don't know much more than that until I go for my follow-up appointment on the 15th. Ruth, I will look into the Vit B Complex, my sister just graduated with her BS in Dietetics/Nutrition. She would be more than happy to conduct that research for me.
 
You probably do have epilepsy then. It showed up in the EEG.

Those strobe lights are something else, aren't they? I hate them but they will show up seizure activity if it is there.
 
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