New to the community, I've had epilepsy 16 years

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I've read on some of the other posts here it seems Keppra can have some crappy side affects, that was the nice thing about phenytoin is it never made me feel bad except once when I had some dumb ass doctor giving me 1100mg a day for a while about 10 years ago but that doesn't matter if it's not working anymore. I'll pick up my first dose at the pharmacy in the morning so I consider a little discomfort acceptable if it keeps me seizure free. Thank you all for your support I never get to talk about this stuff with anyone else.
 
bdhshakes said:
Welcome, and good luck with the Keppra - I really hope it helps get things under control. I've had epilepsy for 25 years now and I'm right there with you on the memory, I talk to my wife about things we've done, like vacations, and she says "hey remember that one time we were at that one restaurant and there was a fire?" me: "nope, remind me?". I had my memory tested in 2015 for pre-surgery stuff, and I felt things have been so much worse lately so I requested it again from my neurologist and things had become a little worse. It's a real struggle sometimes but I take a lot more videos now of family things that we do to remind me, so that's been a fun hobby to pick up. I write things down a lot more now, for work or just things I need to do (bills, call for appts, work meetings etc) and it's helped a lot so I recommend try doing that more.
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DEFINITELY agree. Sticky notes will become your best friend, you can get them in BULK on Amazon :)
 
You should see my wallet it's full of little scrap papers with notes on them lol the sad thing is I can't even remember what half of them were about, I manage a liquor store so a lot of them were requests from customers or people trying to get a job, then I look at the papers and have no idea who it was for, I've just accepted that and try to do the best I can otherwise. The one thing that has been on my mind the most though, working in retail I already deal with plenty of customers who piss me off every day and I consider myself a pretty relaxed guy. If Keppra is known for "Kepprage" as I've researched, I really hope it doesn't start making me go crazy at work when I get the random drunk asshole who just wants to start problems. I've gotten in fights with people at the store before because they've instigated it but the last thing I want is for me to lose my control when I have to deal with these people, so far I'm about 11hrs into my first 500mg dose and I still feel fine but I'm sure it will be at least a week before I really know how it's going to start affecting me
 
Today is the 4th full day of taking generic Keppra and damn...The 2nd day was horrible I felt like I was drunk all day, went to work and it started turning into the way too drunk "spinning" feeling and couldn't concentrate on anything I was trying to do, then I had to leave a few hours early because I got so tired I was ready to sit down on a box or anything and just pass out. I got to bed about 8pm and didn't wake up or move at all until 10am, it knocked me out 14 hrs solid. Yesterday and today I felt fine, "sober", I can concentrate and think clearly, dealt with work fine, it's definitely still affecting my energy but not anything like the 2nd day, I've taken it with and without food, so far it hasn't bothered my stomach at all, a few very small headaches that haven't been much of a bother but overall I generally feel good. I've noticed a few bitchy moments at work with some people when I've said something I normally wouldn't but I've caught myself from saying anything out of line. It still all depends how well this stuff works for me but I don't think I'll have a problem with it if it gets things stopped.
 
kizzle said:
Today is the 4th full day of taking generic Keppra and damn...The 2nd day was horrible I felt like I was drunk all day, went to work and it started turning into the way too drunk "spinning" feeling and couldn't concentrate on anything I was trying to do, then I had to leave a few hours early because I got so tired I was ready to sit down on a box or anything and just pass out. I got to bed about 8pm and didn't wake up or move at all until 10am, it knocked me out 14 hrs solid. Yesterday and today I felt fine, "sober", I can concentrate and think clearly, dealt with work fine, it's definitely still affecting my energy but not anything like the 2nd day, I've taken it with and without food, so far it hasn't bothered my stomach at all, a few very small headaches that haven't been much of a bother but overall I generally feel good. I've noticed a few bitchy moments at work with some people when I've said something I normally wouldn't but I've caught myself from saying anything out of line. It still all depends how well this stuff works for me but I don't think I'll have a problem with it if it gets things stopped.
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I hope you feel better soon :)

I remember when I started taking it...I would sleep pretty much what felt like all day for a week or so. I got better, not so fatigued, but I'm definitely more tired on Keppra than when I'm not on it and that's unfortunate.
 
Glad you are starting to feel better. Your neuro may tweak the dosing when you get a sense of how how well the keppra's working.
Just in case you start to get cranky -- some folks have found that a B6 supplement helps with Keppra's mood-related side effects.
 
Nakamova said:
Glad you are starting to feel better. Your neuro may tweak the dosing when you get a sense of how how well the keppra's working.
Just in case you start to get cranky -- some folks have found that a B6 supplement helps with Keppra's mood-related side effects.
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Thanks for that info I will definitely go get some there's no harm in trying to make myself extra cheerful :) I had yesterday and today off, I slept from 5pm yesterday to 10am today, then went back to sleep from 2-7pm, I've never slept so much in my life lol but I still feel good, I had my first good meal today since the seizures because my tongue is almost back to normal which was probably what made me pass out again, MRI is tomorrow but probably a waste of time, your all awesome stay healthy!
 
kizzle,

Keppra has been my wonder drug. It has controlled my seizures better than any other drug I’ve tried and minor side effects for me. But, of course, everyone is different. Hopefully, it works for you with minimal side effects. Good luck! It’s the only seizure med I take now. I take 1,500 mg twice a day. Of course, I had to gradually work my way up to that dosage when I first went on it 15 years ago.
 
Using some kind of mouthwash really helps with the cuts in the mouth. One time when I had braces I really shredded the inside of my cheek and tongue. I could barely eat and the pain never went away. It was terrible until I tried mouthwash. It burned really bad of course, but then almost all of the pain was gone instantly. Ever since then, every time I cut my mouth I use mouthwash right away. You heal a lot faster.

When I was on Keppra I learned to catch myself before I said anything and think it over before speaking. I felt the rush and then told myself not to say anything. It didn't make the frustration and anger go away, but most of the time I was able to avoid saying something bad.
 
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