Lamictal and Keppra
Eve, I would say try the Lamictal and the slow process is best. Years ago I was on Lamictal (I was always told to take the brand name and not the generic) and some of my side effects were:
NO RASH (I had to put that one in first)
Hair loss (from all over, unlike Keppra I ended up with bald patches - this was my biggest complaint)
Vivid Nightmares (annoying but tolerable)
Insomnia (was O.K. with it for awhile since it was a nice welcome from the zombie state that Dilantin caused, but eventually it became a problem)
Extra Saliva (annoying but tolerable...I just made a lot of slurping noises to gather all the spit to swallow it...Yes, sounds gross but it sounds worse than it is and no one noticed except for the little slurpy noises and it didn't effect my speech at all)
Weight loss (Always a nice welcome, but eventually problematic)
My neuro took me off Lamictal early after RTL (1 year rather than 2) due to the insomnia and weight loss. HOWEVER, you may do just fine with it and I did for 6 months and it wasn't until after surgery did I have a problem and perhaps something changed due to the surgery. It just didn't control my seizures 100%, but then again nothing did. Unfortunately it's trial and error and you'll only know what works best for you once you try it. Keep in mind that you can always CHANGE to something else if you hate the Lamictal. ONE MORE THING...it took a good 2 months (every day getting better) after stopping the Keppra for my side effects to end. So, if you're still itchy one week don't rule out the Keppra.
GOOD LUCK!!!
Eve, I would say try the Lamictal and the slow process is best. Years ago I was on Lamictal (I was always told to take the brand name and not the generic) and some of my side effects were:
NO RASH (I had to put that one in first)
Hair loss (from all over, unlike Keppra I ended up with bald patches - this was my biggest complaint)
Vivid Nightmares (annoying but tolerable)
Insomnia (was O.K. with it for awhile since it was a nice welcome from the zombie state that Dilantin caused, but eventually it became a problem)
Extra Saliva (annoying but tolerable...I just made a lot of slurping noises to gather all the spit to swallow it...Yes, sounds gross but it sounds worse than it is and no one noticed except for the little slurpy noises and it didn't effect my speech at all)
Weight loss (Always a nice welcome, but eventually problematic)
My neuro took me off Lamictal early after RTL (1 year rather than 2) due to the insomnia and weight loss. HOWEVER, you may do just fine with it and I did for 6 months and it wasn't until after surgery did I have a problem and perhaps something changed due to the surgery. It just didn't control my seizures 100%, but then again nothing did. Unfortunately it's trial and error and you'll only know what works best for you once you try it. Keep in mind that you can always CHANGE to something else if you hate the Lamictal. ONE MORE THING...it took a good 2 months (every day getting better) after stopping the Keppra for my side effects to end. So, if you're still itchy one week don't rule out the Keppra.
GOOD LUCK!!!