Side effects og mediaction, other alternatives?

[sirius]

My mother (age 46) has never had seizures before. The last 6 months she has woken at night time because here right arm was shaking, but it stopped and she went to sleep again. It could be 1 time every second week or sometimes several times a night.
In January the same happened again but it spread to the whole body. And she bit here tongue. I haven't seen any of this attacks since I don't live at home with here.
She went to see a doctor and she was sent to MRI but that didn't show anything. A couple of week later she had a new episode with the whole body and she went back and luckily they had time for an EEG on the same day. The EGG didn't show any "big" thing but it was more activity on one of the sides of the brain. The neurologist wanted here to start with Keppra the same day and since it was so many small attacks (only her arm) the last days she also got Diazepam.

She took Diazepam 1 week and is now only taking keppra 500mg*2. And she is very tired and do not feel any good. She has had a couple of small "attacks" with here arm after going of Diazepam.

I really wonder what the cause of this is. Here brother have epilepsy but he has had it since he was a child.
We have autism, digestive issues, adhd, eczema, allergy in our family. I'm following a strict diet and I take several types of supplements.

I now a lot about autism and biomedical approaches to that, but I know very little about epilepsy.

I have read that carnitine deficiency and b6 deficiency can cause epilepsy. Does anyone know something more about that?
I now a bit about B6 since I have a friend with a child that don't have any attacks more because he takes huge doses of P5P, but he was sick from he was born.
Does anyone know about other things that should be ruled out?

 

[Nakamova]

Hi sirius, welcome to CWE!

I'm sorry your mother is dealing with seizures and with the medication. There could be several things going on. The genetic link may be part of it, even though her seizures started late in life. Another factor may be hormones -- the balance between progesterone and estrogen shifts as women head into menopause, and that can trigger seizures. You mention digestive issues -- that may also be an important factor. If nutrients aren't being well-absorbed, then brain metabolism can get out of whack. This referred to as the "gut-brain" connection. And allergies and food sensitivities can also play a role in creating a nutritional imbalance. Does your mother have a sense if any of the above are factors in her seizures? If she can keep a seizure journal tracking her diet and general health, that may help identify any particular triggers.

Some people have found that taking a B6 vitamin helps offset the side effects of Keppra. Your mother and her doctor may want to consider adding a B-complex vitamin. If the side effects of the Keppra end up being problematic, then she should discuss other treatments or medications.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[sirius]

She hasn't seen a clear connection between food but I do 't think has look at it either.. She has tried to follow a dairy free diet to see if the stomch got better but she didnot notice any huge difference.. She only have seizures at night time, about 45 minutes after she fall a sleep.

I have been thinking that it may be something with the sleep pattern. I do not know so much about the difference "stages" of sleep, but most of the times it is after45 minutes. Here arm is shaking or has a bad feeling so she wake up, then she fall a sleep again. Before she started keppra on the bad nights she could wake up again 45 mintues with the same again, fall a sleep, wake 45 later 3-5 times.

What dose is normal to take of B6?

Is it possible to check the hormon thing..?

 

[Endless]

Hi, Sirius,

Welcome to the forum!

I'm sorry to hear about your mom's seizures. I don't have any advice on B6 dosages - that would be a great question for your mom to ask her doctor, because everyone's body has different needs, and it is possible to overdose on B. But I do want to say that when I was on Keppra, taking B vitamins did help with the mood swings somewhat.

 

[sirius]

I don't think the doctor will agree about b6 vitamin. Unfortunatly they only think medicstion in this hospital. As i erote erlier I know abput one kid with b6 cramps, but because the doctor refused to give him b6 nd only wanted to try other medication he got a large brain damage. They said there is no hope for your son when he was around 1 month and had so many seizures that they needed anestetic to stop it. Parents ask why cant we try b6,please you say there are no hope, then it wouldn't damage to try. So it the end they did and it worked. But because they where so late he got a bad brain damage.

Iam takeing b6 my self and I take 50mg and I'm going to increase it to 100mg.