Hi I am a new member and am concerned about the side effects of Keppra. I started having grand mal seizures at the age of 29 and I am now 37. Over the course of a few years I came to learn that I have a birth defect in my left frontal lobe that is causing the seizures. I only have them in my sleep and they are not frequent(3-4 a year).
Once I started on Keppra in fall 2007 the seizures were reduced.I have only had 3 since Oct. 07. However since that time I have encountered problems with auras. These auras are not followed by seizures but are very painful and interupt my seep in the early am.
As a result of these auras, I went to the Mayo clinic to see if removal of the defect in my brain is an option-it isn't. The doctor at Mayo upped my Keppra from 3000 mg's a day to 4000mg's a day to see if this would stop the auras. It has to some extent, but ever since that time, I have had problems with side-effects.
At times my mind races terribly, and I have strange thoughts which I cannot control. I had to stop smoking pot as a result( something I thought would never happen!) because this would only intesify my anxiety and racing thoughts. It is not a constant problem, but some days it becomes very tiresome.
I would like to mention that I am a full-time student and work full time as a concrete finisher and in a relationship with a very loving woman who has two sons (7,and 9) and we have a 14 month old daughter together. I am happy with my home life and feel good about work and school. It just feels like something is different inside me since I upped the Keppra dosage.
Today I talked to the Mayo doctor and he agreed that I should go back down to 3000mg's a day. He also indidcated that I might try Tegratol in addition to lowering my Keppra dose to see if that would control my auras. This worries me because when I read the side effects of Tegratol it included mental hyperactivity! I have always been an anxious person, but never enough to affect my daily life.
I am sure that my new life as a father is some of the cause of stress/anxiety but I have never had the obssesions I have had over the last few months. Worrying that I am going crazy, worring why i am worried about going crazy! Afraid to be creative because I am worried about never coming back from the creative process etc. Does anyone else feel this way? Is this normal with Keppra? I know 4000mg's a day is high. I am quite sure my anxiety has increased since I started having seizures, that seems natural. Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts? Thanks so much!
I have some questions about side effects of Keppra?
Question posted by jakemcmahan72 on 12 Oct 2009
Last updated on 24 April 2013 by sandra weston
8 Answers
Don't stop praying whatever you do or go through, because Jesus is the only one who truly knows what each of us is going through, and can help us!
Keep on keeping on; you appear to have a lot going for you and your family.
My dad is on keppra also and sometimes I can see is anxiety. Going to church appears to relax him sometimes.
sandra
My daughter has taken tegretol for about 20 years with no major side effects. Howerver she does have to take other drugs with it as the past few years her seizures have changed and the tegretol alone was not keeping her stable. Perhaps with the tegretol with the keppra will make it possible to lower the amount of keppra. Another drug you might discuss with your doctor instead of these is lamictal (lamotrigine). It is being used a lot more now as a first /single treament or in conjucntion with other drugs and though you may have to switch slowly it may also be a solution.
For the past 2 yrs I have been on Keppra I started at 1000mg a day because I was having grand mal seizures. Then they gave me a MRI and come to find out I was having the seizures in result to a tumor in my brain that was already a stage four miliganantebcancorus glyoblastomia the did surgury and removed it I went through 36 rounds of radiation and the cancer is not cureable only manageable som I have to continue the chemo for the remainder of my life. As far as anxiety goes I have it very badley. They have prescribed me medication for anxiety also. I have extremley strange thoughts I have never had befor and was getting very bad headaches which I assumed was associated with the Keppra which since The seizures started they have slowly increased it to 4500mg ans I am 28yrs old and 138lb. So I attemted to decrease the dosage to 4000mg a day and I had a TIA the begging of this week which is a mini Stroke.
So all I can suggest is NO matter what take the dosage the doctor tells you try not to miss any dose. See if maybe being prescribed a minor medication for anxiety will help{discuss with your doctor} Keep me posted I am interested to see what he has to says about if the Keppra is causing the anxiety? Best of luck to ya Steph
hello my name is dorsey im going though what your going though is it best not to smoke
Jake, I was only on Keppra for a month (for seizures also, although mine are grand mal, not sleep seizures) but I found the anxiety that I had had for several weeks before beginning the Keppra was increased to intolerable levels by the Keppra (this anxiety was atypical -- I have NEVER been an anxious person but had begun feeling anxious about having another seizure). I ended up going back on Dilantin, which was the drug I had originally been prescribed almost a decade before that, after initially being diagnosed with my seizure disorder. I had never had any anxiety problems on Dilantin. It took almost 9 months off of Keppra before my brain chemistry felt like it had returned to normal. In the meantime, my primary care physician prescribed me Ativan (Lorazepam) for the anxiety. That got me over the hump. My advice is that if you are having severe problems, talk to your neurologist(s) and see if you can get off the Keppra and find another drug that doesn't cause these problems. Best of luck and best of health to you and your family!
I have rare sezuire disorder were when i did a wada test for brain surgey they discovered that the normal person with sezuires would fall opposite than the side of brain thats bruised.In my case i fall to the left even though my left temporal lobe needs to be removed.I would do research around and don't give up,you will find a DR that will help you.Not sure were you live but i recommend USF DR BENDBADIS and DR VALE.
I take Keppra at 2500 mg of the XR type and it has had the least side effects for me out of 3 that I have tried, my doctor ups the dose each time I see him also, I would like to go the other way of titrating down, but he will not until I get through chemo and my last 2 surgeries and then he wants to do a brain wave study in March and go from there. I also like Keppra because I do not have to get the blood tests to check the levels like I did on the other drugs!
I haven't taken Keppra myself but the following link has reviews/comments made by people who have used it. You may find it useful.
I am on keppra 750mgs twice daily with topiramate 750mgs twice daily and havent got any side effects I have secondary seizures I have got scarring on the brain which they think I have had since I was born with
I have been on Keppra 500mg for a little over a year and I haven't had any side effects as serious as that, at least not that I've notice.
Related topics
keppra, seizures, epilepsy, side effect
Further information
- Keppra uses and safety info
- Keppra prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Keppra (detailed)
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