Briviact for Epilepsy User Reviews

• charlie
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 8, 2020

"I have read all of the review and have epilepsy myself since the age of 2 years old and I am now at age 50. I have had some bad seizeures and have been revived 7 times and have been in studies, and have taken every prescription known to man kind. It seems like people are forgetting one thing - every med, that will stop or partly stop a seizers is a good med, and will improve the quality of our life, even with bad side effects or no side effects it is a good medication. There is no cause or cures for epilepsy even with surgery it will come back at some time in your life trust me. It will, no matter what Dr's say, thats the cold hard truth"

• Emily
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 5, 2024

"I am taking Briviact 100mg twice a day. I have been taking it for the past 4 years and all through 3 different full-term pregnancies and have had 3 healthy babies with no seizures or seizure activity in the past 4 years. I also take Lamotrigine 250mg twice a day, but I was still having seizures with just that, so Briviact was added right before my first pregnancy, and it has worked SO well for me. I did not really have any side effects when starting it or even now. When I first started taking it, there wasn’t much data on taking it while pregnant, but I believed trying this would be better for my health than to have seizures all through my pregnancy, and as my doctor and I suspected, it was perfect. I definitely recommend Briviact!"

• Anony...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 27, 2021

"BRIVIACT is a strong, quick onset medication. Within a half-hour after my first dose, I could feel its effects, which were nothing like other AEDs I have tried that make me just a little tired. I’m an easy-going person, so imagine my surprise when, shortly after starting BRIVIACT, I became irritable and overly talkative about situations that normally wouldn’t faze me. A few days into therapy, people expressed concern about how I was being affected. An uncomfortable conversation led me to consult my doctor about mood changes, a new need for naps, and a blister that was forming on the inside of my mouth. Upon receiving more medical advice, I ceased taking BRIVIACT immediately. Withdrawing from BRIVIACT was a long, miserable process. At times, I found myself unusually emotional and on the verge of tears. Besides, I had a headache, tinnitus, achy legs, and my feet felt like they were on fire. Feeling out of sorts, I sleep a lot and tried to recover from an alarming experience."

• Rp303
• August 6, 2020

"This medication Briviact broke me mentally... I was given it as a newer better option than what I had been on and was told it did not have mood disorders like keppra did I thought great! Less meds! I was phased to a dose of 75mg twice daily over a course of a month, because I am medication resistant (having tried over 10 different types in 10 years). Everything was great until I was on my normal dose (75mg X2)for a week. Then one day snapped. I was crying over everything, angry, tired, suicidal thoughts flooded my head constantly. Panic attacks that got to the point where I collapsed. It feels like my brain is in constant self destruct mode. I had to contact my drs emergency line to know how to stop this medication right away. It has been over a month since stopping. I still don't feel like myself. I still have horrible panic attacks and emotional breakdowns and crazy thoughts. I am working closely with my doctors to get things back to "normal" now."

• FloJo
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 12, 2019

"I hope this helps! I started Briviact on November 5th, 2018 and it has worked very well... Went from 3 or 4 a month to FULLY CONTROLLED! I am going to be seizure free for 100 days this week for the first time ever in 21 years. I have the VNS on the lowest setting and had a TL Resection Brain Surgery (2015) both could not stop the seizures... The medication Briviact is very strong but it's the only things that worked. I also take Trileptal 1200 mg but want to cut down on that med, if possible. r/epilepsy is a great resource if you want more info..."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 4, 2021

"Disabled USMC Veteran with traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, and intractable epilepsy. Briviact had given me 103 days without seizures. No medicine in 20 years has been able to keep me from having a single seizure for this long. Keppra was the last medicine I was on at 3000mg per day and it was horrific. I was a nightmare to my family, my personality was robbed from me on that medicine and it caused awful side effects. I was put ion Briviact 100mg 2X per day after two ER trips within five days of one another for cluster seizure events. I’ve never felt this good on an anticonvulsant and I’ve tried MANY in 2 decades. My personality, appetite, and ability to think clearly have returned. I’m able to live again without fear of dropping multiple times a week as I was having 2 l-4 seizures per week previously. 10/10 would recommend giving this a try."

• Susie
• December 31, 2019

"I first started keppra after having a status event that caused me to be placed in a medical induced coma to stop the seizures. Once I started keppra it worked immediately and stopped all seizure activity. However, after being on it for few months the rage and hostility started and wrecked havoc on my family. So, my doctor had me try briviact which again has worked to control the tonic clonic seizures. However, instead of hostility, rage and total apathy I have begun to experiment extreme sadness/depression I just feel really flat and nothing excites me But, because it controls the tonic clonic seizures- free 35 month now, I will stay with briviact unless sadness etc becomes intolerable Overall 6"

• Patient...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 21, 2019

"I've been on a number of anti-epileptic medications over the past 15 years. Keppra gave me severe mood swings. Topamax gave me awful brain fog. Depakote didn't control my seizures and gave my son birth defects. My neurologist recently increased my Lamictal dosage because of a seizure event. That on it's own wasn't sufficient so we added Briviact. I haven't noticed any negative side effects. My seizures seem to be controlled. My tremors have completely stopped (which hasn't happened on ANY med in the past). I'm thrilled. I cannot afford this out of pocket. Medical Assistance through the state pays for it after the doctor proves it is necessary."

• Tim
• August 23, 2020

"Briviact is horrible I side effects of high levels of irritation, moody, angry. This medicine is causing kidney issues. I am going to restroom more than I have in my life. It’s causing inflammation. I am only 39 so I am able to tolerate. I heard it’s a new medicine and my doctor experimented with me. I feel terrible on this med. "

• Bryan
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 27, 2019

"Transitioned off keppra 3000mg p/d, to 100 Briviact due to all the side effects becoming extreme. After the same horrible adjustment period of 2 months and one gran mal, I think I have hit on the right med!! Time will tell but it's giving me reason to be more optimistic."

• Better
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 13, 2020

"I’ve read about the typical side effects of Briviact. The only effects I seem to have are tiredness/sleepiness during the day and mood swings. For me, the tiredness can be overcome by staying active. Concerning the mood changes....it’s a little unpredictable and can be bad. However, overall Briviact has helped stop my seizures and I like it."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 6, 2020

"This medicine Briviact has messed my life. I am super irritated, angry, and in depression all the time, crying for no reason and not to mention the skin itching problems that has started and liver problems. I have turned into a negative person, a monster with this medication. I never knew what depression was is in my life until I started Briviact. I switched to it only because I wasn't getting my periods with sodium divalproex , my seizures were always in control with divalproex. Never had depression and was always in good mood . But this medicine has ruined my life since 2018. I have kept on it because I am in a changing career phase and can't switch to new medicine , but as soon as I am settled with my new job, I am stopping this med. How did it get approved even with the side effect of "irritability" and depression on the bottle? Most medicines say that but don't necessarily cause it. I regret why did I switch."

• Conce...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 11, 2023

"This is a second-hand observation concerning Briviact. This comes from a devoted parent who has fought seizures alongside my now 20-year-old son. He was first diagnosed with a generalized seizure disorder at 13 years old. After years of testing and multiple trials of drugs, none of which he totally responds to, we were told that he has a mutated SCN3a gene which doctors believe to be responsible for his epilepsy. He has anywhere from 1-3 seizures a week and if he goes longer without one, then his body goes into a frenzy and he has up to six seizures in one day! He started Briviact (alongside his other meds), back in October of 2022. We immediately noticed a difference, he was basically like a Zombie. He hardly spoke, stared off into space, low appetite, and had to be coached on how to bathe and care for himself. This lasted for weeks. He went two months w/o a seizure but then it got worse! Aggression, depression, etc. We decided to have the doctor take him off. Controlled seizures yes, but awful moods."

• Sunsh...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 2, 2024

"This medication has improved or helped reduce seizure frequency in addition to taking Clobazam. Briviact has improved control of seizures, no noticeable side effects noted. I have had epilepsy since birth (over 40 years), drug-resistant epilepsy, hence I may be used to side effects or not notice that my brain function may have slowed. Over time, I have had brain surgery to resect a left temporal lobe benign tumor. This has been more effective than previous meds. I continue to have seizures but a lot less now."

• Master...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 17, 2020

"I have only been on this Briviact 3 days. My ears are ringing so loudly I can't hear anything else. My head just feels like it will implode because of the ringing. I want to crush anything that makes a noise with my bare hands."

• Moo
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 3, 2019

"I started this medicine November of 2017. My mood swings are absolutely terrible. I'm always irritated. I feel like the medicine makes it hard for me to focus. I was put on this medicine after having a third brain surgery. I still had seizures for about a year afterwards, then they stopped. I was seizure free from Sept 2018 up until a few weeks ago. I'm now being taken off. My consensus: The drug may be good for some people. However, with people who have medically intractable epilepsy and have tried over 5 drugs such as myself, studies show that there is less than a 1% chance that any other medicines will work either. It was worth a try I suppose, though!"

• Tom...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 7, 2022

"I find Briviact a great drug that works well with phenytoin. I have great results with the combination I unfortunately have to switch off Briviact due to the $800.00 a month co-pay I have to exhaust my out of pocket deductible to get it for less. Great drug but way over priced. Goodbye Briviact."

• Jimbo
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 4, 2021

"I tried briviact for 40 days as an alternative to keppra. Keppra controlled my seizures for the past 2.5 years, but the side effects were disrupting my relationships and career. Briviact seemed tolerable at first, and, it almost seemed like I had more energy. I began to feel emotions that were hidden under the irritability common with keppra. But, after about 30 days, my anxiety level spiked. I could not eat or sleep and lost 10 pounds. It felt like I was on some crazy upper. Unfortunately, I had to stop abruptly and return to keppra. Fortunately, the transition back to keppra only took 2 days. Now, I'm my gloomy self again. I hope you have better luck."

• Brivi...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 22, 2024

"Used to treat focal seizures, and to prevent focal seizures from developing into generalized grand mal seizures. 2x100mg Used consistently with Aptiom (1200mg), and inconsistently with other medicines which haven't done the trick yet. It doesn't get rid of all my episodes, however it does an amazing job with Aptiom at stopping the grand mal seizures. I had very few side effects. Highly recommended."

• DRUMGUY
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 28, 2022

"I started taking this medication about 3 years ago when I was having many partial seizures a week. I just started with this whole epilepsy thing out of the clear blue about 11 years ago. My doctor was thinking of surgery because even though most of my seizures weren't convulsive they were still taking a hit on my memory and he didn't want me to damage my memory. As a last-ditch effort to avoid surgery, we tried coming off of the Keppra and using Briviact. It has worked very well, with only a small aura every now and then. I hadn't driven a car for two years, and now I am doing my thing again! Side effects for me have included tiredness and irritability. I can say that the benefit outweighs the side effects at least for me. It is, however a very hard drug to find and many doctors have never even heard of it. If or when you run out you're in trouble because not many pharmacies have it on hand and it's pretty regulated."

• Joe
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 3, 2019

"Replaced keppra with this drug. Keppra was giving me severe mood swings. I am taking 100mg 2x a day. Seems to work with no side effects observed yet. With manufacturer discount card about 30.00 month with my insurance. Made by same company as Vimpat, Which I also take."

• emms
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 28, 2023

"Briviact and Keppra seem to be the only drugs that help my seizures. I was changed to Briviact from Keppra due to anger issues. These two drugs are the most effective for my temporal lobe epilepsy, but both cause my frustration level to be low. I mostly have partial seizures, but occasionally a partial seizure is followed by a tonic clonic seizure. Briviact does reduce seizures, and I take an average dose. I could increase the dose, but I discussed this with my doctor, and I am reluctant to do so due to frustration and anger issues. I can cope with one or two minor seizures with a short loss of awareness weekly (sometimes less), which I now have as they used to occur daily on other drugs. I can also cope with an occasional tonic clonic seizure. I prefer that to mood problems if the dose is higher. My epilepsy has an unknown cause and is resistant to most medications, except for the drug Tramadol and Quinolone-related antibiotics. I have had seizures since the age of seven and I am now seventy."

• Lynn
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 1, 2022

"So far, Briviact has been a huge help. I take it daily with Xcopri. I am going on several weeks without a seizure since the doctor increased the dose on December 14. The last seizure was the night before the increase. I was worried about side effects, but it hasn't caused any side effects for me yet. I am on the maximum dose. Keppra made me extremely irritable, but thankfully Briviact hasn't done that."

• Sally...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 19, 2021

"Briviact which has bad side effects, has messed up my 35 yrs old son. He's not the person he was 3 yrs ago. I told Dr I wanted his meds changed. Dr. stopped this, then put him on Keppra which has the same side effects. After a week I told Dr to put him back on Depakene (Valproic Acid) which is generic brand. He had took this years ago with no side effects. I had been telling the Dr that my son was having doing weird stuff. He said you have to deal with it.....Really?? He acted like he didn't even care? Its been 3 weeks he is still not himself...Is anybody else having this problem. This is a night mare for me & my husband."

• Sucid...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 12, 2020

"I've been taken this med since March of 2019 and i get really irritated easily and itchy skin feeling aggressive sometimes but I guess it's working. I take 3 different types of meds for my seizures though. Thank you"