Briviact for Epilepsy User Reviews (Page 2)

• Dru...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 24, 2021

"I am a 45-year-old man that, for some strange reason, came down with epilepsy about ten years ago. I have mainly temporal lobe epilepsy but have had a few generalized seizures. I am a band teacher that was doing way too much and told everyone yes for everything, so I think that it was stress and lack of sleep that made this start. I have been on many different meds but started Briviact along with Trileptal a few years back. My doctor told me that I was intractable and began to do some testing to see if I was a candidate for surgery. I was very scared and did not want that portion of my brain messed with. I told him let's try some other meds, and this is when Briviact came in. After not driving a vehicle for two years, the combination of Briviact and Trileptal worked. We are not even talking surgery anymore. I will say that I do experience anxiety, sleepiness, double vision (occasionally), irritability (this is a big one), numbness, and an uneasy feeling."

• Bri...
• 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."

• Ned...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 9, 2021

"I have been on Briviact for nearly 3 and a half years, alongside Vimpat. These two together so far have worked well for me in relation to side effects and seizure control. I continue to have seizures, but my mood is much better, I’m less angry, emotional, and aggressive. However, since starting Briviact, I suffered from a severe rash on my legs, feet, hands, and arm. It toned down once my body started to adjust to the medication change. I am currently having my dosage increased, and the rash once again has flared up. The neurologist had discussed with me potentially changing from tablet form to liquid form, as I may be allergic to the coating of the medication. I also have very blurry vision, memory loss, sometimes confusion, and other side effects, but overall, it has been the best one so far as I have tried approximately 10 different types of epilepsy medication that either have changed my personality or given me serious side effects."

• Ras...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 14, 2021

"Briviact seems to prevent my seizures but makes me sort of feel so negative about life. It's more or less a new version of Keppra regardless of what the hype is from big pharma. Essentially, it seems to influence the same srv2 protein, and they do not understand how it prevents seizures nor changes your mood, so brace for condescending conversations with your doctors, who likely won't understand why you don't want to take a medicine that might be helping your epilepsy. I left my last MD because she wanted me to stay on Keppra. Now I'm with this new doctor who apparently put me on a nearly identical med and gives me grief for not wanting to be on a medicine that makes me feel apathetic about living."

• Ane...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 11, 2023

"Did the job. Milder side effects than Levetiracetam. The dosage was first 100 mg/day, then by stopping, it was suggested to reduce in 6 weeks to 0 mg. Almost got all the side effects mentioned. Physical: tiredness, pulse faster, heart pain before rain or by lightning (never happened in life before), higher blood pressure, veins start to be more and more coming out to the skin surface and seem purple, red, blue, hurt, also in eyes getting more and bigger red lines, water in legs, tinnitus at least 4 times, sensitivity to light and huge open pupils, eczema patches red and rough on skin, red urine often. Not enough water to have proper menstruation and sexual need and no liquid. Mental: anxiety, anger, short temper (destroying things), deep long sadness most days, panic, avoiding people for months, feeling burdened if I have to talk, unmotivation to do anything, irritability, few times felt like suicidal. Finished taking it in 3 weeks."

• Ano...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 17, 2023

"I was on Keppra for 5 years, 2017 to 2022. Switched to Briviact in 2022 and have now been on it for 1 year. I had all side effects while on both medications, but Briviact has been the worst. I had my first anxiety attack/panic attack, and all side effects have increased significantly since being on Briviact. I have been seizure-free for the past 3 years, and I just want to come off of the medication, but my neuro won't let me. My neuro is keeping me on the medication and is asking for me to seek psychiatric help for the side effects I'm experiencing."

• Mar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 6, 2021

"Briviact is my 13th med. Keppra caused more side effects. Briviact is finally working. I'm going past 25 weeks without a T/C. I had laser ablation on my frontal temporal lobe, and it didn't work. I do feel more lethargic, and I'm hoping my skin problems aren't coming back, but I'm taking 100 mg 2x a day, so maybe I can take less. But I'm scared to change anything. I do believe in gut health. I've had mono at age 1, and my naturopathic was the only one to test my thyroid, hormones, and cortisol levels correctly. She told me that I have active EBV (Epstein-Barr virus) and its cousin virus called HHV-6, which actually causes seizures because it attacks the nervous system. So with her treatment, I've been able to calm down the virus, and I've been able to get off both of my high blood pressure meds. I almost had to get on a 3rd HBP when I was on (brand name) Keppra XR at 1500 mg a day. I had low sodium levels as well. I need more time to know how this will affect my health over time, and I could follow a keto, but no."

• pab...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 26, 2022

"I had a fit in my sleep 2 years ago, after spending 3 weeks in my workshop, breathing in diesel fumes from a leaking heater, no history of epilepsy in my family. However, I'm no doctor, so what do I know? Apparently, I have 'temporal lobe epilepsy.' I was initially given Keppra, had terrible side effects (but no more fits). However, I did get lots of déjà vu. But the mood swings and suicidal thoughts started to get worse, so now I'm on Briviact, and again, no seizures. However, I'm getting extremely tired, depressed, angry, etc., and have started falling asleep, then waking up with no idea where or who I am! I'm not sure if that's the epilepsy or a drug side effect."

• Joa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 12, 2020

"I took Keppra. That, along with other meds, controlled 10 seizures a day for 2 years. Now I'm on 4 seizure meds and facing brain surgery if the seizures don't stop. I just started taking Briviact and am hopeful to be seizure-free for years again. So far, so good, but there have already been mood swings. It has only been almost a week."

• Hap...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 9, 2024

"I am a caregiver to my husband who has tried Keppra (didn't work) and had a lot of seizures. He has Partial Complex Temporal Lobe epilepsy for 9 years, he was an ex-boxer. Then he was on Oxtellar ER - wow, that one put him in the hospital with grand mals due to depleted sodium levels. Two years ago, he was put on Briviact 100mg x 2 daily, which works great, and Vimpat 200mg x 2 daily. He is on Medicare extra help to pay for them as they are quite expensive. Now he finally has them under control. The addition of Briviact did the trick. Yes, he is depressed, angry, has insomnia, and is scared of his own shadow with anxiety, but no seizures and I do not have to worry about him falling!"

• Chr...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 5, 2025

"Good control of seizures, but hard on stomach. Bleeding ulcers in 11 months in otherwise healthy 17-year-old. Nausea and vomiting. No other health issues or reasons for ulcer. Medicine was always given with food, but did not prevent development of ulcer."

• Pop...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 27, 2022

"I was diagnosed later in life at the age of 57. I had my second seizure and was placed on Levetiracetam, but after 4 years, I started to get focal seizures on a weekly basis but didn’t lose consciousness, just lost my vision or hallucinated. Being moved on to Briviact stopped the FS, but fatigue has been a problem now for over 7 months, but that’s better than getting the FSs. The only other problem is weight gain, I put on about 10-12 lbs and have to watch what I eat now, so much for being skinny and fit and loved playing ice hockey. Not anymore."

• Foc...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 1, 2024

"Unmedicated, my late-onset seizures were evolving into impaired awareness focal seizures occurring in clusters of several daily. My seizures before medication were impacting my ability to function. Started on Keppra originally, but had to stop due to mental health side effects (severe depression and paranoia). Started Brivaracetam at 50 mg twice daily, and over 2 years went up to 150 mg twice daily. Reduced seizure frequency to one seizure every month on average. When seizures do occur, they feel like a whisper of what they were. I am able to easily function through my seizures. Side effects I have experienced include ongoing fatigue, vision changes, loss of general motivation, memory issues. However, side effects seem manageable given the alternative."

• She...
• September 2, 2019

"Great for my seizures. The packaging is horrible. It has triple times over the top child safety cap. Can’t open it, always have to have my neighbor open the six bottles. Impossible."

• pb4...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 14, 2024

"This medicine worked best for me. I'm now on Clobazam, and I've been on Lacosamide. But the only problem with Briviact is that it costs $552 a month!"

• Kin...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 20, 2023

"There are very few side effects, and I generally tend to get the most common. The reason I don’t rate this higher is I don’t have full seizure control."

• Con...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 17, 2020

"I just switched back to Briviact and I keep having burning as well as vein pain in my eyes!"