Keppra for Seizures User Reviews (Page 5)

• Doo...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 12, 2020

"At the age of 48, my brother was diagnosed with epilepsy seizures. At that time, he almost died because nothing would stop them. After multiple seizures back to back, like 20+, the only thing that would even help control them was name-brand medication (Keppra). They started him out at six 500 mg daily. Many different symptoms with this I've noticed over the years, so I will list a few: mood swings, anxiety, depression, memory loss of dates and time, agitated, lies. Talked to the doctor about the amount of seizures he experienced since the last visit, and at times he gets violent. This medication still doesn't control them like it should, but by taking it, he at least has a chance."

• Nes...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 13, 2016

"Our daughter was diagnosed 7 years ago and is now 10. She has tonic-clonic and partial seizures, sometimes up to 15 in one day, bless her. We've tried Epilim, which was great for about 4 years, then they crept back up, so we tried Tegretol and Lamotrigine together. They didn't work at all, so now she's on Keppra. After just 3 days, she had fits and was a very happy girl. (She has severe developmental delay), so it is hard to judge how she is feeling, but now she isn't eating and seems very, very aggressive. We don't know what to do for the best?!?!?!?"

• dat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 7, 2022

"Do not take Keppra if you have any psychiatric issues. It may stop seizures, but with the terrifying risk of Keppra rage. There is no need to take the risk. Try a different AED, this drug was a nightmare. I lost my job because of Keppra rage."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 31, 2022

"I've had nothing but a lot of very serious problems with this medicine. It's caused me severe kidney issues, problems with ataxia, and having more serious issues with it not controlling my seizures, and I have taken a lot of very serious falls because of this drug! This drug needs to be taken off the market ASAP!!"

• Kev...
• September 5, 2015

"I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 17 and was prescribed Dilantin. I was having grand mal seizures, and it was working okay. When I was 22, I moved to Florida and saw a new neurologist, and he said Dilantin was an old drug and put me on Keppra. I'm taking 1500 mg twice a day, and I'm having more grand mal seizures and partial complex zone-outs. Keppra has not helped at all, and I'm going to a new doctor for a different opinion on what to take."

• Gma...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 23, 2021

"I was put on Keppra to supplement lamotrigine due to the pregnancy causing my lamotrigine to metabolize too fast. I immediately noticed an increase in exhaustion, which was crippling on top of the pregnancy exhaustion. I could sleep 14 plus hours a day if I had the opportunity. My husband commented on the change in my personality and how my mood changed for the worse. Keppra wasn’t added until I was 29 weeks, so the personality change was not pregnancy hormones. I reached a point where I started asking myself why I even thought getting pregnant was a good idea. What soon-to-be mother wants to think that! I experienced dry mouth and a general feeling of malaise. If it wasn’t for the fear of another seizure while pregnant, I would NOT take this medication. I can’t wait until I give birth to get off of this miserable drug!"

• REF...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 17, 2023

"I had my first two seizures just after my 21st, they then diagnosed me with epilepsy and tried to put me on medication, but I refused as I don’t want to be dosed up on drugs. I know it’s beneficial in the long run, but I really didn’t want to be on any meds. I then had my third seizure at 22 and started taking Keppra. I feel like I’m going insane. I’m not an angry person, but this drug makes me evil. I’ve only been on it for a week and a half, and I took the week off work to rest, and thank god I did. I’ve been bedridden all week, I wake up in tears every morning with the feeling of wanting to rip all my teeth and hair out of anger. I can only describe it as feeling as if I’m on a withdrawal of some sort of drug even though I’m on Keppra. I’m asleep all morning and all night. I want to rip my skin off and scream and cry all day. In fact, I wake up crying my eyes out for hours. Please refuse it."

• 319...
• September 12, 2015

"My 2-year-old grandson was dropping and falling constantly every 2 to 3 minutes. He was already taking Topiramate and Onfi. We started Keppra, and the falling decreased with one dosage. Three days now and no falls, no shakes or jerks."

• Anonymous
• August 4, 2009

"I have been taking 2000 mg of Keppra a day for about 8 years now. I think that it is working well. I even took it when I was pregnant, and thank goodness my baby came out fine. I think that there needs to be other information for women who may want to have a child but are afraid to have a child due to seizures."

• ajs...
• March 2, 2009

"It stopped seizures, but I have gained 3 pounds a week. It has totaled 50 pounds. I hate it. It is destroying my life, causing my thyroid and endocrine system to go haywire, and I just want to get off of it. My endocrinologist wants to have me taken off immediately as my pancreas does not produce insulin, and the weight gain is dangerous."

• mad...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 19, 2017

"Sometimes I feel drowsy, sometimes I feel dizzy, sometimes I don't. I am not sure if it is really part of the medication, but I do know I don't seize on it. Compared to the first type of medication I tried (it sent me loopy), this is a lot better, but it could also be better. Over the years, start to analyze how your head processes, how much do you remember, and make sure you're not getting slowly cranky on it."

• Dan...
• April 11, 2011

"I have only been on Keppra for about a month, but I'm noticing mood swings, shakiness, and the medicine makes me sleep a lot. I haven't had another seizure, thank God, but the mood swings are awful. I hope after I have my brain tumor removed, things get better."

• Ehh...
• September 1, 2010

"I have been taking 1500 mg a day of Keppra for 7 years. I have had two perfectly healthy babies. I did not breastfeed. I didn't want to take the chance. I was just happy they were born normal and healthy. At first, it made me very, very tired, but after a couple of months, that subsided. I did start to gain weight after taking it, but I thought that was from the pregnancies or a thyroid issue. I had no idea so many people gained weight with it and had irritability problems. Those are some things I have lived with for the last 7 years that could be a result of this. It does, however, control my seizures. I have grand mal seizures and had a few over the years because I could not afford to buy the Keppra."

• 072...
• September 20, 2010

"Started having grand mal seizures about 4 or 5 years ago. I've been on Keppra for a while now, the first two drugs made me way too tired. I get headaches every day and sometimes 'flip out' (get really mean and mad) easily. I never thought it could be from the Keppra, but now I wonder if it is. I have been seizure-free, though, which is worth it to me!"

• jl2...
• September 24, 2011

"Have been on Keppra for about 8 months now. Only one seizure, but the side effects are getting to me. Depressed, irritable, weight gain. Neurologist has added an antidepressant to see if that helps. Just wish the medication was cheaper."

• mer...
• April 15, 2009

"I find that Keppra has reduced my seizures - Grand Mals - but I occasionally lose the ability to reason, wonder where I am. It also has considerably increased my weight. I am on Lamictal also. There is the odd mood swing, but I attribute that to Lamictal. My headaches are just about the same. No significant change in using it. I've been on it five years now."

• Sha...
• June 28, 2009

"I have tonic-clonic seizures due to a malignant tumor in my frontal lobe. I was prescribed phenytoin, which controlled the seizures, but my doctors could not get my blood levels stable, so I was constantly oscillating from sub-therapeutic to toxic. After 6 months of trial and error with no success, I was switched to Keppra. Keppra failed to control the seizures, and I became hyperactive, easily agitated, and began having suicidal thoughts. My doctor made me switch back to phenytoin. The FDA recently required the manufacturer of Keppra to change the warning label to include these as known adverse reactions in some patients."

• Anonymous
• August 15, 2011

"I'd been having partial seizures every 2 weeks lasting a few days for about 3 years before having a tonic-clonic seizure and finally agreeing to go on medication. I started on Keppra and the seizures came once a month for about a week, similar to a girl's period, and I became very depressed, suicidal, and uninterested in anything. About 2 years later, I had another tonic-clonic seizure. Shortly after that, I switched to Lamictal and am no longer suicidal but am still depressed and uninterested in anything, and the seizures now come more frequently and randomly."

• Jan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 8, 2021

"23-year-old male, 6'1", 155 lbs. Never had any health issues other than ADHD (diagnosed at age 15) and 2 myoclonic seizures, which I just only recently experienced. I underwent a battery of tests (CT, ECG, X-rays, blood work, etc.). All of my tests came back completely normal, save for slightly elevated blood pressure. I was put on Keppra 1000 mg, twice daily, as a result. I read up on how nasty the side effects allegedly were, but I found my personal experience with them quite underwhelming in comparison. Symptoms are definitely present though, chiefly gastrointestinal discomfort, irritability, restlessness, and feeling 'spaced out.' My most concerning symptom is that it has made it quite difficult to find things genuinely enjoyable like I used to. The best way that I can describe it is that it makes me feel robotic. Symptoms are obnoxious, yet manageable with some effort and patience. For seizures, I have not had any recurring episodes since being on it, so I can't say it's ineffective."

• San...
• August 9, 2009

"I was placed on Keppra in January 2009 by an emergency room physician after a reported seizure, which had no professional diagnosis. A neurologist whom I saw post-emergency kept me on the medication as I reported no side effects. I had what I now believe to be a fainting spell related to an atrial fibrillation condition of my heart and a strenuous run, without a 'cool-down.' I am pushing to get off this drug, as I experience dizziness, light-headedness, sleepiness and somnolence, fatigue, and exhaustion most of the time. I am a 2008 heart valve transplant recipient and on diuretics and blood thinners, both required to avoid congestive heart failure and embolisms (artificial valve)."

• Anonymous
• December 4, 2009

"Keppra alone did not do anything for me except make me depressed and have 'Keppra rage.' I was up to 1500 mg 2x a day and would still have a grand mal about every 4 months and absence seizures in between. My neuro switched me to Topamax, Depakote, and everything else, but would break out in rashes or have horrible diarrhea and every other side effect. Back to Keppra, I am 2000 mg 2x a day (400 mg a day total) now, weighing 175 (hell of a dose), and got put on Lamictal as well, up to 100 mg 2x a day of that. 1 month since the addition of Lamictal and a higher dose of Keppra and no seizures yet. We shall see."

• Ton...
• October 3, 2015

"I was on Decadron and Vimpat (Lacosamide, another anticonvulsant), and I'm pretty sure the Vimpat was compounding the side effects of the Decadron (mood swings, weight gain, blood sugar issues, I'm also diabetic). Plus, I was still having seizures, especially when I tried to work out (mostly running, but sometimes on an elliptical machine). I asked to be put back on the Keppra I had taken for 6 months prior to being moved to the Vimpat. I've been able to run again and am having fewer seizures (although I had one this morning after doing the ADA diabetes step-out 23-mile walk and sprinting the last half mile to get to a restroom). I definitely feel like the Keppra is more effective against seizures still and doesn't compound the side effects."

• Fra...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 23, 2024

"I was on Dilantin for 40 years. I had my first attack at 7 years old. I still had attacks thereafter, but mostly because I was drinking alcohol and forgetting to take my pills at times. I eventually gave up my vices and it was rare that I suffered an attack thereafter. Due to the deterioration of my teeth, in my early fifties, my doctor switched me to Keppra. It appeared like it was working, and although it was making me less proactive in my work, out of the blue, 16 months later I suffered a severe attack and partially severed the nerve in my right arm. My arm is about 50% operable since then. After that episode, I returned to taking Dilantin and all was good. I am in my mid-sixties now and I have been getting them again. I have been told that over time you can become immune to the drug, so I may have to find an alternative one if that is the case."

• Day...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 9, 2021

"I took these as a kid. My parents instantly had me stop taking them because I would always feel angry and tired while taking them, and my doctor would always increase my dosage every time I saw him. As an adult now who always feels tired no matter how much sleep I get and feels very unmotivated to do things still, I can’t help but wonder if taking these as a kid has affected me mentally. I was always shy but a very hyper kid who liked learning new things, and after taking these, I just remember turning into a quiet kid who didn’t do much, and that’s stuck with me for years. I'm currently trying to fight this, but I wonder if there’s anyone else out there who’s taken this medication and feels this way years after they’ve stopped?"

• ica...
• January 29, 2010

"I've been on Keppra for around 4 months now. The only thing I like about it is that I don't feel like a zombie like I did while taking Tegretol. Apart from that, it does not really control my seizures and makes me dizzy and forgetful."