First Seizure and now on keppra, help!

Two days ago I suffered a seizure while home alone, my husband had gone out to pick up my youngest children for lunch. It was incredibly surreal and frightening, my family came home to find me covered in blood (I had bitten inside of mouth), called ambulance and I was taken to hospital where, thank God, one doctor spoke English! They did ct scan., found no evidence of further bleed, but kept me overnight on I.V. pain killers and did eeg in morning which showed evidence of epileptic seizure so now on keppra 500 mg 2x day, makes me feel very dizzy and exhausted! Tomorrow I see p. Cognard for MRI and decisions about treatment, wish me luck, am really hopeful they will say I can fly soon so I can return to Toronto.
Has anyone else had seizure almost 6 weeks post bleed? Or gone on keppra?

Hi Suzie,

Can’t speak directly to Keppra, but one fairly common effect of anti-S meds is they make you tired or groggy. Especially when you are first starting them. Typically, your body gets used to them and the side effects might diminish. If they don’t there are multiple other anti-S meds out there. Unfortunately, what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for others. It is sometimes a trial and error method to find one that works for you.

Oh, if you go down that road, with the ramping up of one RX and down of another, you can often be VERY TIRED as the two meds interact to provide yet more grogginess.

Best wishes,
Ron, KS

Hi Suzie,

I've been on keppra since I had my brain bleed in 2007. I now take 500 mg 2X day. I was on a lower dose this past summer and had a seizure, so they changed the dose and I haven't had one since. Hang in there. For me, Keppra works well.

I've been told that I will have to take anti-seizure meds for the rest of my life, but that is fine, as long as I don't have seizures. Having a seizure is very scary, so I understand how you feel.

I have a good friend who has epilepsy…nothing to do with an AVM. She says the mouth will heal very quickly…something to do with the tongue and all those blood vessels in there. Another friend of mine who is a dental surgeon confirmed that info. I have noticed a number of folks on this site who take keppra. My epileptic friend says it always takes the body a while to adjust to the drugs! Still praying for you!!!

Hello Suzie,

Seven months post bleed was when my seizure occurred. I was on Keppra for about two weeks. The side effects that I had experienced was dizziness, fatigue, depression, irritability and fear. I hated going through those side effects because my behavior had an effect on everyone at work. After talking to my doctor, he prescribed an anti-seizure med that wasn't as "strong" as Keppra, the only side effects that I experienced was just fatigue and minor dizziness. It had taken a month for me to get used to the new medication.

Maybe you can talk to your doctor if you're not keen on Keppra. I know that everyone experiences different side effects with medication.

Hi Suzi. I have not had a seizure thank god, but I have been put on Keppra as a preventable measure since diagnosis. I’m on the same dosage as you and I felt the same way at first for a few months. Now 6 months later I feel much better but the exhaustion is still the same. Take care.

Hi Suzie,

I am also on Keppra, 500mg 2 times a day. I have been on this since my surgery. I am now use to it and I feel fine. Sometimes I forget to take it and I feel hyper. Not good for my brain. Then I take it and feel calm.

I had many seizures before my gama and then they have increased since the surgery (surgery date January 2008). My AVM is still active so I can understand how scared you must be. I was on Limical, which really didn’t do much. Then they moved me to Trilipital which seems to be helping. The former medication also has the dizzy and exhausted side effects but my doctor said we had to monitor my sodium level because it affects how my body processes sodium. Maybe ask your doctor if Keppra does something similiar. I hope your appointment went well

Hello Suzie:

I was on Keppra for about two years. It is the drug that worked for me. Your body will adjust to the med. I was on 3000 mg a day for a while. I took Dilantin which was not the drug for me. I also was on Topamax. While it is true that this may make you tired at first, remember you also had a seizure which is making you feel tired. I wish you luck. I hope all goes well.

My four year old daughter had an intercranial bleed, had a seizure, began keppra, was diagnosed with three different types of malformations and undergoing "monitoring". Her neurologist here suggested a multi-vitamin high in B complex to help with some of the side effects of keppra. Ask your doctor. We are keeping her on the keppra due to the the comparison in side effects of some of the other meds available. We felt it was the lesser of the evils.

Hi Suzie,

My husband has been on Keppra since March '09. I've heard it's one of the best. But like Ron said, what works for one might not work for others. Side effects for him are sleepiness (just until he got used to it) and moodiness (oh! how I hate that one).

But most important, learn what to do and how to cope with seizures until you get them under control. Be safe and best of luck.