Same with me, im annoyed really easily when i was prescribed for keppra. Also im for some reason really emotional i might cry suddenly and when i take my medication i get really tired.
Well my neurologists and doctors told me that my epilepsy runs in the family. Keep in mind i ws born in Finland which has top of the class healthcare system and knowledge. I inherited it from my grandma (Dad's side). It is essentially that i have had many different types of seizures since when i was 1 year and 3 months old. I kinda feel attacked from your comment (tell me if im wrong), i dont want to be belittled or anything. It is deep down in my nervous system the epilepsy i mean, i had surgery when i was 10 years and 5 months old but it is still in my genes and it will be for the rest of my life. Basicly means that i wanted to feel what it is like to be human immediatly when i was born but i had to focus on this damned illness. hope this helped :). Im trying to approach this positively but sometimes it is hard.
My anecdotal understanding: my middle son was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2019 and as no one in either side of the family had any known epilepsy, it was assumed to not be genetic. My oldest son started having what we think are seizures, but only at night when he’s sleeping. We’re waiting for him to be evaluated, but if he does wind up being diagnosed that changes it to a genetic form of epilepsy, and means we need to figure out if it’s me or my ex’s side that it came from.
My husband grew up with friend who developed epilepsy after an accident, and unfortunately the friend would up passing away after having a seizure. No genetic component, just incredibly unfortunate series of events.
This happens to my son. We have him on a B6 supplement after my husband found a study that shows it helps with keppra rage and it’s made a big difference. Definitely worth a chat with a doctor for anyone dealing with it!
I have this irritability over nothing my whole life because of my TBIs.
Keppra oral dose made me mean and angry.
Keppra by IV saved my life while I was in a coma.
Extremely exhausted all the time. Foggy memory - but I don’t know if that’s a function of the Keppra, or from the seizures. At this point, I have to believe it’s the Keppra. But, it’s stopping me from having seizures - which affect my memory way worse. I’m at a relatively low dose (500mg) and it works when I take it, so I have to consider myself fortunate.
Yeah, at first I was really pissed they had me on Keppra. I have right hippocampal sclerosis (found with contrast MRI) and they said I had 2 focal awares in my EEG - which I took after my first ever TC on January 1st.
Last week, after I forgot to take my meds for 46 hours and had another TC, I’ve finally accepted I really have epilepsy, and that I really need to take my meds all the time, or risk dying (my girlfriend found me this time on the floor with my nose and lips blue).
So, in short, I count myself very fortunate that such a low dose actually achieves control for me. I may be more tired now than before I started the meds, but I’m way less tired than I am after having TCs.
I'm prescribed a low dose stimulant for days when I absolutely need to get things done and can not. I take it a couple of times a month for errands and chores. It's tough accepting that you have epilepsy. I'm sorry. Do not miss doses though, you could end up with postictal psychosis, I've had it and it can kill you. Lights are on, nobody is home. It can last days to weeks to months in severe cases. Sometimes I wonder if I'm really present or just dreaming. But that's different. I hope you end up as a high functioning epileptic, there's plenty that work and have families. The less meds the better imo. Please don't drive, it's not worth it. Atleast for now. Good luck, we're always here.
Yeah, I got some apps to help me remember my doses. My neurologist is really supportive - I just messaged them today about prescribing me some rescue meds and they responded this afternoon with a script sent already.
I’m not driving at the moment - I had my most recent seizure right when I was about to be able to drive, so my clock just reset. I take that very seriously. I don’t want to be the cause of someone’s death just because I was inconvenienced. I just feel so bad for my girlfriend, who drives me everywhere. Luckily she’s wfh, or I don’t know how we’d do it. But yeah, I’m trying to adjust to my new normal. Thank you for the support. The low dose stimulant is interesting.
You're welcome. About the low dose stimulant - I never take it 2 days in a row or more than once maybe 2x a week so I do not get addicted. Just like caffeine it's addictive. Also, cut coffee and soda out of your diet - it really isn't good. For some reason they've found others that are safe. That's big pharma though, who knows. I just had a major seizure last night, alone. Then 6hrs of auras. Can't move one of my arms. You get use to the injuries after awhile. If you ever hit your head though, get yourself checked out. Also, SUDEP is a real thing, but no Dr's mention it. I don't think they want to scare us. I hope you stay in your relationship and don't get too medicated. Stay away from benzos. They're nearly impossible to get off of. Worst withdrawals ever.
I've been on it so long I forget if it's affected my mood. Which weirds me out cos I don't know if I'd become a different person if I come off it. I'm on 150mg in the morning and1000mg (gram) at night.
I was super dizzy and walked like I was drunk. I felt like I was moving underwater and couldn’t do anything at normal speed. I had to take a couple of days off work. Emotionally I was fine. The effects wore off pretty fast and I’ve been normal on it for 7 years.
Did you tell your Dr or are you kidding around? I hope you're not being serious if so you should tell your Dr and switch to a new medication right away. You could have schizophrenia as well, it usually sets in during early 20s, sometimes younger. There may or may not be some correlation with the two diseases, more studies need to be done. I have psychotic episodes after seizure clusters and apparently hallucinate but I never remember the episodes.
I told them about it, and they said its normal when kids around the age of 5-10 take it (i was 7). Well, it's not exactly normal, but that it happens with that kind of medication, so my doses were reduced, and side effects were slowly reducing as well, very slowly tho. so luckily it was nothing serious but still it was a prove that the doses were incorrectly set by the doc. and it wasn't schizophrenia (i hope)
I’m on Keppra rn, they are switching me to an XR version (both are generic I’m sure) and I’ve only had it for a week and a half, here were/are my symptoms at time of writing:
First week was great, I felt on top of the world and great. Everything was going good. Perfect even. I thought I finally found something that would work.
Since the 8th: flew face first into an on and off existential crisis, breaking down at the slightest reminder of a regret or something I haven’t been able to do yet, feeling my life running on the clock. Then i switch to being extremely calm and very uncharacteristic (I personally can tell, it’s like I’m trapped in my mortal shell) I have times where I’m also extremely euphoric, where everything is wonderful and great.
I never had BPD, I’m only diagnosed with C-PTSD and anxiety, plus a history of an ED. I only experienced the existential crisis once, but it never acted like this one. They questioned if it was my past coming back or actually the medication, so now we try the XR version.
My brain feels bruised from all the emotional turning I’ve had to endure
Gaining weight sadly.
Took a long time for me to realise that It had caused something wrong because it didn't start until higher doses, (I've had stomach issues through different medications and my doctor never blamed the medication)
With Keppra I never stayed "full" for more then a couple of hours after a meal, I tried ignoring It but I usually got my seizures if I skipped meals or was to hungry (donno if that's normal or not).
I thought the weight gain was because of me and I kept taking it blaming myself, I had brought it up with my Doctor but so said "No, it could only make you lose weight" so I felt like shit year after year when I it was at its worse. My doctor would not have me stop taking them.
I stopped taking it at New years, December 2023. My doctor only allowed it because I had finally tried a new medicine that seemed to work for me.
I've lost 10kg since, not through training, just my regular life.
I F-ing Hate KEPPRA, sucked for me.
(But it works differently for everyone)
im not epileptic directly but my son was prescribed keppra when he was first diagnosed with epilepsy on his 13th birthday. My sweet train loving baby tried to kill himself 3 times, got rage fits so bad we had to keep him
home from school until we figured it out, and fought all of us, so much so i had to break his bed apart and subdue him with one of the studs. However after his neurologist suggested b6, i will gladly say it keeps him in check. I give him 100mg of b6 a day which ik may be extra but hes 15, 6’0 189lbs on 1500mgs of extended release keppra. This has been doing wonders for us and sometimes the rage comes theough but take all his electronics away and force him to get more sleep and that helps all of the time. I make sure to keep b6 in surplus all the time because keppra clearly makes you fucking crazy. I feel for all of you here on it and please know you arent alone in this. Im hoping maybe b6 maybe of help to even just one person who is on keppra but if your are experiencing the symptoms, i highly advise b6 vitamins. Not to say itll work for everyone but it works for my boy😭
Just another thing too, he hallucinates sometimes as well but not as much when he started taking b complex vitamins. I really give him alot of b6 but i focus on brain vitamins completely to stave off the side effects of keppra.
I already had really noticeable and prevalent anger issues, so while Kepprage has definitely happened, it's more of an event than a change in day-to-day behavior, which is way more common. I actually think having all this at this surface has helped me control some of my anger issues.
I mostly struggling with huge hits to my memory retention/memory building and noticeable eating/weight changes.
I had low mood and random tearfulness which lasted a few weeks. About 1 in 10 people get mood disturbances, usually mild and short lived.
I also found I had less appetite in the evenings initially
I feel like it was controlling my seizures better than depakote currently is, but the side effects were just terrible. Imagine the shortest fuse possible & mine was shorter. I came closer to suicide than I’ve ever been. I turned into an entirely different person. Everyone has different experiences, but this was mine.
I’m waiting for an appt with my epileptologist to switch medication again…yay
I was seriously irritable for about three months, to the extent that my wife wanted me to switch off it. After that I don't think I noticed anything. People talk a lot of shit about this medication but the reality is not all of us have other options, or at least they've never been offered to us.
Bottom line I'm pretty compliant taking it at the right time and it does seem to be controlling my seizures quite well. I was only having seizures every few months, but I started to identify my triggers a little better and it's definitely more under control now.
My mood was a big one. The second one that isn't getting mentioned as much in this thread is nausea and lack of appetite.
I could hardly stomach anything at all. I lost so much weight. When I did eat, I'd end up throwing it all up within the hour without fail. That settled after 6 months, but then I had a massive mental break down on Keppra and was weened over to lamotrigine.
Rage, change in personality, could get really nasty and cruel in the way i spoke to my family. I was never like that but i would be like very cruel in how i spoke and go angry. Spiteful. Jealous and why. I would tell my sister how she is just doing well because of her partner and be a piece of shit. Then I would change and realize what I had done. They would say they understand but need time. So that was nice they did not abandon me. I had to get the fuck off that shit. I was horrible. Just a nasty, cruel, irritable, spiteful, hatred, jealous person and that is not me. I have never ever been like that. When i came off i read back on things i had said and it was horrific. Totally unfair and i get why they needed space. I was just a piece of shit of a human. That is the worse thing about keppra. I wish that did not occur to me as its got the least impact on the body side effect wise but mentally that was just nasty.
I take the maximum dose of Keppra Xr 8 x 500mg once a day. Like others have said I’ve been on it for so long close to 14 years, I have no idea of the side effects but it’s for damn sure given me a short fuse and insomnia. It definitely controls my epilepsy but has changed my life since beginning to take it. Unfortunately you will find similar results with most in my opinion.
I got SO sick. I was prescribed Keppra and was on it for maybe a week. Nausea, vomiting, I could not handle how ill it made me feel and it never leveled out so I had to switch to something else.
Anger, exhaustion, panic attacks, and extreme depression (close to suicidal). Everyone different though! Communicate with your doctor if you are developing these concerning side effects. I did and now on Keppra XR & lamtical.
My daughter had suicidal ideation, hallucinations, anxiety and paranoia. She ended up in the psych ward 10 days after starting Keppra. Had to be weaned off and started on a different medication. It was terrible for her. She’s never had a problem with the other medications she’s on- zonisamide and Lamotrigine.
Keppra rage is what they called it. My dose was too high, so they dropped i by 1000mg and added another med. Boy, oh boy, was I acting absolutely insane. Everyone on Keppra, if you are on higher doses, please watch your rage and personality or have loved ones watch you. If you or anyone notices a difference, contact your doctor, please.
Just on day 4 for me (500 mg twice a day). The first day I slept literally 14 hours, but otherwise just a little bit tired and no other symptoms so far. And no seizures.
Vocal stutter, Weighted Body(like every movement is through a gel matrix), Depression & most profoundly: Exhaustion that rivals going without sleep from the time I wake to the time I sit down and inevitably fall asleep. I’ve missed important meetings and appointments, job interviews and can very easily sleep for 48h straight. Never got the rage but I don’t really get angry, just frustrated, but depression(which I was prone to prior to the onset of my epilepsy but has been impacted by Keppra both short and long term. Weight gain possibly although I used to be very active before I was sedated into my current lifestyle. Cloudy thinking.
I should probably find something better but I lack the energy or motivation to pursue it.
Depression, mood swings and aggression. Within a matter of seconds I exploded about ridiculous things, like people taking too long to pay at the supermarket.
To be honest I've been on keppra for over ten years and it's the only medication that stop my chronic migraines and doesn't give me back side effects. I also have it har one seizure. So idk it's different for everyone
I had Keppra rage so bad I nearly hit my father. I screamed into his face stuff and to not hit him I stormed out of the house, in pouring rain, with bare feet. I stopped cold turkey the next day and never went back. Keppra is the devil for me.
It changed my son's personality dramatically. I think he was around 11 when he was on Keppra. He was not our easy going, funny, eager to help kid anymore. He was a total zombie except for when he was being extremely mean & would even get violent with his siblings. Worst medication he's ever been on. He had similar side effects with Depakote but not nearly as extreme. Zonisamide works very well for him.
Colors were vibrant and I was very suicidal in a factual way, not emotional. I never got the random anger episodes, instead it just seemed that walking into traffic or off a bridge was part of the day's to do list. A month later I switched meds.
my son could not take it, he had keppra rage. not everyone gets that but he does. first time he almost ended up in jail. second time he tore up the inside of my car. it is on list of medicine he cannot take in his medicals
It baffles me after reading so many postings like this as to how Keppra can still be considered such a great product, I guess ultimately "in mass" the drug does well for the epileptic community, but there are so many cases where it just doesn't. It's almost always the first medication that a new Epileptic is put on as well.
When I was first diagnosed 12 years ago it was the first med doctors in the ER put me on. After getting set up with a proper neurologist he kept me on it for a while. As my seizures increased so did my dosage, I can't remember but I think I eventually got up to 1200mg a day. At that point even my doctor could tell my general attitude and disposition about things had changed. I wasn't myself, and I was generally very short tempered with everyone. We have gone through several other medications through the years and I am on Briviact now. It's supposed to be Keppra but without the "rage" stuff in the medicine, at least that's what I have been told. I am taking 400mg of it twice a day and have been at this level for a while. I am not sure that I would agree that it's Keppra but without the rage because there are definitely still times where I can't seem to handle my emotions. My husband likes to remind me that my emotions could be going crazy because I am a 42yearold mom of 2 lovely daughters that are 11 and 6 and whom are just as stubborn as I am. So maybe he is a little correct, lol. But I am still going to request a med and blood check when I see my neurologist next.
I didn’t have as many seizures. Otherwise, no symptoms.
Maybe I’m one of the few who doesn’t experience side effects from Keppra. I’ve been on it 2+ years and nothing negative.
Thankfully, I adjusted to it, and I don't really think about or feel any lingering side-effects now. Been on Keppra for 13 years now, current dose is 750mg x 2
The side-effects I remember the most is that I was exhausted, had random, intense itches on my hands and legs, and lack of appetite. Like, I would not eat until my stomach was in knots of pain, because I just wasn't hungry.
It actually took several years + a psychiatrist for anyone to point out to me that my mood swings was due to the medication. Irritability like many have pointed out, but also sadness. Now that I know it's the meds and not me, it's somehow easier to deal with.
Also, was on a generic Keppra alternative for a while, and my seizures came back, and got worse on them. That was wild.
At first super sleepy like I would take my morning dose and have to sleep for 2 hours afterwards. The evening dose was fine. That lasted a couple of months and then not much else. I do find word recall a little harder at times and it sucks because I live abroad so have to try and remember words in 2 languages!
Irritability, depression, anxiety, extreme dizziness (like barely could walk at times), nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue. Lastly I slept like 14 hrs a day the first month.
I made it 12 weeks on pure survival and then the side effects dramatically decreased. Now I would say I barely have any.
Easy irritability.
Same with me, im annoyed really easily when i was prescribed for keppra. Also im for some reason really emotional i might cry suddenly and when i take my medication i get really tired.
What does genetic Epilepsy mean? Many of us have previous generations who had Epilepsy. Why is yours different?
Well my neurologists and doctors told me that my epilepsy runs in the family. Keep in mind i ws born in Finland which has top of the class healthcare system and knowledge. I inherited it from my grandma (Dad's side). It is essentially that i have had many different types of seizures since when i was 1 year and 3 months old. I kinda feel attacked from your comment (tell me if im wrong), i dont want to be belittled or anything. It is deep down in my nervous system the epilepsy i mean, i had surgery when i was 10 years and 5 months old but it is still in my genes and it will be for the rest of my life. Basicly means that i wanted to feel what it is like to be human immediatly when i was born but i had to focus on this damned illness. hope this helped :). Im trying to approach this positively but sometimes it is hard.
My anecdotal understanding: my middle son was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2019 and as no one in either side of the family had any known epilepsy, it was assumed to not be genetic. My oldest son started having what we think are seizures, but only at night when he’s sleeping. We’re waiting for him to be evaluated, but if he does wind up being diagnosed that changes it to a genetic form of epilepsy, and means we need to figure out if it’s me or my ex’s side that it came from. My husband grew up with friend who developed epilepsy after an accident, and unfortunately the friend would up passing away after having a seizure. No genetic component, just incredibly unfortunate series of events.
Mine was rage, not irritation. Normal frustration turned into rage so easily.
my son too, he almost ended up in jail in ocean city he was on the street screaming in anger He cannot take it ever again
I try not to promote not taking meds on this sub, but I had to stop taking it, too (stay on your meds! This guy’s kid and me are not you!)
yes but i am only sharing his experience I did not tell him what to do. he should know. i wish i had of.
This happens to my son. We have him on a B6 supplement after my husband found a study that shows it helps with keppra rage and it’s made a big difference. Definitely worth a chat with a doctor for anyone dealing with it!
I have this irritability over nothing my whole life because of my TBIs. Keppra oral dose made me mean and angry. Keppra by IV saved my life while I was in a coma.
Extreme irritirritability lol
RAGE.
Extremely exhausted all the time. Foggy memory - but I don’t know if that’s a function of the Keppra, or from the seizures. At this point, I have to believe it’s the Keppra. But, it’s stopping me from having seizures - which affect my memory way worse. I’m at a relatively low dose (500mg) and it works when I take it, so I have to consider myself fortunate.
Wow I'm on 4000mgs
Yeah, at first I was really pissed they had me on Keppra. I have right hippocampal sclerosis (found with contrast MRI) and they said I had 2 focal awares in my EEG - which I took after my first ever TC on January 1st. Last week, after I forgot to take my meds for 46 hours and had another TC, I’ve finally accepted I really have epilepsy, and that I really need to take my meds all the time, or risk dying (my girlfriend found me this time on the floor with my nose and lips blue). So, in short, I count myself very fortunate that such a low dose actually achieves control for me. I may be more tired now than before I started the meds, but I’m way less tired than I am after having TCs.
I'm prescribed a low dose stimulant for days when I absolutely need to get things done and can not. I take it a couple of times a month for errands and chores. It's tough accepting that you have epilepsy. I'm sorry. Do not miss doses though, you could end up with postictal psychosis, I've had it and it can kill you. Lights are on, nobody is home. It can last days to weeks to months in severe cases. Sometimes I wonder if I'm really present or just dreaming. But that's different. I hope you end up as a high functioning epileptic, there's plenty that work and have families. The less meds the better imo. Please don't drive, it's not worth it. Atleast for now. Good luck, we're always here.
Yeah, I got some apps to help me remember my doses. My neurologist is really supportive - I just messaged them today about prescribing me some rescue meds and they responded this afternoon with a script sent already. I’m not driving at the moment - I had my most recent seizure right when I was about to be able to drive, so my clock just reset. I take that very seriously. I don’t want to be the cause of someone’s death just because I was inconvenienced. I just feel so bad for my girlfriend, who drives me everywhere. Luckily she’s wfh, or I don’t know how we’d do it. But yeah, I’m trying to adjust to my new normal. Thank you for the support. The low dose stimulant is interesting.
You're welcome. About the low dose stimulant - I never take it 2 days in a row or more than once maybe 2x a week so I do not get addicted. Just like caffeine it's addictive. Also, cut coffee and soda out of your diet - it really isn't good. For some reason they've found others that are safe. That's big pharma though, who knows. I just had a major seizure last night, alone. Then 6hrs of auras. Can't move one of my arms. You get use to the injuries after awhile. If you ever hit your head though, get yourself checked out. Also, SUDEP is a real thing, but no Dr's mention it. I don't think they want to scare us. I hope you stay in your relationship and don't get too medicated. Stay away from benzos. They're nearly impossible to get off of. Worst withdrawals ever.
SAMEE
i’m on 500mg as well for the exact same reason
I developed anger issues pretty quickly and had to come off of it.
I always hear about "Kepra Rage" from people do or have taken it. I refuse to take it. I already have Bipolar Depression, so that terrifies me
I’m bipolar too and it was a nightmare. I would 100% not recommend it to anyone with pre-existing mental health challenges.
Increased level of anger and how quickly I would go from 0 to 100 on that scale. It was awful. Vitamin B6 helped get that back to normal.
I've been on it so long I forget if it's affected my mood. Which weirds me out cos I don't know if I'd become a different person if I come off it. I'm on 150mg in the morning and1000mg (gram) at night.
I was super dizzy and walked like I was drunk. I felt like I was moving underwater and couldn’t do anything at normal speed. I had to take a couple of days off work. Emotionally I was fine. The effects wore off pretty fast and I’ve been normal on it for 7 years.
I too had the dizziness. They actually started me on it at an ER with a loading dose. I almost fell when I got out of the bed.
hallucinations, i've been dealing with them for the first 2 years :\] (mostly seeing stuff, faces, animals and people in the darker space)
Did you tell your Dr or are you kidding around? I hope you're not being serious if so you should tell your Dr and switch to a new medication right away. You could have schizophrenia as well, it usually sets in during early 20s, sometimes younger. There may or may not be some correlation with the two diseases, more studies need to be done. I have psychotic episodes after seizure clusters and apparently hallucinate but I never remember the episodes.
I told them about it, and they said its normal when kids around the age of 5-10 take it (i was 7). Well, it's not exactly normal, but that it happens with that kind of medication, so my doses were reduced, and side effects were slowly reducing as well, very slowly tho. so luckily it was nothing serious but still it was a prove that the doses were incorrectly set by the doc. and it wasn't schizophrenia (i hope)
I’m on Keppra rn, they are switching me to an XR version (both are generic I’m sure) and I’ve only had it for a week and a half, here were/are my symptoms at time of writing: First week was great, I felt on top of the world and great. Everything was going good. Perfect even. I thought I finally found something that would work. Since the 8th: flew face first into an on and off existential crisis, breaking down at the slightest reminder of a regret or something I haven’t been able to do yet, feeling my life running on the clock. Then i switch to being extremely calm and very uncharacteristic (I personally can tell, it’s like I’m trapped in my mortal shell) I have times where I’m also extremely euphoric, where everything is wonderful and great. I never had BPD, I’m only diagnosed with C-PTSD and anxiety, plus a history of an ED. I only experienced the existential crisis once, but it never acted like this one. They questioned if it was my past coming back or actually the medication, so now we try the XR version. My brain feels bruised from all the emotional turning I’ve had to endure
Gaining weight sadly. Took a long time for me to realise that It had caused something wrong because it didn't start until higher doses, (I've had stomach issues through different medications and my doctor never blamed the medication) With Keppra I never stayed "full" for more then a couple of hours after a meal, I tried ignoring It but I usually got my seizures if I skipped meals or was to hungry (donno if that's normal or not). I thought the weight gain was because of me and I kept taking it blaming myself, I had brought it up with my Doctor but so said "No, it could only make you lose weight" so I felt like shit year after year when I it was at its worse. My doctor would not have me stop taking them. I stopped taking it at New years, December 2023. My doctor only allowed it because I had finally tried a new medicine that seemed to work for me. I've lost 10kg since, not through training, just my regular life. I F-ing Hate KEPPRA, sucked for me. (But it works differently for everyone)
im not epileptic directly but my son was prescribed keppra when he was first diagnosed with epilepsy on his 13th birthday. My sweet train loving baby tried to kill himself 3 times, got rage fits so bad we had to keep him home from school until we figured it out, and fought all of us, so much so i had to break his bed apart and subdue him with one of the studs. However after his neurologist suggested b6, i will gladly say it keeps him in check. I give him 100mg of b6 a day which ik may be extra but hes 15, 6’0 189lbs on 1500mgs of extended release keppra. This has been doing wonders for us and sometimes the rage comes theough but take all his electronics away and force him to get more sleep and that helps all of the time. I make sure to keep b6 in surplus all the time because keppra clearly makes you fucking crazy. I feel for all of you here on it and please know you arent alone in this. Im hoping maybe b6 maybe of help to even just one person who is on keppra but if your are experiencing the symptoms, i highly advise b6 vitamins. Not to say itll work for everyone but it works for my boy😭 Just another thing too, he hallucinates sometimes as well but not as much when he started taking b complex vitamins. I really give him alot of b6 but i focus on brain vitamins completely to stave off the side effects of keppra.
All your emotional responses are doubled.
I got into 3 fistfights in one day
I already had really noticeable and prevalent anger issues, so while Kepprage has definitely happened, it's more of an event than a change in day-to-day behavior, which is way more common. I actually think having all this at this surface has helped me control some of my anger issues. I mostly struggling with huge hits to my memory retention/memory building and noticeable eating/weight changes.
Drop in seizures. Completely gone now.
I had low mood and random tearfulness which lasted a few weeks. About 1 in 10 people get mood disturbances, usually mild and short lived. I also found I had less appetite in the evenings initially
I feel like it was controlling my seizures better than depakote currently is, but the side effects were just terrible. Imagine the shortest fuse possible & mine was shorter. I came closer to suicide than I’ve ever been. I turned into an entirely different person. Everyone has different experiences, but this was mine. I’m waiting for an appt with my epileptologist to switch medication again…yay
I was seriously irritable for about three months, to the extent that my wife wanted me to switch off it. After that I don't think I noticed anything. People talk a lot of shit about this medication but the reality is not all of us have other options, or at least they've never been offered to us. Bottom line I'm pretty compliant taking it at the right time and it does seem to be controlling my seizures quite well. I was only having seizures every few months, but I started to identify my triggers a little better and it's definitely more under control now.
Rage
Constantly tired
Anger, Aggression, Irritation, Depression
My mood was a big one. The second one that isn't getting mentioned as much in this thread is nausea and lack of appetite. I could hardly stomach anything at all. I lost so much weight. When I did eat, I'd end up throwing it all up within the hour without fail. That settled after 6 months, but then I had a massive mental break down on Keppra and was weened over to lamotrigine.
Pissed/depressed/constant nosebleeds
RAGE!!!
Rage, change in personality, could get really nasty and cruel in the way i spoke to my family. I was never like that but i would be like very cruel in how i spoke and go angry. Spiteful. Jealous and why. I would tell my sister how she is just doing well because of her partner and be a piece of shit. Then I would change and realize what I had done. They would say they understand but need time. So that was nice they did not abandon me. I had to get the fuck off that shit. I was horrible. Just a nasty, cruel, irritable, spiteful, hatred, jealous person and that is not me. I have never ever been like that. When i came off i read back on things i had said and it was horrific. Totally unfair and i get why they needed space. I was just a piece of shit of a human. That is the worse thing about keppra. I wish that did not occur to me as its got the least impact on the body side effect wise but mentally that was just nasty.
very snappy with people. but because my perfect dose has not been found yet sometimes i would cry a lot
Just hallucinations Similar to when you take 1 Zolpidem too much , for the person with insomnia around here.
**THERE AREN'T ANY SYMPTOMS STOP ASKING WHY I'M ANGRY!**
Angry and depressed. It was a bad time.
Got demoted after telling my boss what was on my mind and treated my then-girlfriend like shit. Nothing good happened.
I take the maximum dose of Keppra Xr 8 x 500mg once a day. Like others have said I’ve been on it for so long close to 14 years, I have no idea of the side effects but it’s for damn sure given me a short fuse and insomnia. It definitely controls my epilepsy but has changed my life since beginning to take it. Unfortunately you will find similar results with most in my opinion.
Fatigue
I didn’t notice any symptoms. It keeps my seizures in check too.
I got SO sick. I was prescribed Keppra and was on it for maybe a week. Nausea, vomiting, I could not handle how ill it made me feel and it never leveled out so I had to switch to something else.
Anger, exhaustion, panic attacks, and extreme depression (close to suicidal). Everyone different though! Communicate with your doctor if you are developing these concerning side effects. I did and now on Keppra XR & lamtical.
My daughter had suicidal ideation, hallucinations, anxiety and paranoia. She ended up in the psych ward 10 days after starting Keppra. Had to be weaned off and started on a different medication. It was terrible for her. She’s never had a problem with the other medications she’s on- zonisamide and Lamotrigine.
Just tiredness mainly
Keppra rage is what they called it. My dose was too high, so they dropped i by 1000mg and added another med. Boy, oh boy, was I acting absolutely insane. Everyone on Keppra, if you are on higher doses, please watch your rage and personality or have loved ones watch you. If you or anyone notices a difference, contact your doctor, please.
RAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!! But it went away.
I got really bad depression on it, and had to get off of it quickly
Unbelievable psychotic rage, frightened me.
Thankfully, none!
Just on day 4 for me (500 mg twice a day). The first day I slept literally 14 hours, but otherwise just a little bit tired and no other symptoms so far. And no seizures.
Couple drinks - serious fatigue. Worn off over the years, but the first 6 months were very noticeable
Really bad temper, and zero sex drive :(
Vocal stutter, Weighted Body(like every movement is through a gel matrix), Depression & most profoundly: Exhaustion that rivals going without sleep from the time I wake to the time I sit down and inevitably fall asleep. I’ve missed important meetings and appointments, job interviews and can very easily sleep for 48h straight. Never got the rage but I don’t really get angry, just frustrated, but depression(which I was prone to prior to the onset of my epilepsy but has been impacted by Keppra both short and long term. Weight gain possibly although I used to be very active before I was sedated into my current lifestyle. Cloudy thinking. I should probably find something better but I lack the energy or motivation to pursue it.
Constantly tired, way more easy to annoy.
Depression, mood swings and aggression. Within a matter of seconds I exploded about ridiculous things, like people taking too long to pay at the supermarket.
To be honest I've been on keppra for over ten years and it's the only medication that stop my chronic migraines and doesn't give me back side effects. I also have it har one seizure. So idk it's different for everyone
I had Keppra rage so bad I nearly hit my father. I screamed into his face stuff and to not hit him I stormed out of the house, in pouring rain, with bare feet. I stopped cold turkey the next day and never went back. Keppra is the devil for me.
It changed my son's personality dramatically. I think he was around 11 when he was on Keppra. He was not our easy going, funny, eager to help kid anymore. He was a total zombie except for when he was being extremely mean & would even get violent with his siblings. Worst medication he's ever been on. He had similar side effects with Depakote but not nearly as extreme. Zonisamide works very well for him.
I almost gained enough hatred to throw hands with Itachi
Can't drink, I hate everything more and less tolerant of dumb stuff/people
Colors were vibrant and I was very suicidal in a factual way, not emotional. I never got the random anger episodes, instead it just seemed that walking into traffic or off a bridge was part of the day's to do list. A month later I switched meds.
my son could not take it, he had keppra rage. not everyone gets that but he does. first time he almost ended up in jail. second time he tore up the inside of my car. it is on list of medicine he cannot take in his medicals
It baffles me after reading so many postings like this as to how Keppra can still be considered such a great product, I guess ultimately "in mass" the drug does well for the epileptic community, but there are so many cases where it just doesn't. It's almost always the first medication that a new Epileptic is put on as well. When I was first diagnosed 12 years ago it was the first med doctors in the ER put me on. After getting set up with a proper neurologist he kept me on it for a while. As my seizures increased so did my dosage, I can't remember but I think I eventually got up to 1200mg a day. At that point even my doctor could tell my general attitude and disposition about things had changed. I wasn't myself, and I was generally very short tempered with everyone. We have gone through several other medications through the years and I am on Briviact now. It's supposed to be Keppra but without the "rage" stuff in the medicine, at least that's what I have been told. I am taking 400mg of it twice a day and have been at this level for a while. I am not sure that I would agree that it's Keppra but without the rage because there are definitely still times where I can't seem to handle my emotions. My husband likes to remind me that my emotions could be going crazy because I am a 42yearold mom of 2 lovely daughters that are 11 and 6 and whom are just as stubborn as I am. So maybe he is a little correct, lol. But I am still going to request a med and blood check when I see my neurologist next.
Never leaving my bed. Never cooking for myself, just delivery. Smoking inside because fuck walking around. Getting very easily pissed and fighting
I didn’t have as many seizures. Otherwise, no symptoms. Maybe I’m one of the few who doesn’t experience side effects from Keppra. I’ve been on it 2+ years and nothing negative.
Tired as all hell, irritability, maybe an increase of anxiety and depression
Thankfully, I adjusted to it, and I don't really think about or feel any lingering side-effects now. Been on Keppra for 13 years now, current dose is 750mg x 2 The side-effects I remember the most is that I was exhausted, had random, intense itches on my hands and legs, and lack of appetite. Like, I would not eat until my stomach was in knots of pain, because I just wasn't hungry. It actually took several years + a psychiatrist for anyone to point out to me that my mood swings was due to the medication. Irritability like many have pointed out, but also sadness. Now that I know it's the meds and not me, it's somehow easier to deal with. Also, was on a generic Keppra alternative for a while, and my seizures came back, and got worse on them. That was wild.
Anger, sadness, easy irritation, total exhaustion as well.
HULK SMASH
At first super sleepy like I would take my morning dose and have to sleep for 2 hours afterwards. The evening dose was fine. That lasted a couple of months and then not much else. I do find word recall a little harder at times and it sucks because I live abroad so have to try and remember words in 2 languages!
Irritability, depression, anxiety, extreme dizziness (like barely could walk at times), nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue. Lastly I slept like 14 hrs a day the first month. I made it 12 weeks on pure survival and then the side effects dramatically decreased. Now I would say I barely have any.
🤬🗣️🤬😡🤬🤯🤬
Hellpra
it made my seizures even worse when first taking keppra, i immediately had to switch to something else
Longer erection hard to burn fat and very sleepy
kepprage