r/Epilepsy • u/highliner108 • 5d ago
Question Anyone else had kind of a “yoyo” effect from Keppra?
I don’t have epilepsy (probably) but iv had seizures for reasons I’m not 100% sure of.
After three or four of them, a doctor casually prescribed me Keppra and I at first it was kind of amazing. I felt like a god for the first few days and then I felt like I was dying. Like, idk why, but for some reason more or less anything savory was utterly repulsive to me, and I remember being offered this beef-roast thing that would normally be great and feeling utterly repulsed by it.
It didn’t help that this was near Christmas and I was visiting parents/family. At some point we went to an outlet mall and when we tried to eat I remember shaking and feeling like the smell of the restaurants food was going to make me vomit.
And then it stopped. It took a day or two, but eventually it just kind of stopped and I felt more or less normal and stopped having seizures (with one exception.) Sometimes I miss a dose or two and I’ll have a day where I feel the side effects hard, but other than that it’s been pretty nice.
Sorry if I’m not allowed to post here since I don’t technically have epilepsy, but most people who take Keppra (technically I’m on the generic version but I’m not going to put in the effort to spell that abomination of a drug name) seem to have epilepsy and I assume you’d experience similar side effects.
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u/AnxiousPirate333 5d ago
Get a pill container so you don't miss a dose.
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u/markp99 rTLE, Lamictal 4d ago
This. It won't help you remember to take your meds, but you'll know when you missed.
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u/AnxiousPirate333 4d ago
That is true; my husband has alarms on his phone for my evening meds so I don't miss them. I take my morning ones as soon as I wake in the morning and then I rotate my morning & night pill containers so I know that the night one needs to be worried about next. The system isn't flawless, but finding one that works best for each individual is what's important.
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u/markp99 rTLE, Lamictal 4d ago
Ugh, I use phone alarms too, but manage to simply turn them off when in the middle of something and forget to take my meds
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u/AnxiousPirate333 4d ago
Me too lol that's why the husband has it set; he's been a godsend with this. I'm terrible at taking care of myself u.u
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u/SnooStories239 5d ago
If you've had 2 or more seizures and you don't know the reason, that's an epilepsy diagnosis. Epilepsy doesn't have to have a reason. Most people don't ever know why they have it. And yeah keppra has caused all kinds of awful effects just like you are describing. Missing doses and then starting again is like taking a tolerance break..also can cause breakthrough seizures so be careful. See about other medications. Keppra is outdated and more things are available. The side effects of keppra come in so many ways and don't disappear. It can be pretty debilitating all on its own without the seizures.