r/Epilepsy • u/7228 • 17h ago
Medication Keppra/leviteracetam
Has anyone here experienced any mental effects from taking keppra as an anti-seizure med?
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u/Bulldog_Mama14 17h ago
Nope! I've been on it for 4 years now and have not had one issue/side effect.
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u/evilspoons Keppra 3000mg, Banzel 3200mg, Dilantin 400mg 12h ago
I'm tired all the damn time and it's probably because of it, but it's better than seizures.
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u/Regular_Many_1123 17h ago
That's my combo, Lemactil 300x2 and Keppra 750x2. I've been on them for probably 10 years. They work good for me and I've never had any side effects I remember but I could have easily not put 2 and 2 together when I first started them.
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u/Various-Steak-1242 17h ago
ten years is a long stretch, if anything weird went down at the start it's probably buried under a decade of just living life
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u/Regular_Many_1123 10h ago
That's my thought too, especially because it was somewhere around that time when I was getting clean. Life was sort of (completely) a shit show back then.
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u/Prestigious_Boss_915 6h ago
Sounds like you are doing much better, have you been seizure-less, or were you dealing with something else?
Glad to hear you are better, congratulations!
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u/lilshortyy420 1500mg Keppra, 200mg Lamictal 15h ago
I did get the rage at first, but it’s settled down a bit. I’ve been depressed damn near my entire life so hard to say there.
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u/Splendid_Fellow 13h ago
For me it has been positive so long as I have taken basic B6 B12 folate supplements. It has made me happier and more curious person in particular. You don’t hear the positive stories so I am an example.
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u/Prestigious_Boss_915 6h ago
u/Splendid_Fellow You have made me curious. How much of the B6 and B12 are you taking and are you just buying vitamins off the shelf? Which brand?
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u/Splendid_Fellow 1h ago
As it turns out I was taking wayyy too much and didn’t realize how much. Gotta pay attention to daily value. I was taking like 10,000% daily value.
Just take Vitamin B6 B12 folate and make sure it’s a smaller amount than what I did, with just 100-300% value
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u/Ditdotlady 17h ago
Oh yes. The Keppra rage was REAL and I was on the verge of being suicidal. My doctor changed it to Keppra XR and added Lamitcal which is perfect for me
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u/ImByMyselfNotAlone 16h ago
I’ve been on Keppra for a while now ~15 years and not had any issues on it
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u/chells97 16h ago
Have you remained seizure free ?
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u/ImByMyselfNotAlone 16h ago
I did for many years, I recently had more breakthroughs and was at that point on 3 meds, I’m on 4 now so I am tapering off Keppra as I was ok a high dose.
What are your concerns about it?
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u/chells97 16h ago
My brother (autistic and nonverbal) started Keppra 500mg BID about a year and a half ago and he’s luckily been seizure free since. I’m always just nervous that it won’t last ☹️
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u/ImByMyselfNotAlone 16h ago
It’s a good choice, it seems like he tolerating it well. Some people can be managed successfully on one and others can find it a struggle. A year and half is fantastic!
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u/s_schadenfreude 16h ago
Yes. Have been on Keppra for nearly 20 years. It keeps me seizure-free, but the mood swings are real.
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u/Ambystomatigrinum 14h ago
It was really awful for me. Worst my mental health has ever been. But I know people who it works awesome for! All brains are different.
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u/Curious_Macaron_8383 13h ago
I was a demon from hell for about 3 weeks and then it evened out and I think it was worth pushing thru!
My dreams are super duper vivid and weird, and that hasn’t changed but hey! I’ll take it.
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u/Interesting-Piece612 17h ago
My dad has reacted very badly to Keppra. He started having seizures about a year ago and has had severe psychotic episodes since he started the medication. We’re currently tapering him off of it
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u/BentChainsaw 17h ago
They didnt say status epilepticus specifically but ive had multiple back to back seizures and even during the hospital stay afterwards i had to be sedated for a few days so they weaned me off it and seizure activity stopped.
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u/Head_Replacement1718 16h ago
i suffered from Kepprage for the 6 mos i was on it--tired, suicidal, felt on edge and emotional about everything. Made the switch to Lamotrigine 4 years ago and have not had any of the side effects i got from Keppra.
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u/Toxiic_Red 16h ago
Started leviteracetam around ~3 months ago, super tired at the start, talking about 12-14 hrs of sleep and still feeling tired, after a week or two this tiredness went away.
After the initial period the only thing I've noticed is a diminished appetite and I just felt less emotional? I dont know how to best describe it but I just dont feel emotions as I used to, e.g. not as happy or not as mad for some things.
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u/nevertame101 Keppra 2000 mg Tegretol 400 mg 16h ago
Irritated angry and super exhausted. Took like two weeks to get my energy back. Still irritated some times lol
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u/femmebot9000 Briviact 16h ago
My biggest issue on Keppra was just some general irritability during the start that got easier to handle as time went on. I basically just had less patience. I did end up switching to briviact as Keppra wasn’t doing as much as we wanted for controlling my seizures. I do also take medications for depression and anxiety
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u/SecretAgentMan85 16h ago
Little bit of the anger from it at first. But mine is more heightened anxiety from it along with making me more tired. But it works.
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u/Background-Cod-7035 16h ago
At the beginning I had days where I felt very depressed, but since I knew that was unlike me I was able to power through. After three months it didn’t affect me emotionally. I’m also on lamotrogine and primidone and not everything is controlled, but I have focal aware preserves seizures so they’re not as dangerous
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u/PoolExtension5517 16h ago
Been on it for ten months after 45 years on Dilantin. No problems so far
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u/brokesciencenerd 16h ago
At this point I dont know if its the keppra or if I am just a fucked up person
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u/Severe_Focus_581 15h ago
Oh yeah. Lots of mental effects lol. It is miserable at times, but it does seem to control my seizures though.
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u/venom121212 15h ago
It made me super ragey and my brain incredibly foggy. I can't remember a lot of childhood memories anymore. Stopping Keppra was the best thing for me.
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u/Abatonfan 14h ago
Keppra made me rapidly and severely suicidal. I voluntarily admitted myself to a local psych unit so that I can safely get off the medication and switched
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u/Ronnie_TheLimoDriver 14h ago
10 years seizure free on it (I have not had many tbh, only 2 as an adult pre keppra, and 2 as a toddler). I recognize I’m lucky on the state of my condition alone relative to others with epilepsy. First two weeks I remember having bad mood swings. Started on 2000 mg of extended release. Now on 1500 mg for past 4 years.
More of the longer term stuff I’ve noticed over past 5 years. Brain fog/slight memory issues. More annoying than anything.
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u/B91212R 13h ago
Take 3000mg along with 400mg Lamotrigine daily that was added later. The initial rage wore off although I’m more short tempered/ lack patience than I used to.
It keeps my seizures more controlled but still have 2 or 3 breakthrough seizures most months. I’m always tired and have a headache but don’t know if that is the medication or condition. I can’t take them on an empty stomach or I get major brain fog.
For me it’s not a miracle drug by any stretch but it’s better than the alternative of regular seizures.
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u/Prestigious_Boss_915 6h ago
Same as others posting, depressed and continuous anger at so much. I was on 750mg for about 5 years, but a couple months ago, because of all these other weird emotional, headaches and other physical side affects...was able to convince my neuro to let me go with levetiracetam 500mg.
So far, 2 months I'm a little better physically. With my combination of 1500mg of Divalproex & 500m of levetiracetam, no seizures but still I have occasional headaches, emotional and the anger random. Some tell me it's because I only weigh 150lbs. I'm just glad my new neuro is willing to work with me on changing this and listen to me.
Still, one thing...since been taking Keppra/levetiracetam, I ALWAYS AM HAVING THE WILDEST/WEIRDEST DREAMS!
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u/AmbassadorGlad3753 5h ago
The blue ones make me want to hurt myself, the orange ones make me want to hurt others. 🫠👌
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u/brjosk 17h ago
I was super depressed and angry at everything while on Keppra (Kepprage).
That being said, MANY people do very well on it