SEIZURES -- EPILEPSY

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Comment by mastertikitak on December 21, 2008 at 1:02am

This is a great website for locating a doctor who specializes in epilesy/seizure diagnosis and treatments:

http://www.aesnet.org/go/find-a-dr/epilepsy-foundation

Comment by mastertikitak on December 21, 2008 at 1:00am

Those of us who either have seizures or have a friend or family member who has seizures know how difficult life can be and even more difficult to bring it under control, " manageable" as doctors like to call it. My daughter, 26, has had seizures since she was 13 months old. Needless to say, life was like living on pins and needles; we did not realize how much of a danger it could be for our daughter until she started crawling/walking at 4 yrs of age; She would "drop" so fast, it would be impossible to hold her at times and unfortunately would end up with a bloody nose, bruises, etc..

One time she ended up hitting her face on a sideboard (I thought I had waaaayyyyy out of the way) during a seizure; took her to the ER, almost ended up getting arrested for abuse; luckily, our daughter's neurologist practiced at the same hospital, whom I called right away: of course his explanation was "official" and saved my skin. She was admitted for further testing and stabilizing her seizure meds. Better believe I was kept under close scrutiny the whole time. I was very upset at the time, but DO certainly understand it better now.

So ...yea, we had many awful, eventful, nerve-wrecking days; no medication would help with the "biggies" where she would fall many times; her neurologist switched from one drug to the next, tried combinations, tried the Ketogenic diet. He even suggested the Vagal Nerve Stimulator, which sounded really good, but being mentally challenged, my daughter would not be able to make use of it.

Then, Kepra came in the market ! Of course I was very skeptical; but there had to be something that worked and hoped this would be it. Trial and error period started; adding Kepra to the 3 meds she was on already ; after a week, weaned off of one while slowly increasing the Kepra. It did not take effect for about a month; then, her days were not as painful or nerve-wrecking. Her stares and twitching lessened but did not stop. But, her Grand Mal's started decreasing in number !!! and over time, she does not have ANY where she "drops", unless there is something else is going on, such as a fever, toothache, etc. Kepra is my Hero so far !!!

My daughter is still under a multi-drug regimen: topamax, lamictal, and Kepra. But, until something better comes along, this regimen is a keeper for us. I have to admit the side effects of each is always on my mind; I have a wrenching pain everytime I give her meds, as if poisoning her. Although she has her regular appointments and blood levels checked, there is no denying they are most likely doing her some internal damage that is not apparent yet. That is why it is very important to not miss any appointments and be very vigilant about any unusual rashes etc. But Here is a snopsis of what Kepra is about:.

Keppra is a medicine made specifically for epilepsy and treats over 80% of seizure types. It’s taken by mouth and is used with other epilepsy medicines to treat:

* primary generalized tonic-clonic (PGTC) seizures in adults and children 6 years of age and older with idiopathic generalized epilepsy
* myoclonic seizures in patients 12 years of age and older with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME)
* partial onset seizures in patients 4 years of age and older with epilepsy.

It comes in a range of tablet strengths (250 mg, 500 mg, 750 mg, 1000 mg) as well as an oral solution. Keppra is also used in IV form in the hospital for adults with partial onset seizures when oral forms are not an option.

Keppra is different from other medicines. That’s because, unlike many antiseizure medicines, Keppra is made specifically for epilepsy. It’s proven to reduce seizure frequency and works to control even tough seizures.

Please visit the following site, as well as discussing the use of Keppra with your neurologis: http://www.kepra.com/pc/about_keppra/about_keppra.asp

http://www.epilepsyadvocate.com/resources/resources.aspx

Would love to hear about your experiences with different seizure/epilepsy medications. :))

Tags: advocate, brain, drugs, epilepsy, keppra, neurologist, seizure