Aggression from Keppra

JENNIFER - posted on 04/18/2013

My 3 year old daughter has been on Keppra (the generic) for about a month & she can not get enough to eat. Not sure if it is the meds or just a growing spurt. She also has been very aggressive & moody.

JENNIFER - posted on 04/18/2013

My 3 year old daughter has been on Keppra (the generic) for about a month & she can not get enough to eat. Not sure if it is the meds or just a growing spurt. She also has been very aggressive & moody.

Katherine - posted on 04/08/2013

My daughter has been on Keppra XR for 5+ years. They increased her dosage significantly as the years have passed...and very recently because she gained inches and 20 pounds in one year. She now takes 2500 mg in the morning and 2500 mg at night. She is 13. I've noticed more irritability but nothing major. The odd side affects is that her nose has also gotten REALLY stuffy and she can't breathe or eat with her mouth closed. On top of it, her facial features seem to be swollen (i.e. nose & lips). These are both said to be side affects of Keppra. I'm going to ask the doctor to try an alternate med (i.e. zonegran, trileptal). Her appetite seems to have increased dramatically too. Has anyone experienced these side affects???

Jessica - posted on 02/07/2013

My daughter is 2 1/2 she has been in respiratory failure twice due to seizures. She was on topamax which was a living hell. After her recent stay in the icu she was switched to keppra. I call this the drug from hell. She has lost 9 pounds, is very aggressive and violent on this medication. At times I have to hold her in place so she doesnt hurt herself. She sees the ped neuro on the 12th and we plan to address the medication and dosing. Good luck to all :(
jess

Celine Danielle - posted on 12/13/2012

Yes, I withdrew my 3 1/2 yr. old from school Monday. Were going to do homeschooling paid for by the district. My sweet baby girl has changed, but I know shes still in there somewhere because she hasnt lost her smile :))) The neurologist we see is changing her meds but she has to be whened off of the Keppra slowly :(( I just hope he's as good as my Neurosurgeon and all the dr. at methodist Hospital say he is. So far she's had four seizures in the past 2 weeks and only one very light seizure on the Keppra. almost like an absent seizure whereas before she had the very dramatic seizure w convulsions, eyes rolling, toes pointing, blue in the face, tongue bitting, jaw locked, jerking, and sleep right after. Im scared for her and us, but Im hopeful things will get better. Prayer works!!

Abby - posted on 11/08/2012

yes my 5 yr old son also takes seizures and was very sweet and loving until the neurologist put him on Keppra...he takes 4ml twice a day...he is to the point that his principal called us today and his father had to pick him up from school today for hitting another kid...me and his father are at the end of our rope and we really don't know what to do anymore

NIFA - posted on 08/19/2012

my 14yr old is also on keppra, he has to take low doses because at a high dose it cause him to be aggressive. it might be to high of amount. they had to add another med to combat the low dose. hope this helps

Annette - posted on 08/17/2012

My 3 yr old is now on 5ml 2x a day and within days of starting her on her intial does of 2.5 2x a day I noticed what you describe. From what I have read it is very common. Last Monday our nuero saw her on her "leash backpack" and immediately said how is it going. when I told him how drastically her behavior had changed he opted to take her off the Keppra. The fine balance is drugs that cause them to be seizure free AND able to function. Running wild, impulsive, emotional for US is not setting her up for the future in school. Her preschool has been WONDERFUL and understand that this is not her but the meds. They know what she was like before and now but they too have had to be very hands on. I too am having to find A LOT more patience and making sure that I am talking kneeled at her level and making eye contact. We are in the process of working on the weaning off Keppra but I am struggling since now he wants her on Lamictal with the Depakote she already takes too. Hang in the momma!

Kate - posted on 08/15/2012

I don't know why doctors keep prescribing this horrific medication - please google Keppra's Rage. They won't tell you about it and some don't 'even know about it. My son got so depressed on it all he wanted to do was hang himself, lost 30 lbs in two weeks, used to climb out the window and run around the block to fight the urge to get a carving knife and cut his brothers throat. We were in Canada recently to do DNA testing for it - to see why it has such horrific side effects. I would DEMAND immediately to be changed off it. Please google it - Keppra's Rage.

Tasha - posted on 08/07/2012

My daughter is 4 and has been on Keppra for about 2 years. We just recently increased her dosage from 2ml twice a day to 3 mls twice a day she was very aggitated, so her Dr. advised B6. It has worked for us. Good Luck

Carly - posted on 08/25/2011

i have a 2 year old daughter who has been on keppra for a little over a year now. her aggression is horrible. she hits, kicks, throws things, pulls my hair, throws HUGE fits, ect. i don't know if i can attribute it all to keppra or keppra and terrible twos but i know it adds to it. i cannot bring her anywhere without her throwing a fit and screaming, literally screaming. she didnt act like this until we bumped her up from 2 mls twice a day to 3mls twice a day. hopefully it will even out again

Denisa - posted on 07/15/2011

How were you able to get off the medication?

Debby - posted on 07/05/2011

Our 21 yo son noticed he was feeling short tempered & 'ready to lash out' when his dosage was increased a month ago....he's settled down now. But it was difficult enough to get through with a highly verbal young adult!
He was initially put on Depakote and suffered major weight gain. We got him switched to Keppra and once stabalized, he stayed there for 2 years...now we've had to increase it.
Seems controlled for now.

Chantay - posted on 06/30/2011

I see your post is from 2009 so I hope you've had success with another medicine for your son. I had the experience with my daughter on the Keppra years ago and I called the Dr. about the same side effect and told them I would take my chances with the seizures if that was what they were going to make her take as a med. She was so aggressive and down right evil with this med. They warned me of some aggression but it was terrible. Her little brother took the brunt of her aggression. Thankfully we found Zonegran, worked well with her seizure disorder and we had our girl back. Good luck. We have been seizure free now for a year now without meds. May God Bless you and your family with a successful solution.

Jennifer - posted on 02/11/2009

I just answered another post on this, in fact. My son DID take Keppra for only a matter of a week and then we stopped it entirely. His neurologist initially decreased it from the pill to 100 mg in the suspension and it STILL made no difference by way of behavioral changes. We lived through hell with this one. Sorry. My son has been maintained since December of 2007 on Trileptal, thank GOD! Good luck!

Stacie - posted on 02/10/2009

I have seen this with my daughter kids either react great on this or not, I even had my daugther in the B12 but it didn't help. We had to take her off and try a new med. You have to weigh out are the side effects worst than the seizures and for us it was. She was a different kid and we needed her back. Stacie

Jila - posted on 02/10/2009

My two year old daughter has been on keppra for 14 months now.  Phonobarbital and phenytoin did not stop her seizures.  Keppra has worked great for her.  Its possible she was aggressive for a short time when she first started.  Side effects have been minimal and only 1 small seizure.  As far as I can tell she is a normal toddler.  Not agressive, but occasionally assertive about "MINE!"

Amie - posted on 02/09/2009

My 8yo just started Keppra a week ago. He has been on Depakote for awhile but his seizures are not completely controlled.  He will be 9 in March but last summer his Pediatrician told me he was in the early stages of puberty! We are already having rage and emotional issuses, I am so worried what this may do to him emotionally.  Thank you for talking about this.  I can't wait to speak with his Dr. about this!

Rochelle - posted on 02/08/2009

Hi my daughter has took Keppra and had a horrible aggresion issue..The doc switched her to Lamictal and she's happy, but seizures are 2 mths apart and on keppra went 2 yrs without one...you really do weigh the problems out...I wanted happy & seizure free but one every 2 mths and pleasure of a happy child worked for us.

Deb - posted on 02/06/2009

YES! my daughter was on Keppra for about a year... it didn't control her siezures and it made her VERY mean! Her quality of life (as well as ours) was compromised with how nasty she was! I never recommend Keppra because the side effects are so severe!!

Jenny - posted on 02/05/2009

Oh yeah, and the Keppra didnt control his seizures, either.

Jenny - posted on 02/05/2009

Denise, That is exactly what happened to my son when he started Keppra!! There were days that I would just break down and cry, b/c I couldnt take him screaming at me anymore. I talked to his specialist, and they switched him to Trileptal. There are still some unpleasant side effects, but he does a LOT better. He was diagnosed as ADHD like, in January, but all of the specialists say this is typical of a child with seizures. Sad, but it IS better than the seizures!!

Natalie - posted on 02/05/2009

yeah my daughter is not on that medication but when she has her seizures her temper is really bad with severe nasty language there are timeswhen i cant control this. she has 1 on 1 at school and is on her last warning at school. some teachers think fits are when the child just bounces and shakes it is wrong. explain to the teachers.hope all goes well natalie x

Amy - posted on 02/04/2009

It is very common to have rage on Keppra...my 2 year old takes it and also has rage.  You can ask your neuro about B6 to help with it as it does help some kiddos with "keppra rage".

Erin - posted on 01/31/2009

Hi, I have a 6 year old son who has had Epilepsy since he was 18 months old. We went through phenobarbital, a bad reaction to trileptal, and finally have had 2 1/2 years of Keppra. I say finally because we have not had one seizure since starting it. It works dose to dose and is weight based, and no levels to check. We have had aggression and behavior problems, and I went to our neurologist with my concerns. He mentioned several supplements to try, vitamins and such, but the one thing that has worked is Melatonin. Our neurologist said to give our son 1mg 20 minutes before bed and it took a few nights to work, but now it is a lot better. A lot of reading said to not give Melatonin to a child with seizures, our neurologist said it speaks to the side effect of night terrors and we have luckily not had that occurrence.I found the liquid after a year of searching, online at www.webvitamins.com, and now my son takes a pill. It has worked wonders. Ask your neurologist, and good luck!

Kelly - posted on 01/29/2009

I am in my last year of pharmacy school and my son is 2 1/2. I did a lot of research on seizure medications and side effects because I hated what Phenobarbital was dpoing to my son. He was asleep ALL the time. So I found some articles on trials compairing seizure medications and I took those articles to our neurologist and had them switch my son to Keppra. Yes aggression is a side effect of Keppra, However, when you compare it to the other options, I believe it is far superior. You have to keep in mind, that everyone reacts differently to medications. If its bad enough that you want to try something else, by all means see what your dr thinks and switch, BUT not all seizure meds work for everyone, in fact most of the time not all seizure meds will work for a particular child. So if you find something that does work, you may have to deal with the side effects. Aggression can be dealt with more easily than brain damage from lack of oxygen to the brain during a seizure. Hope this helps!

Linda - posted on 01/28/2009

Hi, yes that is definitely a side effect of Keppra. You have to weigh the positive and the negative but maybe consider lowering it or trying something else. My daughter was really irritable on Keppra - she was like a different person - and it wasn't stopping her seizures - so she stopped it and her personality came back. It's definitely the one negative of Keppra.

Tracey - posted on 01/26/2009

My son is almost 5 and takes 2 ml of Keppra twice a day (he's 36 pounds). The first 3 months were really tough because he was more aggressive than ever before and was having tantrums that could last up to two hours where we were concerned that he could hurt himself or his older sister (we pretty much held him as close as we could until it would stop). At 2 1/2 months in, the tantrums stopped and by the middle of the third month the aggression had stopped. We also switched neurologists to UCLA and we've learned that the higher level of Keppra, the more aggressive a child can become. So, our son is on the lowest level that it is effective for him (as you probably know, much of the prescribed amount is based on the child's weight which determines the rate of absorption). I also heard that starting at the therapeutic dosage (rather than weaning onto it over the period of a month) can also elevate the behavioral side effects. Don't give up on the Keppra because other than the first few months, it has been a savior for us and he's only had one seizure that we know if in the past 8 months. Thankfully, our son is in a pre-school and LAUSD- based program that has been very understanding and helpful. Good luck.

Jennifer - posted on 01/24/2009

My doctor suggested the vitiman B6. She said it seems to help. We have had good luck with it. My daughter takes Keppra 6mls in the morning and 7 mls at night.

Tammy - posted on 01/23/2009

I have a 15yr old with all types of seizures most controlled except the grandmals... He takes Kepra as well. Tho we only noticed a small amount of increased agression and dont know if the culprit is puberty of the med, I always call the Doc with any change in behavior or eating patterns that last more than a few days. So ya id say give the doc a call :D