Keppra "rage" or age?

Kirstie - posted on 08/03/2010

I tried Keppra with my son when he was just barley a year old it was the worst meds they ever had us try on him, the sideeffects were severe and worse then the seizure. He had night terrors, every night on this, emotional for months, and he became a "clutz". I asked my God mother, and she said that her daughter was on this and it also gave her nightmares. I guess if its controling the seizures its fine, but I think when the symptoms of the meds overweight the condition than you need to have a talk about switching with your neurologist.

Kristi - posted on 08/03/2010

my son has been on keppra since he was 18 months old. He is 6 now. He also has sensory processing disorder, so his moodyness was always contributed to that. I love keppra!! It has been a miracle drug for us. I can handle mood swings because Malachi was having up to 50 seizures a day before keppra.
Thanks,
Kristi Fetters

Rebecca - posted on 08/02/2010

My son just turned 4 years old... he was maxed out on keppra (he was on keppra for about a year and a half) and was also on depakene. The more we increased the keppra the worse his behavior became!! He would go from a happy laughing child to crying... and worse... sometimes to a violent tantrum. He would bite... and I don't mean small bites... he would tear in to whatever was close... our clothes... blankets... and eventually he bit my husband twice. He left terrible bruises where he bit him. He would hit... kick... scream. We told the neuro this and he was weened from the keppra and we slightly increased the depakene. The transformation was amazing!! His behavior is so much better! He tolerates the depakene well... no more crazy fits... and no more seizures!! Also we tried the B6 and it did not help him... but I have heard it does help some children. Good luck!! I know it is so hard! There were days I didn't know if I could see him go through any more... it broke my heart! It makes me so happy to see how much better he is doing now.

Ashly - posted on 08/01/2010

My daughter is 3 and half and she has generalized seizures she is also taking keppra and her attitude went through the roof when she started taking 2.6ml. At first i thought it was just because she was 3 and almost every child at that age wants to be independent and not listen and throw tantrums out the ying yang but i noticed as we increased her medicine it just got worse so i contacted her neurologist because she said that was the one side effect that they really watch for. They told me to get her on B6 as well as a multivitamin. We started just yesterday but I've seen a tiny bit of change in her attitude not much but enough to feel like it might work. Its been a month and a half and my daughter hasn't had any seizures but she is also taking 3.1ml of keppra and i feel like that's a lot but the doctor says it's not even close to the dosage she can take for her weight. If you have noticed a change in her attitude i would call the neurologist and let them know most likely they will tell you to get her on B6 and a multivitamin its a lot for a little one to take but if it keeps them healthy why not. I wish you well and lots of luck for your daughter and your family!

Virginia - posted on 07/26/2010

I just took my almost 6 year old to his neuro. I explained that since the last time they upped his dosage of keppra, he's been seizure free, but his attitude and tantrums have gotten sooo much worse and he's not eating very much again. They said to wait til after next school year. I explained about one day he's fine, the next 4 days he's super mean and violent. The dr said that's not usually how it works if it's the keppra causing the anger. *sigh* I just don't know

Sara - posted on 07/25/2010

My daughter and i both have seizures. I took Keppra for a while and i was a total monster while taking it. so i would blame the meds. I had to stop taking it because i hated feeling so angry. i yelled at my kids and my husband. it was pretty bad.

Tajunanne - posted on 07/22/2010

I wanna thank all of you my son has Lennox-Gastuat which is a rare siezure disorder and he's been on keppra 7 yrs and is very violent and out of control sometime and now i know why he takes 4500 mg a day and he's coming off gonna start weening him off now no choice he also takes lamictal, phenobarbitol, klonopin, and depakote

Harley - posted on 07/21/2010

My daughter is also on keppra and is 28 months old.. everytime they increase her dosage she has increased tantrums for about a week or 2 and then she goes back to normal.. shes been on this since December and has still had seizures but not frequent or as long as they were so shes doing great! She has absolutely NO speech problems, talks better than my 3 year old (lol) and is actually the sweet and good child. I hope everything works out and I think results vary in most cases but I believe giving it time to kick in is the best choice.. they have increased my daughters meds 5 times happens every time but also resolves itself with in the 2 weeks EVERY time. Good luck to you!

Andrea - posted on 07/21/2010

Jamie I'm SO glad you began noticing your daughters temper tantrums subside within the past 5-6days now! :)
My little one goes to see HER Neurologist in 3, almost 4weeks, & I plan to see what I can do about her hair pulling & teeth grinding that didn't begin until they began mixing her Keppra w/ Phenobarbitol. Wish us luck! xo Andrea & family ;D

Jeanie - posted on 07/20/2010

I have a child with seizures also. When we first found out she had them our neurologist put her on Keppra too. She was on the Keppra for alittle over a year before her tantrums started. As soon as I noticed them I made her an appt with the neurologist and he changed her from Keppra to Lamictal. Tatrums and complete mood changes are the worst side effect of Keppra. When he started her on it he told us straight up that there was a chance it would make her "evil" and boy did it ever. I didn't even recognize my own child anymore. The tantrums with only get worse and soon she'll start acting out on her anger. My daughter got to the point she was literally beating the crap outta me. Jacie was 3 yrs old when we found out she had seizures and she started the Keppra, so I wouldn't blame it on the terrible twos. I hope this helps and I'm happy to talk to you anytime about it.

Denise - posted on 07/19/2010

I to have delt with this from my baby girl Rayleane, I had her move to another medication. Now she is sleepy all the time. Rayleans was five days old when she started the keppra and I could not take the fuss that seem to get worse I cant say for sure but I think it may be the age with the Keppra!

Tanza - posted on 07/19/2010

Jamie - glad to hear it's eased up and she's doing better. Each medicine works differently for each child and it's so hard as a parent to watch your child as the doctor's try to find the right fit for them. Keppra has been wonderful for us. Our son is 8 and just started having seizures the end of last year ( which we thought were tics initially ) and was diagnosed after having a grand mal in March of this year. He went from a couple partial complex /day to 14-30 per day along with grand mals thrown in there. =-) The 1st week he was on Keppra I did feel it seemed the seizures were 'stronger' but once the higher doses started kicking it, it was wonderful. He has now been seizure free for almost 2 months!! And no personality issues either! Good luck!!!Tanza

Shae - posted on 07/17/2010

We had a hideous experience with Keppra. My daughter's seizure activity increased dramatically and she was having screaming fits lasting anywhere from two to four hours. She was inconsolable and would scream herself hoarse. When removed from the Keppra is took several months for the screaming fits to subside but we started seeing a decline in the seizures immediately. Meds are not magic they are chemicals and different bodies respond to them in different ways. It never hurts to question, investigate and always, always bring any concerns to the doctor! They do not know what is normal for your child and what is not... you have to be the observer and reporter so that they can help find the best possible outcome! The B series vitamins are supposed to help a great deal with the mood swings although they didn't work in our case, I have heard of them being used successfully. Good luck! :)

Jamie - posted on 07/15/2010

Thank you all for your replies. It's been 5 days since I initially wrote this post and I've already noticed an improvement in her behavior. I think it was her body just getting used to the increased dosage. The tantrums are not as severe nor as frequent. We have an appointment with her neurologist on Tuesday and I plan to ask him abut the B6. Again, thank you all for the support.

Lisa - posted on 07/15/2010

my son was given keppra and start having severe mood swings became extremely sensitive and over emotional his personality was changed and niether of us could deal with it they said it would go away waited a month than had them change it .i was so happy to get my sweet calm son back.depakote is the most effective for him.

Tanya - posted on 07/15/2010

Hi My 10 year old daughter was given Keppra(also on Dilantin and Sabril) and it was working ok but they were going to increase her Keppra and ween her off Sabril. As they increased her meds she became almost out of control at a drop of the hat. Her behaviour changed and she was violent to me and her brother biting and pulling hair and mood swings. They decreased it a bit and she settled down and it still on the 3 meds 6 years later. unfortunally with seizures they also bring on a wide range of other behaviours too, eating more, tired and with your little one being almost 2 the drs will probably say we will wait and see if age or meds.

Andrea - posted on 07/15/2010

My daughter was put on Keppra after her 2nd seizure at 7 months old, (& like the others & your daughter, mine had to have her dose increased & increased & increased & increased MANY times..) and I was also warned about the possible side effect of "behavioral problems" but I NEVER noticed any UNTIL this past January (2010) she took her 8th seizure & her seizures are quite long, the one in January lasted a little over 4 hours *sigh* So her Neurologist added a 2nd medication along WITH the Keppra, & ever since the mixture of Keppra & Phenobarbitol she's been pulling her hair & grinding her teeth.. it was like it happened over-night! One day she was perfectly happy & cheerful, next day she had ( & unfortunately still HAS ) these bad habits of hair pulling & teeth grinding.. BUT since she's been on the 2 medications together, she hasn't had a seizure.. & this is the LONGEST we've EVER gone w/out a seizure in her lifetime so everyone is afraid to take the Phenobarbitol away..

Guess I wasn't much of a help? LoL

But I understand what your going through I guess so feel free to contact me at any time if you need or want to talk ;D

Audrey - posted on 07/15/2010

Hi! My son started on Keppra at 19 months and we also had to keep increasing the dosage. He had horrible tantrums and could not calm himself down at all. At first we thought it was his age too. Besides the tantrums he also started with horrible mood swings. We ended up switching his meds and the change was remarkable. You know your child the best and if you do not think this is just an age thing I would talk to your doctor. Good luck!! Audrey

Melissa - posted on 07/14/2010

My daughter has been on Keppra for 2 1/2 years. She still has some severe mood swings on it too, but not even close to how bad they were at the beginning. She was on Keppra and Depakote, but the Depakote seemed to make her really drugged-up; tired, moody, spacey - so we asked if she could be taken off Depakote. I felt like it was making her really sad...she talked bad about herself and was sort of depressed...AT 8 YEARS OLD!!! Just recently the Keppra sort of stopped working and we had to keep increasing it with no change. Her Neuro put her on Trileptal and she hasn't had any seizures AT ALL. She is still on the Keppra too. I guess since the combo is working, we don't want to wean her from Keppra since her mood swings stopped getting so bad over a year ago. It takes a really long time for Keppra to settle in though. Good luck!

Heidi - posted on 07/13/2010

My son is 8 and was diagnosed with absence seizures... First drug tried was Keppra... made him severely depressed... We are now on Depakote - which is fine- he tolerates really well.

Virginia - posted on 07/13/2010

My daughter tried out Keppra for a short time (2 months) I was warned by my neurologist that it had several side effects such as mood swings, anger and irritability. My little girl couldn't make up her mind when on the drug. I'd offer her chocolate milk (her favorite) and she'd start crying and saying "I don't know, I don't know" She couldn't commit to any decisions at all and fought constantly with her sister. We took her off, put her back on Trileptal and she's doing beautifully

Heather - posted on 07/11/2010

One of the side effects of Keppra is mood swings. My son's neuro put him on Vitamin B6 and it really helped stabilize the tantrums.

Colleen - posted on 07/10/2010

My daughter just got weaned from keppra 8 weeks ago. She used to have several tantrums and would be angry and then would be nice seconds later. I feel keppra gave her tantrums. she has more eye contact and her speech improved too. She started keppra @ age 2 and now she is 5 .
Colleen