Posted by Ron Hill on November 18, 2007, at 22:55:23
In reply to Re: Keppra » Ron Hill, posted by tecknohed on November 18, 2007, at 17:48:22
Teck,
> Anyway, I'm interested in this Keppra. My pdoc believes I would benefit from a mood stabilizer. I do get mood swings & irritability but I've never considered myself bipolar (though I may be for all I know).
What makes your pdoc think that you need a moodstablizer?
Which moodstabilizer does your pdoc recommend that you try?
What is your diagnosis?
Keppra is typically used as an add-on moodstabilizer and it is rarely used as a first-line moodstablizer. Although there are exceptions:
What caused you to be interested in Keppra?
> Questions: does Keppra just stabilize you mood or does it have any other beneficial effects?
I added Keppra solely because there are some studies that show Keppra treats bipolar rapid cycling. I already had plenty of moodstablizers on board; First and foremost, 600 mg/day of Trileptal, and secondarily, 200 mg/day of Lamictal. As it turns out, Keppra does indeed greatly reduce the severity of my rapid cycling.
> Does it enhance your other meds (esp. Nardil) or have any mood elivating effects of it's own?
Not that I've noticed.
> Any side effects?
If I take more than 1000 mg/day, Keppra causes depression for me. But, everyone is different. Further, some people experience other side effects. In fact, most people in the PB archives ended up quitting Keppra for one reason or another.
What I did when I was considering Keppra was to search for as may research studies as I could find, and read them. Then I searched the PB archives to obtain some anecdotal responses. For example, here are the detailed posts of SusanC with regard to her Keppra trial. Read the entire thread:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010725/msgs/72416.html
Let me know if you want similar posts for other posters. You could search the archives yourself, if you want, but I already have done this as of 11/2/06. And, I grouped all of the posts scattered throughout the archives for each person that tried Keppra. So it makes it much easier to read the progression of the individual poster's Keppra trial. Let me know if you want the links.
> Also, whether you get side effects or not, do you take B6 with it? I found these: http://www.aesnet.org/Visitors/AnnualMeeting/Abstracts/dsp_Abstract.cfm?id=3367 & http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1528-1167.2005.460801_16.x (abstract 2.163).Very interesting! Thanks for the links, Teck. I do take P-5-P, the coenzymatic form of B-6 which is the highly bioavailable form of B-6. I take it because it is used in a plethora of neurofunctions. However, I was not aware of the Keppra/B-6 link.
> And do you know if Deplin is available on prescription in the UK?I do not know.
> Glad you're doing well! Nice to see ANY success on this board which is (unfortunately) a pretty rare occurance!
Thanks. However, I often find myself proclaiming full remission only to find out latter that something goes a rye. I should learn not to be too quick to speak.
> Thanx in advance for any answers you (or anyone else) provide.
Bottom line, I'd need to know what you and your pdoc are trying to treat before I would even have a clue if Keppra might help. And even then, as you know, finding the right p-med comes down to trial-and-error crap shoots.
Here is the Keppra prescribing information document:
http://www.keppra.com/pc/global/Keppra_Full_PI.pdf
-- Ron
poster:Ron Hill
thread:793089
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071115/msgs/795848.html