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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 18 of 18. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by SLS on December 1, 2005, at 7:38:35
I've been taking Keppra (levetiracetam) for a few months now. My body weight has increased beyond what I would expect given my food intake.
Has anyone else gained weight from taking Keppra?
- Scott
Posted by platinumbride on December 1, 2005, at 15:54:55
In reply to Has anyone gained weight while taking KEPPRA?, posted by SLS on December 1, 2005, at 7:38:35
No, Scott....
That is one drug I never gained weight on.
Diane
> I've been taking Keppra (levetiracetam) for a few months now. My body weight has increased beyond what I would expect given my food intake.
>
> Has anyone else gained weight from taking Keppra?
>
>
> - Scott
Posted by Phillipa on December 1, 2005, at 23:05:34
In reply to Re: Has anyone gained weight while taking KEPPRA?, posted by platinumbride on December 1, 2005, at 15:54:55
Scott are you still excercising? Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by med_empowered on December 1, 2005, at 23:55:17
In reply to Has anyone gained weight while taking KEPPRA?, posted by SLS on December 1, 2005, at 7:38:35
have you had a kind of low-mood lately? I just ask because sometimes Keppra induces/worsens depression (I dont know if this goes away during treatment or not). I imagine that even a mild drug-induced depression could cause a slowing of the metabolism and possibly an increase in food intake or a reduction in exercise, overall activity. Could that be a possibility? Also, I found that I gained a bit of weight when I started Trileptal..it wasn't drug induced per se, and I lost it pretty quickly...its just I'd been so erratic and either hypo- or hyper-active that my weight had fallen a bit. When I started Trileptal, I gained a few pounds, then started exercising again and never had another problem. It could be more psychological than pharmacological...if its a problem, perhaps you should consider a switch.
Posted by SLS on December 2, 2005, at 10:30:50
In reply to Re: Has anyone gained weight while taking KEPPRA?, posted by med_empowered on December 1, 2005, at 23:55:17
Hi.
I have been feeling more depressed lately. I think that might be due to my having stopped taking Lamictal. Perhaps my metabolism has slowed down, as you suggest. I stopped taking the Lamictal in an effort to recover the memory function it impaired.
From everything else I could come up with, Keppra does not tend to produce weight-gain, so I guess I need to look at my eating behavior or metabolism to make changes.
I really appreciate the responses of others along this thread. It helps to coroborate what I found elsewhere on the Internet.
- Scott
Posted by med_empowered on December 2, 2005, at 11:54:53
In reply to Re: Has anyone gained weight while taking KEPPRA? » med_empowered, posted by SLS on December 2, 2005, at 10:30:50
overall, how would you rate keppra? I've heard its good in terms of not having ill effects on cognition and it usually doesn't flatten people emotionally but I havent been able to get a good feel for a patient's perspective of it.
Sorry about the memory problems with Lamictal. I think I read that drugs like mirapex sometimes help with that. I imagine something like Provigil could help, too. What was your dose? Although it can cause problems (weight gain, sedation, etc.) Surmontil might be a cool option. Apparently, its a TCA but not really a "normal" TCA--its rather clozapine-ish, and seems to calm people down without having the dulling effects typical of a neuroleptic OR the over-activation sometimes found with antidepressants in sensitive patient populations. TCAs tend to be kind of "dirty" drugs, though, so you might still get cognitive ill-effects from it.
Posted by Emme on December 2, 2005, at 16:15:51
In reply to Re: Has anyone gained weight while taking KEPPRA? » med_empowered, posted by SLS on December 2, 2005, at 10:30:50
Scott,
> I stopped taking the Lamictal in an effort to recover the memory function it impaired.
Were you one of the people who asked about Aricept a while back? If you're on the hunt for cognitive improvement, think about it. My pdoc has had some good results with it. I found it cleared up my brain and had an antidepressant effect also.
emme
Posted by SLS on December 2, 2005, at 16:38:28
In reply to Keppra, posted by med_empowered on December 2, 2005, at 11:54:53
> overall, how would you rate keppra?
Cognitively, I would rate it as one of the cleaner anticonvulsants. It offers me some sort of mild improvement in mental energy that is hard to describe. Unfortunately, removing the Lamictal seems to have offset any benefits Keppra was giving me. I will probably return to a small dose of Lamictal - 37.50mg or so. I had been taking 300mg at one point.
I do not believe Keppra has flattened me out at all, so I think your initial impressions of the drug are accurate.
I've tried Provigil, but reacted badly to it within the first week. It flattened me out and made me feel more depressed and vegetative. I didn't feel like putting myself through that at the time. No one else seemed to have a similar experience, so I couldn't count on any precedence that the negative reaction would resolve.
Trimipramine wasn't a drug that worked for me, despite my taking therapeutic dosages of it for an extended period of time. I found it somewhat sedating, but overall a tolerable drug as far as TCAs go.
Thanks for the input. You always offer good ideas.
- Scott
Posted by SLS on December 2, 2005, at 16:40:43
In reply to Re: Has anyone gained weight while taking KEPPRA? » SLS, posted by Emme on December 2, 2005, at 16:15:51
> Scott,
>
> > I stopped taking the Lamictal in an effort to recover the memory function it impaired.
>
> Were you one of the people who asked about Aricept a while back? If you're on the hunt for cognitive improvement, think about it. My pdoc has had some good results with it. I found it cleared up my brain and had an antidepressant effect also.
>
> emme
Hi Emme.Aricept and I did not get along very well. It definitely worsened my depression. I couldn't even comment on its cognitive-enhancing properties because the depression was so bad.
- Scott
Posted by theo on December 2, 2005, at 23:00:51
In reply to Re: Keppra, posted by SLS on December 2, 2005, at 16:38:28
Hello Scott,
Sorry to here about the Lamictal experience. The same thing happened to me with cognitive problems.
What is your current dose of Keppra?
Posted by SLS on December 3, 2005, at 7:17:58
In reply to Re: Keppra » SLS, posted by theo on December 2, 2005, at 23:00:51
Hi Theo.
> What is your current dose of Keppra?
I'm currently taking 1000mg. It seems to be the right dosage for me. If I take any more, it starts to get me feeling more depressed.
I restarted Lamictal at 37.5mg to see how it treats me.
- Scott
Posted by theo on December 3, 2005, at 7:29:24
In reply to Re: Keppra » theo, posted by SLS on December 3, 2005, at 7:17:58
>
> I'm currently taking 1000mg. It seems to be the right dosage for me. If I take any more, it starts to get me feeling more depressed.
>
> I restarted Lamictal at 37.5mg to see how it treats me.
>
>
> - Scott
>Are you taking it 500mg bid? What time do you take your doses?
Posted by ed_uk on December 3, 2005, at 14:07:52
In reply to Re: Keppra » theo, posted by SLS on December 3, 2005, at 7:17:58
Hi Scott
Given your weight gain, perhaps this could be a good time to give Topamax a trial?
Kind regards
Ed
Posted by SLS on December 3, 2005, at 20:33:38
In reply to Re: Keppra » SLS, posted by theo on December 3, 2005, at 7:29:24
Hi Theo.
> Are you taking it 500mg bid? What time do you take your doses?
Yes - 500mg b.i.d.
8:00 AM
10:00 PM
- Scott
Posted by SLS on December 3, 2005, at 20:39:09
In reply to Re: Keppra » SLS, posted by ed_uk on December 3, 2005, at 14:07:52
> Hi Scott
>
> Given your weight gain, perhaps this could be a good time to give Topamax a trial?
>
> Kind regards
>
> Ed
Hi Ed.I really don't know what to do now. However, it seems that I have cleared a major bureaucratic hurdle towards being awarded a trial of mifepristone. I need to work with my doctor on getting together some final paperwork.
Do you think Topamax can act to improve a chronic bipolar depression that displays no spontaneous remissions or cycling? How often do you see someone say "It did wonders for my depression?"
- Scott
Posted by med_empowered on December 4, 2005, at 6:07:24
In reply to Re: Keppra » ed_uk, posted by SLS on December 3, 2005, at 20:39:09
hey! I wouldn't try topomax just yet. Its pretty hardcore, and the data for it apparently isn't that great. Plus, it tends to be densely sedating and it makes people stupid. Have you tried stimulants? They're definitely not 1st line in any depressive disorder, but sometimes its really helpful (as long as your mood-stabilizers are at a good level).
Posted by SLS on December 4, 2005, at 11:12:40
In reply to Re: Keppra, posted by med_empowered on December 4, 2005, at 6:07:24
Hi M_E
> hey! I wouldn't try topomax just yet. Its pretty hardcore, and the data for it apparently isn't that great. Plus, it tends to be densely sedating and it makes people stupid. Have you tried stimulants? They're definitely not 1st line in any depressive disorder, but sometimes its really helpful (as long as your mood-stabilizers are at a good level).
Unfortunately, I've been the stimulant route. I tried augmenting Parnate + desipramine with Ritalin and Dexedrine. Never tried Adderall, though. I am interested.
- Scott
Posted by ed_uk on December 5, 2005, at 16:05:29
In reply to Re: Keppra » ed_uk, posted by SLS on December 3, 2005, at 20:39:09
Hi Scott
>However, it seems that I have cleared a major bureaucratic hurdle towards being awarded a trial of mifepristone. I need to work with my doctor on getting together some final paperwork.
That's excellent Scott. Looks like mifepristone might be your next step.
>How often do you see someone say "It did wonders for my depression?"
Once - although not many people seem to try Topamax for depression. I do remember one babbler who found it very effective for depression though. Unfortunately, I can't find the post.
Kind regards
Ed
This is the end of the thread.
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