Does seizure medication affect birth control?
Many seizure medicines do not interact with birth control pills (OCs), because they do not affect the breakdown of OCs in the body. These medicines are often called “non-enzyme inducing AEDs”.
What happens if you stop taking seizure medication?
Stopping seizure medication without your doctor’s advice is dangerous. When some medicines are stopped suddenly, a person can have withdrawal symptoms. You could also have long seizures, clusters of seizures or status epilepticus, even if you’ve never had these problems before.
Can epilepsy medication affect your period?
Your menstrual cycle can be affected by many things including your age, your epilepsy, the number of seizures you have, or your epilepsy medicine. Some women with epilepsy find that their periods don’t follow a pattern, or happen very rarely.
What are the side effects after you stop taking Keppra?
You should not stop using levetiracetam suddenly, unless your doctor tells you to stop the medicine because of a serious side effect. Stopping suddenly may cause increased seizures. Follow your doctor’s instructions very carefully.
How long does it take Keppra to get out of your system?
by Drugs.com It takes approximately 5.5 x elimination half-life for a medicine to be out of your system. Keppra has a plasma half-life in adults of 7 ± 1 hour and is unaffected by either dose or repeated administration. Therefore it can take about 44 hours (5.5 x 8 hours) for Keppra to be eliminated.
What is the safest anti seizure medication?
March 22, 2007 – Lamictal is the best first-choice drug for partial epilepsy, while valproic acid is the best first choice for generalized epilepsy, two major clinical trials show.
Can you ever get off Keppra?
When it comes time to discontinue Keppra, your doctor will advise you on a slowly tapering dosing schedule. Do not just stop it suddenly unless your doctor has advised you that a rapid withdrawal is justified.
Can you still have seizures while on Keppra?
The most common side effects of levetiracetam are headaches, feeling sleepy and a blocked nose or itchy throat. It can take a few weeks for levetiracetam to work. You may still have seizures during this time.
What is a good substitute for Keppra?
(levetiracetam)
- Keppra (levetiracetam) Prescription only. 33% of people say it’s worth it.
- 5 alternatives.
- Lamictal (lamotrigine) Prescription only.
- Dilantin (phenytoin) Prescription only.
- Tegretol (carbamazepine) Prescription only.
- Topamax (topiramate) Prescription only.
- Depakote (divalproex) Prescription only.
What should I avoid while taking levetiracetam?
Levetiracetam may also cause aggression, anxiety, depression, and irritability. Levetiracetam may cause drowsiness and affect your ability to drive or operate machinery. Avoid alcohol. Talk to your doctor immediately if you develop a rash while taking levetiracetam.
Can levetiracetam make you gain weight?
In 4 patients, there was a decreased dosage or cessation of a previous drug known to produce weight gain in some cases simultaneously to the introduction of levetiracetam, but in two of these patients these drugs had not produced any weight gain. Group 3 included only two patients (weight loss: 7 and 20 kg).
What are the long term side effects of levetiracetam?
The most frequently reported side effects associated with the use of LEV in pooled analyses of the regulatory trials were somnolence, asthenia, headache and dizziness. TPM-associated adverse events were predominantly central nervous system-related symptoms, including somnolence, dizziness and psychomotor slowing.
What would cause a seizure all of a sudden?
Anything that interrupts the normal connections between nerve cells in the brain can cause a seizure. This includes a high fever, high or low blood sugar, alcohol or drug withdrawal, or a brain concussion.