Levetiracetam seizure medication

[Mouseling]

Has any one had any experience of side effects when taking Levetiracetam?

My Father who is 90 yrs old was diagnosed with Autoimmune Encephalitis approx 2 yrs ago. He has been taking Levetiracetam for a few months, and it is now gradually being increased. He has had an increase to daily 1g 500mg tablet in the morning and 1g 750mg tablet in the evening over the last two weeks.

In the last week he has experienced waking with numb arms and weakness. After a hospitol emergency check all tests were normal.

He has said that he generally is feeling more and more tired. Today he says he has no appetite ( this is very unusual for him) and he is extremely tired sleeping most of the day. He has no other symptoms and his temperature is normal.

We are planning to ring the G.P in the morning. I know medical advice can’t be given on this forum, but if any one has experiences of this drug and side effects l would be grateful to hear. Thank you 😊

[Scots_dad]

Hi Mouseling sorry to hear about your dad ,I've been taking levetiracetam for around 9 weeks as also am recovering from encephalitis but unfortunately none of the same symptoms as your father mine are more mental problems than physical, sorry that no help hope he gets better soon

[Sophia1315]

Hey, my mom was diagnosed with HSV encephalitis two month ago and we startet with 750mg Levetiracetam in the morning and evening. A doctor in the rehabilitation center increased it to 1000mg two times a day and my mom was suffering all the symptoms that affect your dad now. She was weak, slept all day, her cognitiv abilitys got worse, she nearly stopped eating. Although the drug levels in her blood were good, she had all those side effects. When we reduced medication she startet feeling better after 3 days. Best wishes for you and your dad,

Sophia.

[Mouseling in reply to Sophia1315]

Hello thank you for your message. I hope your Mum is feeling a lot better now. We have a Doctor appointment on 2nd January, when we can discuss the medication and possible side effects. It does sound like a similar experience as your Mum had. 😊

[HSE_Survivor]

GPs don’t know a lot about epilepsy medication. My GP didn’t know that it is possible to develop an allergic reaction to long term epilepsy medication. When I started having bruising & hair loss , it was a neuro specialist in hospital who realised I was having an allergic reaction to my first epilepsy meds that I’d been taking for 6 months . The specialist changed my epilepsy meds to Keppra .

Keppra (Levetiracetam) is recognised as causing anger and depression as side effects for some people, but for me it was a much better drug. I have fatigue, but I think that’s a common long term effect after having encephalitis.

If you continue to have concerns about your Dad’s reaction to his epilepsy meds, ask for him to be referred to an epilepsy specialist for a meds review . That’s definitely not an unreasonable request when he’s recovering from encephalitis. I hope things improve for him soon. ❤️‍🩹