Very itchy eyes

[lebasor]

My wife is on 750 mg of Levetirocetam twice a day that has been successful in stopping her up to 25 simple focal episodes in a day. However, she is suffering with terribly itchy eyes and is having to take three or four Piriton to reduce it.

Have any others had this side effect? Is it possible to reduce her dose of this drug and combine with a dose of another drug but keep the episodes at zero because she wants to drive again as soon as possible.

Thank you for any suggestions you can make.

Ian Topalian

[Starfish123]

I have dry itchy eyes due to dry eyes, I was recommended sea buckthorn oil supplements and they have made a real difference. They also have helped with internal dryness (menopausal women will know what I mean) and apparently they are also good for cholesterol and blood pressure.

[lebasor in reply to Starfish123]

Thank you.

[wxy123]

The epilepsy nurse will probably be able to help with side effects. Otherwise check with an optician or pharmacist to see if good eye drops and an eye bag would help. Good luck with this.

[lebasor in reply to wxy123]

Thank you. I am not aware of an epilepsy nurse. How could I speak to one?

[wxy123 in reply to lebasor]

I can't remember but I guess through your GP or ask at your local hospital.

[EpilepsyAction1 Partner Epilepsy Action]

Hi Ian

Thank you for your post.

Finding the right balance with epilepsy medicine and seizure control can be difficult. So it's understandable your wife is worried about changing her treatment.

As a side-effect of Levetracitam people can experience skin problems including itching. These are explained on the patient sheet you get with the medicine.medicines.org.uk/emc/

If you haven't already, it would be best to talk to your wife's neurologist. If they think it may be her Levetracitam causing the symptoms they would review her treatment. They might make changes to her Levetracitam to see if this reduces the side-effects. The neurologist will add another epilepsy medicine if needed. Unfortunately, no one can predict what these changes may have on your wife's seizures.

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If we can be of any more help, please feel free to contact us again, either on this platform or the Epilepsy Action Helpline freephone 0808 800 5050. Our helpline is open Monday to Thursday 8.30am until 8.00pm, Friday 8.30am until 4.30pm and Saturday 10.00am until 4.00pm.

Regards

Diane

Epilepsy Action Helpline Team

[lebasor in reply to EpilepsyAction1]

Thanks. The neurologist replied quickly last night to my email with revised medication.We shall see how the changeover goes.

[katidid in reply to lebasor]

Good luck. I’ve been on Keppra (Levetitocetam) for about 8 yrs. I do remember side effects when starting and them taking longer than usual to resolve. I do have to say, that this medication got my seizures well under control and we added it as an addition to my primary medication. I usually take the XR, but there is a liquid form we use for any breakthrough seizures. I highly recommend you talking to your Neuro about different use cases of Keppra. It can be a game changer in the long run.