One of my clients called me to complain that he had 2 episodes of fits in a day and each lasted for half a minute. He went to a hospital and had his blood tested for Phenytoin, which is an antiepileptic drug.

His blood result was normal. The doctor in the Emergency Dept, prescribed another drug for him. Keppra was ordered. Keppra is an expensive drug and my client was wondering if he should take it as he was feeling alright now.

I did a search in the cyberspace and I am glad that he did not start the drug. You will need to depend on this drug for a very long term. If you stop taking it, your episode of fit will increase. It was recommended the this drug should be taken with other antiepileptic drugs.

Unfortunately, my client is taking phenytoin now and by taking it together with keppra, he will feel very very drowsy.

I went to his house and diagnosed that phlegm was building up in his body. He told me that before he had 2 episodes of fits, after he had eaten “Chi Chong Fun” (a kind of Chinese food usually for breakfast) with sweet red bean sauce. I told him that the sauce was sweet and that will cause his body to create more phlegm.

Normally, in Chinese Medicine, a herbal formula will be prescribed for clearing the phlegm out of the meridian paths. The stagnation of the paths will reduce the good qi from circulating to his head and nourish his brain. The temporary shortage of qi in the brain may cause him to have fits. In his case, a hua tang  jian tang may help to clear the phlegm in his body.

The following is the detailed description of the western drug that the doctor prescibed to him. Nothing much was mentioned to him about the drug, except that he was told that it must be taken for long term.

Generic Name: levetiracetam(lee ve tye RA se tam)
Brand Names: Keppra

It is an anti-epileptic drug and is used to treat partial onset seizures in people with epilepsy. Do not change your doses or medication schedule without advice from your doctor, once you start the medicine.

Swallow Keppra whole, and not to break, crush, or chew before swallowing. The prescription refilled before you run out of medicine completely is important in order to get the most benefit out of this drug.

Blood may need to be tested on a regular basis that also includes the liver function. This is to ensure that the medication is not causing harmful effects. Do not stop taking Keppra suddenly as you may have increased seizures.

You may want to consider the consequence before taking it. Keppra can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

Avoid using together with other medicines that make you sleepy (such as cold medicine, pain medication, muscle relaxants, and medicine for seizures, depression or anxiety). These drugs can add to sleepiness that was also caused by Keppra.

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction like:
. hives;
. difficulty breathing;
. swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:
. unusual thoughts or behavior;
. anxiety, hallucinations;
. feeling angry, hostile, or agitated; fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms;
. weakness, lack of coordination; or
. increasing or worsening seizures.

Other, less serious side effects may be more likely to occur, such as: dizziness; drowsiness; or depressed mood.

Remember that in the case of emergency, do carry an ID card to identify that you are taking Keppra.

Page Tags: keppra, levetiracetam, phenytoin, seizure, side effect