Well, well, well, it seems I am learning something new every day!
When I was prescribed Keppra we immediately got the prescription filled. The pharmacist asked me if I wanted Keppra or the generic? I said I’d need to ask the neurologist first. The pharmacist told me the neurologist put “generic ok” on the prescription. Without giving it another thought I said I’d take generic, thinking it would save us money.
I’ve been taking Levetiracetam almost two weeks now. Initially I had some side effects. My coordination was off, dizziness, vertigo, sleepiness and generally feeling “out of it” which occurred within 2 hours of taking the medication.
In the past few days I noticed that most of the side effects were diminishing. I no longer have coordination problems and the dizziness/vertigo is easing up as well. However the drowsy, heavy feeling is unrelenting!
I decided to do some reading online about the medication to see if I could find out how long it would take my body to adjust to the medication. I was shocked with what I’ve discovered. Apparently the generic form, Levetiracetam, is made by several different manufacturers. It turns out that it’s vital that I always get it from the same manufacturer as they all use different “fillers” which could cause some serious problems.
I also learned that there have been issues with the generic form. The instances of serious side effects are higher with the generic brands. The drowsy/heavy feeling, coordination problems, fuzzy/foggy feelings and some really bad/serious side effects (and even an increase in seizures) are much more predominant in the generics.
Now I am giving serious thought to having my neurologist switch me to Keppra (name brand). I also learned that taking vitamin B-6 along with the Levetiracetam (and even name brand Keppra) has been proven to lessen side effects. Thankfully I did have some and I have begun taking it. We’ll see if it helps lessen the side effects of the Levetiracetam. I’m hoping it does because I’m so drained, tired and out of it and I don’t like it one bit.
So word of warning: Always double check whether you should be taking the name brand medication, or if the doctor says generic is ok, do your research before saying yes to generic!
Keep smiling!
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