Keppra time!

[Monkey_magic]

Right folks, my doc has finally relented and is going to start me on keppra in a week or so (no word on what dosage etc).

What I want to know is (from you guys who take keppra or who know your stuff about it), I've a feeling because of the stupid government free prescription shit they're going to hit me with generic keppra. What's the difference in efficiency (if any).

Also what's the best supps to take to potentiate it's effects. I'm really hoping for an improvement, specially in a cognitive sense. I'm even looking forward to 'keppra rage' haha. Itl be good to feel some pure form of emotion for a change.

I'm currently on 40mg of (generic) Prozac am, 150mg of lyrica (3 times a day....which I assume will be dropped for the keppra), and 2mg of (generic) klono every 3 or 4 days.

Any input will be greatly appreciated. K

[mgrade]

IDK about potentiating it. As for lengthening, there is not much you can do to elongate the effects of Keppra. It is in-and-out quickly and it doesn't like to attach to proteins.

66% is excreted unchanged. So the main process for us to elongate its effects is inhibiting the mechanisms that metabolize it.

(It will be somewhat futile but...) Your best shot [with everyday products] is grapefruits, starfruit, and black pepper. Doing this I don't particularly advise [..but probably won't hurt you or make a huge difference]. [i really don't advise it but a few Gin-And-Tonics particularly would help your cause too] [it actually looks like you could make yourself a really interesting drink with those ingredients : >]

Keppra Pharmacokinetics

Absorption and Distribution

Absorption of Levetiracetam is rapid, with peak plasma concentrations occurring in about an hour following oral administration in fasted subjects. The oral bioavailability of Levetiracetam tablets is 100% and the tablets and oral solution are bioequivalent in rate and extent of absorption. Food does not affect the extent of absorption of Levetiracetam but it decreases Cmaxby 20% and delays Tmax by 1.5 hours. The pharmacokinetics of Levetiracetam are linear over the dose range of 500 to 5000 mg. Steady state is achieved after 2 days of multiple twice-daily dosing. Levetiracetam and its major metabolite are less than 10% bound to plasma proteins; clinically significant interactions with other drugs through competition for protein binding sites are therefore unlikely.

Metabolism

Levetiracetam is not extensively metabolized in humans. The major metabolic pathway is the enzymatic hydrolysis of the acetamide group, which produces the carboxylic acid metabolite, ucb L057 (24% of dose) and is not dependent on any liver cytochrome P450 isoenzymes. The major metabolite is inactive in animal seizure models. Two minor metabolites were identified as the product of hydroxylation of the 2-oxo-pyrrolidine ring (2% of dose) and opening of the 2-oxo-pyrrolidine ring in position 5 (1% of dose). There is no enantiomeric interconversion of Levetiracetam or its major metabolite.

Elimination

Levetiracetam plasma half-life in adults is 7 ± 1 hour and is unaffected by either dose or repeated administration. Levetiracetam is eliminated from the systemic circulation by renal excretion as unchanged drug which represents 66% of administered dose. The total body clearance is 0.96 mL/min/kg and the renal clearance is 0.6 mL/min/kg. The mechanism of excretion is glomerular filtration with subsequent partial tubular reabsorption. The metabolite ucb L057 is excreted by glomerular filtration and active tubular secretion with a renal clearance of 4 mL/min/kg. Levetiracetam elimination is correlated to creatinine clearance. Levetiracetam clearance is reduced in patients with impaired renal function [see Use in Specific Populations (8.6) and Dosage and Administration (2.5)].

[Monkey_magic]

So what's this sv2 thingamajig it works on? What's that all about then? And ion channels n all that. And glutamate. I get a sore Heid just thinking about it.

And vit b6? Why's that supposed to help? Is it just cos that suppresses nervous system excitement that the keppra brings on?

In laymans terms English please -mg remembering I have the mind of a child. Lol

[mgrade]

The one is easy for me. B6 + Glutamate = GABA. So the theory is more B6, more GABA, more calming of your nerves.

Calcium is more conductive than sodium, sodium is more conductive than potassium. I think with the calcium-channel blocking of the Keppra makes it so the calcium stays in the cell and there is more potassium in the synaptic cleft. So the electrical "arcing" is dampened with the potassium being there in the cleft and the calcium not being there [and remaining in the cell]. ~~~Looks like with the SV2 protein, not even the doctors know what's going on. We'll have to look into that.

[Monkey_magic]

I managed to buy piracetam online today I think without a prescription. Didn't know that was possible. Is it the real deal?

[miketusa]

Yeah it's over the counter, its fine.

[Monkey_magic]

Hmm, didn't know that. Lol. I thought cos it was in the racetam family they were all classed as hefty meds. What about aniracetam then?

[Sammywalker2009]

So when you starting keppra duty I wouldn't worry about it being generic it's exactly the same chemically I am going to go see a doctor in London after Xmas who treats people with visual snow as for piracetam yeah you can buy it over the counter I bought some but wasn't sure if it was the real deal as It was a lot cheaper than other piracetam products on the Market but I'll probably get on loads of sups after Christmas especially if I get the keppra prescribed

[Monkey_magic]

I'm on a few supps at the mo. Choline, l-theanine, vit b and c complex, panax ginseng, ginkgo biloba. I like to try different ones out each month. Can't do any harm I reckon. I'm not sure exactly but as the lyrica I've been prescribed hasn't done much improvement my doc said she had a letter from someone she musta contacted saying keppra was ok for me to try. She says the worse thing that can happen is it will do fuck all lol (not in those words obviously), and that a side effect is folk can get pretty down on it. But I was like 'doc, I've been pretty down cos of hppd for 15 years' which she couldn't really have an argument with. And I said if anybody else ever comes into your surgery with this shit think Of me as a guinea pig as it were. I don't give a fuck, I just want some alleviation from the symptoms. She's cool, the p-docs are out there depth but the doc knows there's a condition that's typically resistant to normal meds and I've actually educated her in a sense of the disorder. So I went last Friday, and she said to phone in two weeks so il phone next Friday and say let's get started. Probs try n go 500mg for a week or two n up it a bit from there. See what she thinks. Dunno what anybody else it's worked for has done.

Thing is though, I have a feeling keppra works better for folk that have had hppd for a relatively short period of time. Dunno if the fact that I've been 15 years would mean my neural pathways are more entrenched with the fucker than a relative 'newbie'. Only one way to find out I suppose.