Cepra?

[Guest guest]

Has anyone had experience with Cepra (Kepra?)? It is an anti-seizure medication

prescribed (in my mother's case) for negative myoclonus. Mom has been dropping

utensils with regular frequency and at the neurologist's office they did tests

that showed negative myoclonus roughly every fifteen seconds. Mom also has a

MSA diagnosis, and her blood pressure is very low(down to 73/37 at some points)

, very low pulse rate (50) with purple feet and occasionally purple hands. She

rarely hallucinates, but speech aphasia has almost robbed her of her ability to

communicate at all. The Cepra doesn't seem to be helping, and perhaps her

overall weakness is accelerating. Just wondering....

[Guest guest]

Hi (sorry, I don't know your name). My mother was on this medication for a

short time in the past (about 2007). The only way it affected her was to

increase her fatigue level to one that left her sleeping most of the time. I

persuaded the neurologist to cut the dose by half and did see some improvement

in that with no negative effects. After a short time, I asked for it to be

discontinued, with a promise that should anything negative occur, I would agree

to restarting it. No negative side effects from discontinuing it. The

myoclonus never changed either during or after.

In Mom's case, apparently her EEG early in 2006 under the supervision of a

different neurologist showed something occurring. Mom had surgery for a brain

tumor some ten years before that. The Keppra was prescribed on the off chance

that what we were calling myoclonus might actually be mild seizure activity.

Hope this helps a little.

Best wishes,

Lynn in Florida

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>

> Has anyone had experience with Cepra (Kepra?)? It is an anti-seizure

medication prescribed (in my mother's case) for negative myoclonus. Mom has

been dropping utensils with regular frequency and at the neurologist's office

they did tests that showed negative myoclonus roughly every fifteen seconds.

Mom also has a MSA diagnosis, and her blood pressure is very low(down to 73/37

at some points) , very low pulse rate (50) with purple feet and occasionally

purple hands. She rarely hallucinates, but speech aphasia has almost robbed her

of her ability to communicate at all. The Cepra doesn't seem to be helping, and

perhaps her overall weakness is accelerating. Just wondering....

>

[Guest guest]

broadreach,

I've never heard of anyone having both MSA and LBD concurrently. I'm curious if

your mother meets the diagnostic criteria for LBD... especially if she rarely

hallucinates.

A few people in our local atypical parkinsonism (LBD, MSA, PSP, CBD) support

group take Keppra. I believe those who take it primarily take it for episodes

of low consciousness that sometimes occur in these disorders. Some call these

seizures or syncope. In any case, Keppra is usually prescribed if these

episodes continue and are frightening.

Many with atypical parkinsonism disorders (and Parkinson's Disease) cannot hold

utensils. And progressive overall weakness is part of these disorders also.

Is your mother taking anything for the orthostatic hypotension (midodrine, for

example)?

Good luck,

Robin

>

> Has anyone had experience with Cepra (Kepra?)? It is an anti-seizure

medication prescribed (in my mother's case) for negative myoclonus. Mom has

been dropping utensils with regular frequency and at the neurologist's office

they did tests that showed negative myoclonus roughly every fifteen seconds.

Mom also has a MSA diagnosis, and her blood pressure is very low(down to 73/37

at some points) , very low pulse rate (50) with purple feet and occasionally

purple hands. She rarely hallucinates, but speech aphasia has almost robbed her

of her ability to communicate at all. The Cepra doesn't seem to be helping, and

perhaps her overall weakness is accelerating. Just wondering....

>