starting keppra, can update if anyone would like

[jasmine2]

my worst symptoms are my brain fog/dpdr, and i've read a few posts about keppra helping so i have seen my psychiatrist and requested for it. i am a week in on 500mg. i don't have rage (yet hahaha), but lots of fatigue and worse brain fog. hopefully things change soon:/ i wish for relief on my cognitive symptoms so bad. i also have already tried lamictal and clonidine. 

[Jay]

Good luck with the meds... Yes, please keep us updated, it's very helpful for the community.

[James3524]

On 6/30/2024 at 6:02 AM, jasmine2 said:

my worst symptoms are my brain fog/dpdr, and i've read a few posts about keppra helping so i have seen my psychiatrist and requested for it. i am a week in on 500mg. i don't have rage (yet hahaha), but lots of fatigue and worse brain fog. hopefully things change soon:/ i wish for relief on my cognitive symptoms so bad. i also have already tried lamictal and clonidine. 

Any improvements? 

[brake]

I just started keppra. It improved like my depth perception and DP/DR but I still have all the visuals especially altered perception of movement, visual snow, etc. I was even staring at the toilet seat today while it was raised and felt like I was still tripping again temporarily meanwhile the last time I tripped was like 12 years ago lol. But I guess you have to fight it somehow, meds or not. I also felt a lot calmer and more normal in situations where I would have irrational anxiety in.

[yarkadin]

On 10/26/2024 at 6:05 AM, brake said:

I just started keppra. It improved like my depth perception and DP/DR but I still have all the visuals especially altered perception of movement, visual snow, etc. I was even staring at the toilet seat today while it was raised and felt like I was still tripping again temporarily meanwhile the last time I tripped was like 12 years ago lol. But I guess you have to fight it somehow, meds or not. I also felt a lot calmer and more normal in situations where I would have irrational anxiety in.

Interesting, man... how long before you started to feel some improvements?  Do you feel any side-effects?  Are the visual snow, palinopsia, after images, etc, consistently any different at all?

Edited October 27, 2024 by yarkadin

[brake]

On 10/26/2024 at 11:26 AM, yarkadin said:

Interesting, man... how long before you started to feel some improvements?  Do you feel any side-effects?  Are the visual snow, palinopsia, after images, etc, consistently any different at all?

I had some very minor stomach issues that don't seem to be the norm thankfully. One day the stomach issues were bad enough to go back home. I felt a difference after the first dose but after I slept so the following day I noticed a big difference. I'm actually missing out on my klonopin so since my DP/DR and depth perception and awareness improved I felt terrible in the morning like tripping again until I got my cigars. Smoking cigars helps me for some reason. I cannot wait to get klonopin again because I seem half worse and half better lol. I'm on a low dose for both meds 

Edited October 28, 2024 by brake

[brake]

It improves sleep.

[yarkadin]

Doesn't surprise me that it improves sleep and mood and maybe even DP/DR... I'm most concerned about the HPPD itself! lol  Like the visual snow... and the after images... and the tinnitus...

I'm taking Klonopin very erratically... without any schedule... because I'm freaked out about addiction.  And I always take it at  low doses.  The other day I took 1 mg (usually I only take a half).  Well, of course I slept better and the DP improved, maybe... things in my vision seemed less bothersome and bright.  But like I've written before in this forum many times: HPPD constantly changes, at least it does for me.  It's all over the place depending on weather, quality of sleep, anxiety, illness, etc.  It's so hard to really judge whether it got better due to one of the former reasons, or because of something in the drug itself. 

Most important thing from my perspective is that none of this stuff makes us WORSE in the long run.  This year my tinnitus has gotten worse... and I think visual snow has gotten worse as well.  Could it be related to me taking Klonopin again irregularly?  Have no idea.  Maybe it's a crazy thought but I have read some comments about people taking klonopin for X amount of time, stopping, and then some HPPD symptoms getting worse.  Very concerning to me.

[brake]

45 minutes ago, yarkadin said:

Doesn't surprise me that it improves sleep and mood and maybe even DP/DR... I'm most concerned about the HPPD itself! lol  Like the visual snow... and the after images... and the tinnitus...

I'm taking Klonopin very erratically... without any schedule... because I'm freaked out about addiction.  And I always take it at  low doses.  The other day I took 1 mg (usually I only take a half).  Well, of course I slept better and the DP improved, maybe... things in my vision seemed less bothersome and bright.  But like I've written before in this forum many times: HPPD constantly changes, at least it does for me.  It's all over the place depending on weather, quality of sleep, anxiety, illness, etc.  It's so hard to really judge whether it got better due to one of the former reasons, or because of something in the drug itself. 

Most important thing from my perspective is that none of this stuff makes us WORSE in the long run.  This year my tinnitus has gotten worse... and I think visual snow has gotten worse as well.  Could it be related to me taking Klonopin again irregularly?  Have no idea.  Maybe it's a crazy thought but I have read some comments about people taking klonopin for X amount of time, stopping, and then some HPPD symptoms getting worse.  Very concerning to me.

My tinnitus improved on it's own overtime and nothing made it worse. I also worry about benzos or anticonvulsants making my symptoms worse overtime or after I stop taking them but actually my HPPD and visual snow is like always the same and pretty bad no matter what lol but antipsychotics definitely made it worse and I haven't tried antidepressants yet.