This is my first post as Friedbrain, but I was on here about 8 ys ago when my brain first blew up (can't remember my old name/pw), and it feels like coming home. Such a great group, and much of what I know, I learned here!

So....what I have to say....a lot of it is not my own wisdom..... If you read here enough, I'm sure you'll see that almost all AEDs have a mix of side effects, so it ends up being what gives the best control with the least amt (or tolerable) side effects, and sometimes it takes a cocktail. Keppra was my second AED to try, and it worked to stop the grandmal seizures (where I was unconscious). I eventually had breakthrough partials (stress of graduate school kept wearing down control of my seizures.... ) and ended up on lyrica. I am 44, average weight, and on a pretty high dose (1500mg morning and 1500mg night).

I am fine on it now, but it's nickname on this board back then was "kepprage" or "keppratude" because it can cause mood swings. When I first went on it, I was also on an anti-anxiety because of a misdiagnosis the first time I was in the ER. I decided to go off the anti-anxiety because I had been taking it for the wrong reason....and ended up like a puddle on the floor. Everything set me off and I was angry or felt like the world was ending with stress. Went back ON an anti-anxiety/depressant and was fine again. So...I don't know if that's how most cope with keppra, but it worked for me. After 6 ys of that, I decided to go off the anti-depressant and have been fine. Maybe my brain adjusted, or it's that I no longer have the stress of graduate school....

Oh, what I wanted to add is that, yes, I'm HYPER-sensitive to sugar and insulin. I am on a self-modified diabetes diet in that I don't eat candy/cookies and REALLY limit simple carbs; I eat carbs in combo with proteins and fats, and I eat multiple small meals. Feel MUCH better when I stay on that wagon! I really believe that my seizure threshold is lowered by too much sugar (I had status epilepticus after cookies right before xmas!) You can get her these low carb chocolate bars (my fav-zone perfect bars). They are incredibly balanced: even trying, I cannot get a sugar high from it. (But they taste great!)

And one more thing (can you tell I miss this group!).....with that calendar, track her menstrual cycles. Mine were always right before my period-called catamenial epilepsy. I have since tracked different symptoms/problems to different parts of my cycle.