How to Take Keppra

In 399 BCE Hippocrates wrote about epilepsy and dispelled the myth that the illness was a curse a magician placed on those who suffered with it. Different forms of treatment have been tried for almost two centuries, but it is only within the last 65 years that those with epilepsy have had medications that allow them to live normal and productive lives without suffering as much from side effects as from the epilepsy itself. Keppra is a drug used to help control seizures by keeping the cells of the brain from working at the fast rate a seizure requires.

Instructions

• 1

  See a qualified neurologist or other doctor about any symptoms or seizures you may experience. Get a prescription for Keppra from him and fill it immediately at your family pharmacy. He will start you at either 250 or 500 milligrams two times a day.

• 2

  Use a medical sized teaspoon or dropper if you are using the liquid. Regular cutlery is not the same amount as a standard medical teaspoon.

• 3

  Take the Keppra either before meals or after. Figure out what is the most comfortable times for you to take the medication and keep to that schedule every day. If you take it without food at 11 a.m., then take it at 11 a.m. every day. The same is true for the second dose.

• 4

  Look at the pills and notice the difference if the doctor changes the dosage. Different doses are different colors. Although it is rare, there is occasional mislabeling of medications.

• 5

  Take the dose right away if you miss it. Refill your prescriptions before you run out of your medication. If you do run out and cannot get through to your doctor, go to the nearest emergency room.