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Is Keppra The Right Medication For Essential Tremors?
Question: Does Essential tremor or drug induced tremor warrant Keppra? My husband has cavernomas in his brain. He recently had seizures (or tremors) in his legs and has for a long time had tremor in left leg or arm. He has been on sertraline for several years and was recently taken off cold turkey and then given only 25 mg. for a week. Now he is on Keppra which is making him very sleepy.
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Brief Answer:
Keppra is not a treatment for essential tremor
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome and thanks for your query.
Keppra is indicated for a seizure disorder which is a type of epilepsy . It is different from a tremor where there is no abnormal electrical discharge in the brain . It may be a little confusing as your husband has long standing tremors of the hand. Seizure activity is episodical unlike tremors which are often present continuously.
An EEG is likely to show a seizure activity and will be normal in a tremor.
Keppra is not a treatment for essential tremor
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome and thanks for your query.
Keppra is indicated for a seizure disorder which is a type of epilepsy . It is different from a tremor where there is no abnormal electrical discharge in the brain . It may be a little confusing as your husband has long standing tremors of the hand. Seizure activity is episodical unlike tremors which are often present continuously.
An EEG is likely to show a seizure activity and will be normal in a tremor.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
These tremors were not continuous but once or twice a day for under a minute.
Could they have been caused by sertraline? Could the 5 in a row have been caused by sertraline withdrawal?
The EEG was normal.
If the tremors were caused by sertraline taken or withdrawn, is Keppra warranted?
Could they have been caused by sertraline? Could the 5 in a row have been caused by sertraline withdrawal?
The EEG was normal.
If the tremors were caused by sertraline taken or withdrawn, is Keppra warranted?
Brief Answer:
Keppra is indicated now.
Detailed Answer:
Welcome back.
Your description of the abnormal movement suggests a focal seizure rather than a tremor. The risk of seizure in a person with an underlying problem increases with antidepressants like Sertaline . The temporal relationship of these abnormal movements to the use and change of dose of Sertaline does throw the suspicion on it as the precipitating cause. Keppra is a good anti seizure medication and would help to control the abnormal movement. It may not be required for a long time once the Sertaline is stopped.
So for the present my opinion would be to take the Keppra till the neurologist advises him to stop it.
Keppra is indicated now.
Detailed Answer:
Welcome back.
Your description of the abnormal movement suggests a focal seizure rather than a tremor. The risk of seizure in a person with an underlying problem increases with antidepressants like Sertaline . The temporal relationship of these abnormal movements to the use and change of dose of Sertaline does throw the suspicion on it as the precipitating cause. Keppra is a good anti seizure medication and would help to control the abnormal movement. It may not be required for a long time once the Sertaline is stopped.
So for the present my opinion would be to take the Keppra till the neurologist advises him to stop it.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
What is your opinion on how long it could take to get Sertraline out of his system?
Brief Answer:
Up to 10 days
Detailed Answer:
Sorry for the delay in replying.
The plasma half life of Sertaline is 26 hours.
It may take up to 10 days to get all the tissue bound Sertaline to come out of the system after the medicine is discontinued.
Up to 10 days
Detailed Answer:
Sorry for the delay in replying.
The plasma half life of Sertaline is 26 hours.
It may take up to 10 days to get all the tissue bound Sertaline to come out of the system after the medicine is discontinued.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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