Levetiracetam for Epilepsy

It may take time and careful, controlled adjustments by you and your doctor to find the combination, schedule, and dosing of medicine to best manage your epilepsy. The goal is to prevent seizures while causing as few side effects as possible. After you and your doctor figure out the program that works best for you, make sure to follow your program exactly as prescribed.

• Drug interactions. Levetiracetam may be a good choice if you are taking medicines for other conditions, because it does not interact with other medicines. It is also a good choice if you take birth control pills, because it will not make the pills any less effective.
• Risk of birth defects. All medicines for epilepsy have some risk of birth defects. But the risk of birth defects needs to be carefully compared to other risks to the baby if the mother stops taking her epilepsy medicine. If you are thinking about becoming pregnant, be sure to plan ahead and talk with your doctor about the benefits and risks of taking epilepsy medicine during your pregnancy. It you are already pregnant, it is not too late. The best thing to do is talk to your doctor about your pregnancy before you make any changes to the medicines you are taking.
• Other concerns. For some people, levetiracetam may produce side effects or carry risks that are not yet fully known. Report any unexpected side effects or problems to your doctor.

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