Lacosamide for Seizures User Reviews (Page 3)

• kcr...
• September 12, 2014

"Vimpat is wonderful, in that it has stopped my seizures for the past two years. I am also on Carbatrol. Short-term memory loss I can live with, but my main concern is dizziness. I can't find the combination of times to take it/foods to take it with. It seems like I find a combination that works for three or four days, then I'm so dizzy I cannot stand up. Very frustrating."

• mwo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 15, 2014

"I've been having seizures for the last two years, after being free from seizures for 5 years after temporal lobe surgery. I've had a seizure about every three months. Each seizure was worse than the previous one. Last year when I fell, complications caused kidney failure. This has passed. I was on Lamictal, and Keppra was added, and both were increased, without any change in seizures. Four months ago, I was taken off Keppra, and Vimpat was added: 600 Lamictal/400 Vimpat. It is a strong medicine, in the morning, I got very dizzy and unbalanced with double vision. I complained, and my dose was split up 3 times a day, and I feel much better. Four months free of seizures now, I'm simply waiting for the next seizure, hoping not."

• uru...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 22, 2012

"All I can say for sure is that I have not had a full outflopping on the floor seizure in almost a year, since being put on Vimpat. If I happen to forget a dose, I get very twitchy by that afternoon. So, with Vimpat, no seizures. Without Vimpat, I seize! Works great for me!"

• Pau...
• July 15, 2018

"I had my first seizure 5 months ago. I’m a 44-year-old man. I’m now on Vimpat twice a day, 100 mg each time. I had a lot of side effects when I started, but I feel great now. I was very tired, needed to go to bed about 8 pm every night of the week. The tiredness is now gone. I did have a few beers when I started on Vimpat, but it didn’t work with the medication. I would suggest you stay off the beer. Vimpat has changed my life for the good, I can now think straight and have seen a big improvement in my memory. Best of luck to all."

• unk...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 3, 2013

"I drank all kinds of medications like Trileptal and Lamictal. Now I am on 3000 mg of Keppra and still had seizures, but my doctor said, "Don't do surgery, I will give you Vimpat." Ten percent out of 100 people took this, and it helped. He was right, I still had episodes even with 200 mg of Vimpat, but it simply went away for about six months now. It does give you loss of hair and feeling depressed, but also an important thing to do is watch what you eat."

• Who...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 24, 2013

"Vimpat introduced 4 days ago at 50 mg on top of Topamax (to be phased out) and Tegretol. So far, awful. Side effects are depression, lower back pain, mood is low, irritable, sad, daydreamy, tired, anxious. I don't feel like me anymore."

• Kys...
• January 16, 2014

"This has been the better of the 10 others we have been on with our young son. I will say that he has recently developed leg and lower back pain, along with more frequent migraines, hair loss, and a horrible rash on arms and legs. Also, some weight and memory loss, along with some crying fits. But like I said, sadly this was the least side effects of all the ones we have been on. Topamax was the worst, it trashed his insides and turned my sweet child into a crying, crazy, cursing lunatic! Would love to know if anyone has had luck with less side effects on any other anti-epileptic meds. He goes several weeks so far without any seizures on Vimpat so far."

• New...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 28, 2017

"My daughter has just been diagnosed with epilepsy. She started with Keppra but had a seizure while on it, so her doctor added Vimpat. He had given me sample packs at first to see how she did. She has been taking it for 4 weeks and seems to be doing well. My main problem is that for a 30-day supply it cost me (with insurance) $774! I was told that there is no generic available. It just amazes me that drug companies can do this to people."

• 16W...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 5, 2018

"I’ve been on a lot of seizure medication, and only one works for me. My neuro thought it would be a good idea to try this because it also treats nerve pain. I was advised to take 1/2 of a 50 mg. I took it, and less than an hour later, I felt drunk. I didn’t trust myself to get up, and when I did, everything was intense. My face flushed. I had a hive on my face. I was anxious. Agitated. The worst of all: my breathing was shallow, and my O2 level was lower. I couldn’t get it above 95-96. This lasted throughout the night. The morning I woke up with negative feelings. It was to the point I was concerned. After the whole drug's life, I still feel a mild mental effect from it less than a week later. My seizures were no better nor worse (I’ll give it that). I wish I hadn’t taken this medication, even at 25 mg."

• Cat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 19, 2013

"I was on Keppra (500 mg/day) since Jan 2010, due to grand mal seizures from a brain tumor. No more seizures until Jan 2013, then another one. They added Vimpat (50 mg, 3/x day) and upped the Keppra (to 750 mg/day). I know the side effects are due to Vimpat; I never had them before, even on higher doses of Keppra. Extremely itchy skin; itching at my face and scalp constantly. Severe dizziness the first month, but that went away as I've adjusted. My vision suddenly got bad; like blurred/double vision. My vision was always 20/20 before this. Constipation, which I've never had, but that's okay. Overall irritation and snappy moods. Overall okay."

• Kim...
• October 2, 2016

"I've been on all sorts of meds to go monotherapy. Vimpat was the one. I did have a breakthrough when I was on a super low dosage. At that point, my Dr. thought Topamax came out with an extended release, and that just about killed me. I went back onto Vimpat and felt like myself again. I am now still on monotherapy and taking 200 2x a day. I'm thankful for this drug. I feel like my witty, creative self and not dull or slow. The only negative I can say is the price. Even with my insurance, it's crazy. I use the coupon on the site too. It's just lots of money. Hope one day they release a generic one or lower the price."

• Pat...
• April 24, 2018

"Okay, so I figured I'd do everybody a favor and tell you how this medicine does. I'm a patient, and I recently switched to Vimpat because I hate Keppra. Keppra wasn't working for me. I recently totaled my car heading to work after a seizure. I was on the max of Keppra, it turned me into a psycho the last 5 years. Then I read how bad it was. Vimpat has been awesome. It's been a month, and I've noticed I'm nice, I'm not blowing up either. It hasn't really got me high, obviously light-headed on an empty stomach. I haven't had a seizure in a month, first time in a long time. I'm currently taking 100 mg Vimpat tablets 2x a day, 500 mg Keppra 2x a day, and 200 mg Lamictal 2x a day. The fact I've noticed this change while on my Keppra is awesome. I've also felt like I remember things better lately. It's only been a month, and nothing but good news for me so far. Longest run without a seizure. Lots of insurances won't cover it though because it's an expensive drug. It's a controlled substance too, cat 5."

• Rob...
• September 24, 2010

"Vimpat is highly effective at controlling my seizures. It causes dizziness at high doses, but this improves when lowering the dose of Lamictal and greatly lowering the dose of primidone, which also causes dizziness. Vimpat is more effective at controlling partial seizures at high doses when it is nearly a primary medicine. My MD was the Director of Research in the Vimpat study. I have less dizziness at 600 mg/day when doses of other anti-epileptic drugs are lowered."

• NYY...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 20, 2017

"Very pleased with results in conjunction with other meds. I am seizure-free. By taking vitamin B12, I am no longer tired. For 30 years, my neuros treated me with wrong meds. I had EEG video monitoring, and they found my seizures were not in the frontal lobe."

• nik...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 13, 2014

"Vimpat is the only medication I have taken for partial simple seizure. I had never had a seizure until I had a car wreck. Did not have a seizure until 4 days after the wreck. Many other anti-seizure medicines would interfere with my immunosuppressants. I only take 25 mg twice a day, but it makes me tired and forgetful. No more seizures in over a year though."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 17, 2016

"Have had seizures since I was 8 and am now 36 and have been on Vimpat for a year now and has been the only medication to almost stop the gran mals altogether. Used to have 4 to 6 a month mostly during my menstrual and now have not had one in almost 3 months. There are some side effects: migraines and major dizziness, but those are not as often as they were in the beginning, and the way that I look at it is that the positive outweighs the negative. Best medication for me."

• Nes...
• January 16, 2016

"After the birth of my daughter, my epilepsy came back full force. Just like it did when I was 15 years old in high school. I was extremely upset since my daughter was barely a month old, and I was trying to figure out how to stay seizure-free again. I started with Keppra 500 mg. Then needed to raise it to 750 mg for a year, it was twice a day. Stress was a big factor that would set my seizures to join my life again. I started having seizures at work and ended up on Keppra 1000 mg twice a day. Still could not get the seizures to stop. I weaned off the Keppra and went to Vimpat 100 mg twice a day. So much better, but I feel like I am not all the way recovered after all I went through. Did have weight gain and hair loss, but way better than Keppra for me."

• jes...
• January 13, 2014

"I have had grand mal seizures since the age of 15. Around 32, I started having partial seizures only I didn't know that's what they were till I read a pamphlet in my doctor's office. They put me on Vimpat, which at first did not help with the dizziness I was already feeling from the partial seizures, but after about a year now, the dizziness has definitely slowed and I only have partial seizures when I'm overly overwhelmed or stressed. It doesn't help with my grand mal seizures, which I have at least 1-2 every month. I have noticed weight gain and memory loss, which I had before the medication, and hair loss and tingling in my limbs, but if I drink more water, it helps with the tingling. As for the hair loss, I take biotin, and that has helped."

• Del...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 13, 2017

"I have grand mal (tonic-clonic) seizures, which are the full-body go-crazy type. They started 2 years ago with no warning or cause. I'm now 28 years old, and the neurologist at Mayo and scans/images see nothing wrong. I started with Keppra, but that didn't do a thing. I used to have 1-3 seizures every 30 days. I started on 100mg, then 200mg twice daily since May 2017, and seizures have at least lessened to at most once a month. I went 3 months before a seizure (new record!), which is great. Also, it lessened the strength of my seizures and the postictal phase. I do experience heavy memory loss, difficulty remembering new things, random headaches, difficulty with speech and finding the right words, and rarely random dizziness, but that goes away quickly. Overall, I can work, and I'm still me."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 14, 2017

"It was a great drug, has stopped my seizures for 5 years. But the problem is I think I am very allergic to the medication. I started having side effects that I noticed about a year after starting Vimpat. Extreme hair loss to where it was just falling out in the shower, my hair has thinned so much. Itching all over my body: scalp, legs, arms. Ringing in my ears. Little bumps all over my body. I have gone to a dermatologist, but he says it's dermatitis. I have never had that until Vimpat. The newest thing in the last 2 years: severe cystic acne on my face. I have never had acne, maybe a bump or 2 as a teenager. 2 years ago, at 36, I started getting painful cystic acne, this is also because of Vimpat. And last of all, weight gain. I am 38."

• PAO...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 21, 2018

"I must rate Vimpat as negative, a source of seizures. Started – fighting seizures for 45 years. I started the Lamictal-Vimpat regimen 8 years ago. The doctor received nothing but complaints. He cut the levels in half. Afterwards, he got questions when why meds were only working when I was on a limited light-carbohydrate diet. He got tired of me and stopped the Vimpat. Now on a light amount of Lamictal. The past year, the seizures are gone, first time. Stopped diet and gained weight? Best guess, excessive meds have been my primary source of seizures."

• Jen...
• September 13, 2017

"Got switched to this after being on Aptiom (which made me crazy). I'm having fewer seizures, but it's like my brain is shrinking. My memory has gotten worse, which is saying something. I can't think of the simplest words sometimes, like I'm losing part of my vocabulary. I haven't had any emotional issues. I feel back to myself in that respect, but like every other medicine, it will work for a while, then I will slowly start having more frequent seizures. This is lasting longer than my others, but it feels like it's not just keeping my neurons from over-firing. It feels like my brain is shutting down slowly. I don't know what to do about it."

• TJS...
• March 26, 2016

"Nocturnal grand mal seizures with tremor for 35 years. I have been taking Vimpat for 3 years with limited success. At times, I have had headaches, dizziness, vision problems, weight gain, and tongue swelling, to name a few. I was taking 300 mg morning, 300 mg night, along with 1200 mg once daily of Aptiom (the new Tegretol with a twist). No problems until 4 months ago. My knees started swelling, and my joints started hurting like a severe pain I have never had. All the muscles in my legs started cramping at the same time. I went down to 150 mg of Vimpat twice daily, and the swelling went down but not away. The pain is less but still there. The trouble has to be the Vimpat because I have been taking the Aptiom for only 2 months. Hope this is helpful."

• EMM...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 5, 2015

"I have nocturnal epilepsy, since I was very young, maybe 5, will say I've had it. I've been on all the drugs you could say nearly through primary school to high school. They made me sick and unable to function every day, spewing, etc. So at about 16, I said stuff it, I'm not taking any at all, I'll deal with it. So recently, this year, I started on Vimpat, and OMG it's a lifesaver for me!! So awake and switched on, my partner says I hardly ever daydream. He says he hasn't felt me or seen me having seizures at all!! Yes, I feel out of it still, but that's just me. If I feel more awake, I'm happy. I haven't had any of the symptoms people say, but maybe headaches, and my dreams are very vivid, and I get nightmares, but it's just like watching movies each night, I guess. LOL."

• Sus...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 16, 2018

"I take 100 mg Vimpat, twice daily with Topamax (125 mg, twice daily). Works very well. However, I have lately noticed a ringing in my ears, noticing it only at night, and am wondering if that's a lesser-known side effect of the Vimpat. Anyone else out there experiencing that too? Just curious. Otherwise, no complaints."