Lacosamide and Nausea: What Users Say

• Joa...
• November 9, 2020

Lacosamide for Seizures "Vimpat is a horrible drug, very toxic! I had many side effects: headaches, nausea, tiredness, constipation, flatulence, stomach discomfort, shaking of hands, depression, heart palpitations, memory problems, muscle pains (legs and back). I felt terribly tired and could not cope with my daily activities. I had problems with speaking, my memory and my concentration got a lot worse. My sleep was badly affected. I had to quit my job and my social life. Every day was a struggle and I felt as if I had lost control of my own life!!! This drug had a terrible impact on my life and DID NOT eliminate my seizures. I now see that I am not the only one to have experienced those side effects, though my previous doctor denied many of them. I still ask myself why my previous doctor is so fond of this drug???? Partnership with pharma UCB? As he was resistant to change this drug, I have decided to change doctors."

• Sal...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 6, 2019

Lacosamide for Seizures "I have been taking Vimpat for a while now and had a lot of these symptoms listed below. Tiredness, dizziness, headaches, double vision, loss of balance, feeling faint, shaky/trembling, nausea, shortness of breath, pounding heart beat, trouble sleeping, dark urine, irritability, panic attacks, worsen anxiety, memory issues, ringing in the ears, can't find the word when speaking, weight gain, nervous tics, and itching. On top of that my seizure activity seemed to increase, not decrease. I have told my doctor over and over again and she told me to increase the dosage! Then, the doctor tried to push the VNS surgery on me. I thought about it at first, but I have not read the best reviews on that either. I feel like she is shoving Vimpat and VNS surgery down my throat so she can get kickbacks from the pharmaceutical companies."

• The...
• November 21, 2019

Lacosamide for Seizures "Horrible drug. I had nausea and threw up several times, taking it with food did not prevent this. I was on both Vimpat and Keppra at the same time (I was being weaned off Keppra then). For the first three weeks, I would take both at the same time. When I would take them both, I would end up with heart palpitations, and I don't even have heart problems! I looked it up online since there was nothing about this in Vimpat's information pamphlet. When I did, it said that heart palpitations are more likely to occur if you take Vimpat with Keppra. There is nothing about this interaction in either drug's information pamphlet. There should be. My neurologist didn't even know there was an interaction. I found out because I typed in 'Vimpat Heart Palpitations' on Google. It was listed on a medical website. If the information I read is online, why isn't it in the information pamphlets for both drugs? I had to take the Vimpat and Keppra separately, five hours apart, to avoid this ugly cross-interaction."

• Sei...
• February 18, 2011

Lacosamide for Seizures "When I started Vimpat, I got vertigo, headaches, and nausea like whoa. My neurologist asked me to try to stick it out, and I am so glad I did. It replaced Topamax (which was messing up my kidneys), and it works. I went a record (for me) 124 days without a seizure with the Vimpat/Keppra combination I am on now. I still get dizzy more easily than I used to, but seizure freedom is absolutely worth the inconvenience."

• Bet...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 21, 2022

Lacosamide for Epilepsy "By far, this was the worst medication I have ever been on. What it has done to my life over the past 7 months is indescribable. Up until 3 weeks ago, I had multiple panic attacks on a daily basis, severe nausea to the point that I could not eat and lost close to 10 pounds, agitated, irritable and angry, depressed, fogginess, poor concentration, restless, explosive diarrhea multiple times a day. The list goes on and on. My neurologist insisted it was not the medication and never offered to take me off the medication until my husband and I insisted on it 3 weeks ago. She’s weaning me off of it, and I’m now in week three. Starting at week two, my symptoms disappeared. I got rid of my neurologist and will be starting with my new neurologist in several months."

• Tec...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 29, 2015

Lacosamide for Seizures "Vimpat is a cursed drug to me. It's helped with my seizures, but it's not worth it for the side effects. I started it with Lamictal XR 500 mg. I had seizures at Vimpat 100 mg. At 200 mg, I was having extreme vertigo-I couldn't even lay down. It happened a few times, along with other side effects. The doctor balanced it out at Lamictal XR 400 mg and Vimpat 150 mg. I have double vision at least once a week (mild to high), nausea frequently, vomiting a few times a month, and sometimes off balance. A mild vertigo has happened a few times. If I don't eat it with a good amount of food, the side effects are almost guaranteed for me. It stops the seizures, but it's not worth it."

• Jam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 19, 2020

Lacosamide for Seizures "I had a small cavernoma removed from my frontal lobe, and I had 2 seizures before the surgery. I have epileptic form from the site of the surgery, so I am at a higher risk of having seizures, so they are treating the epileptic form. I started with Keppra, and that was a nightmare, Lamictal did not work either. I've been taking Vimpat for 4 months, 50 mg twice a day. This is the worst medication ever. I have been feeling miserable for the last 4 months. The side effects I experienced are panic attacks, anxiety, tremors, cognitive problems, balance issues, dizziness, speech problems, problems coordinating my muscles to swallow, a very strange sensation in my throat and tongue, flushing, memory problems, and nausea. I am changing to Klonopin, we'll see how it goes. This is so frustrating."

• pau...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 27, 2019

Lacosamide for Epilepsy "For the last 16 months, I have been taking Vimpat 200 mg 2x/day, Oxcarbazepine 600 mg 2x/day, Keppra 500 mg 2x/day, and Dilantin ER 300 mg at bedtime. The most difficult to adjust to is Vimpat. It makes me feel like I got a buzz for 3 to 4 hours after taking it, then I feel sleepy after about 3 hours, and I take about a 2-hour nap every day. When I first started on Vimpat, I was very sick to my stomach and sometimes would throw up until I started eating something light about an hour before taking it. This also helped reduce the feeling of a 'buzz' as well. After 30 to 40 days of taking it, my body adjusted to it, and now I'm okay. I still get that 'buzz' feeling most of the time and have talked to my doctor about it. Nothing could be done regarding the buzz feeling, she said it's just a side effect. Vimpat is a good med as long as it's used with another."

• Dee...
• August 9, 2016

Lacosamide for Seizures "I have been taking Vimpat with Topamax for over 6 months, and it's terrible. It makes me nauseous, I feel high after taking it, I have double vision, and it hasn't even touched my seizures. It's been causing severe depression as well. My doctor just keeps increasing the Topamax."

• Guk...
• November 17, 2012

Lacosamide for Seizures "So far, so good, but I am just on it for 3 weeks, and the only side effect is being sick to my stomach shortly after taking it, then that eases up. Hard to think sometimes, and I take it along with Keppra. Keppra took away the absence seizures, but I still had a severe grand mal once a month. I am hoping this will take care of that!"

• kit...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 26, 2019

Lacosamide for Seizures "I just started this medicine after I got a phase 2 surgery. It has helped with the longevity of the seizure, but it hasn't stopped them. I have now noticed the side effects of it, my hair is turning white and breaking easily, the vertigo, and nausea if I don't eat enough by the second dose. My eyes and urine have darkened, not to mention I have to use the restroom a million times a day. I don't know if I should stay on it or go ahead and get off?"

• Bet...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 18, 2022

Lacosamide for Seizures "This is by far one of the worst medications that I have ever been on. My neuro switched me to Vimpat mid-October, and symptoms started within several weeks. Increased BP, severe nausea, no appetite. I also started to get tingling in my arms and feet. My neuro never suggested that it could be the Vimpat. The symptoms/side effects worsened, yet my neuro said that they were not ones of Vimpat and kept referring me to other doctors and tests. Of course, all came back negative. Starting in January, my symptoms got to an extreme: daily panic attacks, no appetite, a 10 lb weight loss, constant nausea, restlessness, irritability, and agitation, and overall I felt like a completely different person. I had no idea who I was anymore. I finally contacted my pharmacist and had her look at my medications. She said the only medication that I was on that could be the cause is Vimpat. Despite defensiveness and agitation, my neuro weaned me off. I got rid of her and reported Vimpat to FDA and UCB."

• Bet...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 18, 2022

Lacosamide for Seizures "This is by far one of the worst medications that I have ever been on. My neuro switched me to Vimpat mid-October, and symptoms started within several weeks. Increased BP, severe nausea, no appetite. I also started to get tingling in my arms and feet. My neuro never suggested that it could be the Vimpat. The symptoms/side effects worsened, yet my neuro said that they were not ones of Vimpat and kept referring me to other doctors and tests. Of course, all came back negative. Starting in January, my symptoms got to an extreme: daily panic attacks, no appetite, a 10 lb weight loss, constant nausea, restlessness, irritability, and agitation, and overall I felt like a completely different person. I had no idea who I was anymore. I finally contacted my pharmacist and had her look at my medications. She said the only medication that I was on that could be the cause is Vimpat. Despite defensiveness and agitation, my neuro weaned me off. I got rid of her and reported Vimpat to FDA and UCB."

• gho...
• December 5, 2017

For Seizures "I've only been on Vimpat/lacosamide for absence seizures for five days so far, so I can't say how effective it is yet for sure (I'm having the same amount of seizures I've had since taking lamotrigine for the past 3 years). I have noticed in the first 2 days I had nausea and headaches, but now by far the worst side effect I've had is stuttering, choppy speech, and forgetting simple words. Ever since taking Epilim Chrono, I've had side effects with basically all the other meds I've taken since (the month and a half I was on Epilim was simultaneously great and bad because it took away most of my seizures, but I had almost every side effect listed, so I'm wondering if anyone else has had the experience of that?) I'm hoping the side effects might pass, ugh."

• Anonymous
• April 19, 2010

Lacosamide for Seizures "Unfortunately, my experiences have not been good. It has reduced the seizures, but I get bad side effects: dizziness, lightheadedness, headaches, nausea, and poor coordination."