Vimpat for Seizures User Reviews (Page 4)

• 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."

• Anonymous
• July 31, 2018

"POSITIVES: I have my normal energy and personality. NEGATIVES: $750.00 for a 30-day supply with insurance! I have a little blurred vision, ringing in my ears, and short-term memory loss. (Can't remember things from the day and week and can't find words to talk well, especially in groups of people). I am 59 years old and started having multiple auras at age 56, which led to 2 grand mal seizures. Keppra made me extremely tired and anxious. Dilantin made me extremely tired, off balance, and 'high' feeling. Vimpat has worked the best with 2-150 mg pills per day."

• tut...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 4, 2014

"I was on a Depakote, Tegretol, and Topiramate cocktail of 12 pills a day. I was not controlled. I even had the VNS implanted in my chest. I switched doctors, and he placed me on Vimpat and Topiramate. Not only am I seizure-free, but I lost 10 lbs. to boot. However, not all good news; hair falling out and tingling in my hands and feet, but I am only on 6 pills a day now."

• scr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 21, 2015

"Vimpat severely increased my seizure activity. I took Lamictal for 15 years by itself, and it was extremely effective until after childbirth. I developed a rash after a 50 mg increase to try and cover the auras I was having. So, because of 'the rash,' I had to stop taking Lamictal altogether. I started Vimpat before they weaned me off Lamictal, and I was having seizures daily, sometimes twice. As I weaned off the Lamictal, the seizures continued, and then I became aggressive. A side effect of Vimpat is mental alertness. Caffeine is a trigger for me, so it was almost as if Vimpat was the equivalent of drinking several energy drinks. I can't take Vimpat."

• Kat...
• May 6, 2015

"Awful drug. My hair thinned by at least 50%, my vision was blurry for hours after taking it, I was uncoordinated and constantly bruised from walking into walls and furniture. It did control my absence seizures, but I'm on Lamictal and Klonopin now and much happier."

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

"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."

• Bja...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 22, 2019

"I have only been on Vimpat for a month. So far, I love it. No real side effects. I haven't had any partial seizures. The most wonderful thing, not sure it's the Vimpat but not sure what else it could be, is that I have not had migraines. My migraines were very similar to my partial seizures... no headache... but speech and cognitive issues. Was having either migraines or partials almost daily. Nothing. And nothing helped. So happy. Hope it holds true!!"

• Nik...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 8, 2015

"I have partial complex seizures. I also take Tegretol XR and Diamox. Before Vimpat, I was having seizures at least 3-5 times a month, especially after my menstruation. But I can say with Vimpat, I don't have seizures, I will have a little jump here and there, but nothing major. The major side effects I have experienced are the following: weight gain (about 50 pounds), dizziness when I initially take it if I don't eat enough food, and sometimes my words and thoughts would be off. Lately, I notice that I fall a lot, but I don't know if it's related to Vimpat. But I can say it has controlled my seizures. It didn't increase my appetite, but I have gained a lot of weight, my doctor says it's normal with Vimpat. I receive Vimpat for free with the patient assistance."

• Mik...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 10, 2021

"Vimpat 200 mg x2. I am allergic to Keppra. I'm stuck with a drug pusher... these 'neurologists' might as well sell cocaine too. Vimpat numbs my face, blurs my vision, dehydrates me. I'm sure it's helped recede my gums. Can't remember anything, anger, then I get withdrawal if I get screwed with my prescription. Thank goodness my insurance is straightened out, you don't get held hostage for some ungodly out-of-pocket cost. Depression, suicidal thoughts, can't drive sometimes. I don't think my mind has a choice about having a seizure or not, but I do know this: there's more than three drugs to treat seizures, and they certainly didn't go past three. You couldn't wish this drug on your worst enemy... later, shakers."

• Max...
• October 23, 2015

"I'm 25 and a little over 1 year ago, I had my first seizure, grand mal. I had no warnings or auras, and I fell and hit my head, leading to me being in a coma for 3 days. I started on Dilantin 100 mg twice a day. I started having loss of coordination and slurred speech, so I was switched over to Lamotrigine and was taking 25 mg twice a day. That seemed to work nicely for about 4 months when I got up to 150 mg twice a day. One morning, I woke up with this giant, nasty rash on the side of my neck and down the right side of my side and stomach. It was an allergic reaction. I'm now on Vimpat 150 mg twice a day. The only side effects I have with the Vimpat are serious issues trying to sleep and unexplained noise in my ears. However, I'm still having seizures!"

• Blo...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 25, 2018

"Vimpat has also saved me. I have tried nearly all the anti-seizure medications. Most of them had side effects ranging from dry mouth to memory loss, where I have not been able to remember friends' names or common words. The main problem was that I had to increase to such high levels that they were unsafe, or my body seemed to develop a tolerance. I have been on Vimpat for nearly a year now with very few of my symptoms, which is amazing because without medication I would have problems every 1-2 minutes. The side effects are virtually negligible. My tongue and lips are a little numb when I take the tablets, and I get headaches when the medication is altered. The major problem is the cost!"

• Sco...
• August 16, 2017

"Vimpat saved me! After years of off-and-on seizures (petit mal), I struggled with Epival as a lone source of control. A few years ago, my neurologist combined Keppra into my medical regimen. It worked fairly well for about a year or two in controlling my seizures. One of the major problems was that my emotions went wild. When I was happy, I was ecstatic, when I was sad, I was depressed, and when I was perturbed, well, I was furious and not fun to be around! Sadly, my seizures returned, and then my neurologist placed me on Vimpat (together with Epival). Since the change, life has become MUCH better. I am back to my normal self, the person I was many years ago, and I am ever so grateful!"

• Nad...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 20, 2021

"Almost 3 weeks taking this med. 200 mg twice a day and with 700 mg of Keppra only at night. I was able to be seizure-free for almost 3 years only taking Keppra once a day (my own diagnosis) but got careless and drank a beer at night and went to bed really late and that provoked a seizure. My doctor told me to start taking Vimpat, and after a week and a half, I started to get headaches, dizziness, vertigo, started to wake up earlier than normal, and my urine comes out almost a greenish color. I don't like this pill."

• Edi...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 4, 2022

"I was prescribed Vimpat in July 2020, and on August 31, 2020, I was in the ER. I was unaware it was the medication, but after 9 CT scans and 3 MRIs saying that my brain is okay, I knew it had to be Vimpat. I am bed bound since November 2020 to this day, May 4, 2022. I hope my neurologist can prescribe me another anti-seizure medication. I hope this is useful to someone."

• lau...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 30, 2014

"I started on Lyrica for my simple partial/partial complex seizures 5 years ago (by a previous neuro), and even though Lyrica was far from my current neuro's first choice, he decided to keep me on it. He immediately added Vimpat. For the next 8 months, I had continued frequent spontaneous seizures, and he persisted, saying we just had to find the right dosage of both. He'd change the dosage by 50 mg increases, different times of day, etc. 8 months of terrible short-term memory, lethargy, and a rainbow of different types of seizures, and as a last-ditch effort, he lowered my morning dosage by 50 mg, and I went from a zombie to me again! 5 years and I had issues only when stressed or sensory overload. But now they are sneaking back again..."

• lis...
• July 23, 2015

"I have partial seizures. I take lithium and also take Valerian. The lithium worked fine. Now I just take Valerian. I do not think this would work for gran mal. I had Vimpat pushed on me. I tried a free sample. Total garbage. In fact, that's where I threw it out. Horrible drug. Felt like I was on LSD or some kind of mind-frying drug. Yuk. Makes me sick to think how I felt on it. I could not tolerate it at all."

• jrm...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 19, 2023

"No seizures since taking Vimpat; not sure if other conditions are related to Vimpat or other medications I take. Memory problems, speech problems, sleepiness. I am 88 years old so I am not sure if my problems are related to taking Vimpat or part of my aging process. Relatively easy to take with much liquid or applesauce, take twice a day."

• Dee...
• August 9, 2016

"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."

• CBR...
• May 24, 2016

"First of all, I just started my full dose of 150 mg twice a day. Dilantin I was allergic, Keppra made me not myself, Lamictal almost killed me. So far, this is working well. I feel much more like myself, and my wife has told me it's nice to have her husband back. The price, even with insurance, is insane. But I'm two weeks from driving and just want something that works. So far, so good!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 20, 2024

"I started having seizures during my menopause... I thought that it was hormonal, and doctors believed that the amount of seizures I was having was not hormonal. They determined it was the temporal lobe. I was put on every gut-wrenching pill that took away all warnings that a seizure would happen, and that was worse for me, in my opinion, since I had to walk everywhere. In October 2017, I was put on VIMPAT at Johns Hopkins, which was not part of Kaiser's formulary, and that is the reason why that drug was not offered. I was asked to try it and, wow, talk about fantastic. No more seizures and none of the problems of memory or words or things that you are determining drug-related because, for me, it was seizure-related. I am experiencing weight gain, and I do not know if it is from age or the pills. I exercise, and it does not seem to help. So, it is weight gain, but otherwise, it's totally fantastic."

• Guk...
• November 17, 2012

"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!"

• Jja...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 29, 2017

"The medication seems to work, is very expensive, and I have to do without it for 2 to 4 days. Looking for a generic. I am on a fixed income. I have an intermediate job. Trying to pay some old bills. Paying for this prescribed medication hinders me."

• jub...
• September 18, 2015

"I am 45 years old and had sudden onset of simple/complex seizures 3 years ago, 6-10 seizures a day. I was on Tegretol, Dilantin, Ativan, 100 units of Botox, and Celexa. I could not function. Vomiting and sleeping. Progressed to grand mal. Went to Cleveland Clinic, and they put me on Vimpat and Klonopin. I feel great despite one partial seizure a day. I have lost 8 pounds. I love it!"

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

"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."

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

"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?"