Vimpat and Weight Gain: What Users Say

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

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."

• K8t...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 24, 2019

For Seizures "Vimpat has been prescribed for seizures. I had been on Topamax and Lamictal for years. The Vimpat is taking the place of the Topamax. Side effects of Topamax were unbearable - poor word retrieval, tremors, and weight loss. Since the medication change (2 months ago), I am dealing with extreme short-term memory loss and weight gain. I've had no seizures and love the fact that word retrieval is easier (but not fully resolved). I feel vain, but the weight gain is a problem for me. Is anyone dealing with weight gain too? What about short-term memory issues?"

• mil...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 18, 2014

For Seizures "I have had nocturnal seizures since the age of 7. I am now 35 years old. I have been on every medication I can think of. I even had a VNS put in that did absolutely nothing for me. I have been on Vimpat for a year now, it's like my little blue magic pill, as soon as I started it, my seizures went away. I'm also on Carbamazepine and phenobarbital, I'm slowly weaning off of the phenobarbital. I have had weight gain, but that is it. Lately, 2 nights of sleep loss, but that could be due to some other changes. I've always had memory problems, like going into a room and forgetting what I was getting, so that doesn't bother me at all. To me, this is a lifesaver. I have been seizure-free for the longest time in my entire life."

• Die...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 25, 2020

For Seizures "Came off Depakote, trying to be able to function with school and normal life. Vimpat is a great drug and stopped my seizures. Way better than Keppra and Depakote. Makes me a little drowsy and tired. Also had weight gain. All in all, a very good drug for seizures."

• Sil...
• August 31, 2013

For Seizures "I take Tegretol, and I have been on Vimpat now for over a year. At first, I still had seizures, but they were completely different from the ones I had before. I used to jump and scream, now I become an ironing board, then kick my legs. After a few months, they stopped completely. I had never felt better, it was the first time in 25 years I had been free. But the last couple of months, they have returned, and I have never felt worse. Side effects: extremely emotional [which is at the other end of the scale from Vigabatrin, which made me a nutter], depression, memory loss, stuttering, and significant weight gain. I am much better on them than without, but as far as stopping my seizures, it was short-lived."

• Kar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 11, 2014

For Seizures "I have been on Vimpat for 2 months now. Like many others, I have been on just about everything! After a week on the Vimpat, I was no longer having partial seizures, but after about a month, reaching my titrated level of 200 mg twice a day. I started noticing weight gain, numbness in my mouth and throat, almost a numb feeling on my skin, and a weird overall feeling, all these side effects ended after about a 1/2 hour. It is great to not have the seizures each day and to only be on one medicine while my doctor keeps reassuring me that they will fade with time. I just hope they do because I have to make sure I do not have anything I need to do after taking my dose. I had to fight like crazy for my insurance to cover the medication at $1954/month."

• Jen...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 20, 2019

For Epilepsy "I’ve been taking Vimpat for about 7 months, maybe. This would be my fifth medication switch for my epilepsy, and I have found one that finally works. I do still have seizures, but not nearly as bad as before, so I’m excited! The side effects I have noticed would be itchy skin, numbness and tingling of extremities, fatigue for sure, crazy weight gain, migraines. I think those are the ones that are the most aggravating. BUT my seizures are better, so you have to take the good with the bad, I guess. If I could get the weight gain to stop, I can live with the rest."

• Nes...
• January 16, 2016

For Seizures "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

For Seizures "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."

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

For Seizures "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."

• TJS...
• March 26, 2016

For Seizures "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."

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

For Seizures "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."

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

For Seizures "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."