My son, 18,takes 3000 mg of Keppra XR. Today Vimpat was added. I know nothing about this medication. He will start at 100 mg daily and work up to 200 mg after a week. I don't know anything about this medicine. Please give me your input, experiences, and side effects with it. Thanks. BTW, my son has just started living on campus at college. Should I have any concerns with adding this medicine while he is not home?
vimpat
- Thread starter DinaHB
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Everyone responds differently to the various medications. For example if I were to say I had side effects X, Y and Z will not mean anything for your son. Even if 80% of the people here (or on any site) say they experienced side effect Y will not mean your son has an 80% chance of developing that side effect. How your son will respond to the dose increases and what if any side effects he will develop depend entirely on your son (ie. how his body will react). I would encourage the dose increases to be smaller and slower (I increased by 50 mg every 10 days), but if he is having frequent and severe seizures his doctor may want him to ramp up faster. College life is an exciting time, so I hope his doctor or nurse have encouraged him to minimize any potential seizure triggers like caffeine, alcohol, recreational drugs, late nights, stress, etc.
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I agree with everything that masterjen said.
Caffeine, alcohol, recreational drugs, late nights and stress are all things that can cause seizures for people. The only one he really will probably have a hard time avoiding is stress. Let him know that if he needs to talk so someone about things going on that he is worked up about then talk to someone about it. He may not want to talk to his mom and dad about things but if he has a brother, sister, friend or someone else close to them tell him to talk to them and get it out. That's a good way that can get me to calm down a lot of the times.
Caffeine, alcohol, recreational drugs, late nights and stress are all things that can cause seizures for people. The only one he really will probably have a hard time avoiding is stress. Let him know that if he needs to talk so someone about things going on that he is worked up about then talk to someone about it. He may not want to talk to his mom and dad about things but if he has a brother, sister, friend or someone else close to them tell him to talk to them and get it out. That's a good way that can get me to calm down a lot of the times.
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I'm allergic to vimpat it made me itch like crazy. Itching is a side efffect of this drug.
Carpentergirl
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I started right off at 100 mg a day of vimpat....ive been on it for about 5 months now...take it with Topamax...400 mg a day...have no side effects whatsoever...its a fairly new drug...expensive too I might add....lol .....don't know what else I could tell you to be helpful...like the others said...what works for some...may not work for others..I'm just a big stickler on not taking medicines that are so old with all these bad side effects...I believe they keep coming out with new medicines for a reason...and I think one of those reasons is less side effects...I'm all about trying something new if old meds aren't working...Iv'e been on Topamax for 13 years now...and just now this past year had to add something else....too many late night nocturnal partials....and I might add..seizure free for 8 months now...I truly do believe that plenty of rest is part of staying healthy...good luck, and I hope the vimpat helps....
knothing
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I take 3000mg of Keppra and 400mg of Vimpat daily. My experience with adding Vimpat was very similar to when I added Keppra. Like masterjen says we are all different but bellow is the list of my side effects.
Occasional facial numbness, normally 1/2 to 1hr after I take the meds
Dizziness, rare and when it occurs the level of dizziness varies......nothing crazy
My hands shake enough to where typing can be annoying and never ask me to make an over easy egg, play jenga, or cut with scissors on a straight line
My favorite,which I have never heard of from anyone else, I became allergic to oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit.........
To note the hands shaking may be seizure related because I had 2 big seizures then added Vimpat. My neurologist and I agree that those side effects are better than the alternative of having no control. Forgot to mention I have been on this combination for at least 4 years.
Occasional facial numbness, normally 1/2 to 1hr after I take the meds
Dizziness, rare and when it occurs the level of dizziness varies......nothing crazy
My hands shake enough to where typing can be annoying and never ask me to make an over easy egg, play jenga, or cut with scissors on a straight line
My favorite,which I have never heard of from anyone else, I became allergic to oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit.........
To note the hands shaking may be seizure related because I had 2 big seizures then added Vimpat. My neurologist and I agree that those side effects are better than the alternative of having no control. Forgot to mention I have been on this combination for at least 4 years.