Vimpat and back pain anyone?

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mpirylis

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Hi all, I am new here and I have been researching this topic for a while. I have a good understanding of the more common side effects of this drug and perhaps there is no correlation but I am desperate to find out if anyone else has had a similar issue.

Never having any prior back problems, I began taking Vimpat in March for my epilepsy. By mid-April I started having serious lower back pain and some nerve pain. I have been to see many Doctors about the back pain and have been told I have mild degenerative spine disease and anthropy (arthritis). The spine specialist I am seeing cannot understand why my pain is so severe.
I will spare you the rest of the details but I will say I was recently reading the side effects to vimpat a few weeks ago and discovered "lower back pain" to be one of them. I have been unsuccessful in finding an elaboration on any message board or study about this so:

Has this happened to anyone taking this drug? If so, would you please provide some details and results of your experience?

I should add- I am not calling my neuro until I think this might actually be related somehow.

Desperately seeking relief!
 
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Hi mpirylis, welcome to CWE!

Any chance some of your lower back pain is due to kidney problems? Vimpat can sometimes cause kidney problems or make them worse.
 
Mpirylis,

1) Before Vimpat back was ok
2) Month after you say you are having "serious lower back pain and some nerve pain"
and
3) You say one of the symptoms you "discovered "lower back pain" to be one of them"

Adding these up i would say don't hesitate in calling your doc to change your meds. What more proof do you need.

I took Lamotrigin for 6 months before it started screwing with me, making my seizures worse.

Pain med hydocodone would give me back pain.

Anyway, the only way to find out if it is Vimpat is to stop taking in, especially with what you said, switch to something else.

:pop: :piano:
 
Welcome mpirylis.

I was never on Vimpat for a long time nor did I get such side-effects but I have to commend you for making sure it is an effect of the vimpat and not jumping to conclusions. Too often we assume that correlation equals causation & that is often not the case. When you consider how often we get sick be it a virus, headache, backache etc. then consider how often we might try new medications the probability of getting an illness within a week or 2 of starting a new med is pretty high.

I would have trouble understanding how something that slows neurons can cause back pain (rather than lessen it) and I can understand you not asking your neurologist to take you off of it until you know for sure if it is the cause, but wouldn't your neurologist be much more familiar with the side-effects & have a better knowledge of whether the Vimpat plays a roll in it?
 
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