My journey with Vimpat

[SteveUK]

This post is for anyone who is interested in Vimpat (lacosamide).

My neurologist has now prescribed me Vimpat (Lacosamide). I will be working incrementally up to 100mg twice daily to control my petit mal seizures, currently experiencing about 9 per day.

I have a good feeling about this one, with my track record of medications I hold forever hopeful in the law of diminishing returns.

I intend to update this post with comments relating to my experience.

Every dog has his day.

Steve

[epileric]

I'm sure documenting your experience will be very helpful to a lot of people.

Just so that people looking for experiences can find it easier I put it in the "history book" in the library for you.

[SteveUK]

Thanks Epileric. I was wondering where to place this.

[Erin]

This post is for anyone who is interested in Vimpat (lacosamide).

My neurologist has now prescribed me Vimpat (Lacosamide). I will be working incrementally up to 100mg twice daily to control my petit mal seizures, currently experiencing about 9 per day.

I have a good feeling about this one, with my track record of medications I hold forever hopeful in the law of diminishing returns.

I intend to update this post with comments relating to my experience.

Every dog has his day.

Steve

Thanks for this post, I'll be interested to see how it goes. My doc wants me to start Vimpat and he says it should be great, but that's what he said about Keppra which I still hate after 7 months on it... But I think I have to try the Vimpat, so if I do, I'll let you know how it goes too.

[huskymom]

Steve,

I have been on Vimpat 100mgs twice a day for awhile. (along with other meds) and have noticed no side effects. Good luck!!

[SteveUK]

Thanks Erin and Huskymom, will keep you posted. So far, so good no immediate side effects (only 5 hours in though).

Steve

[SteveUK]

Day 3.

Working well so far! Last two evenings I’ve had no petit mals after taking Vimpat. Sleeping better, however a little dozy in the morning. Hoping this is not a placebo effect..

Steve

[knothing]

SteveUK - It will be interesting to see what Vimpat does alone. I take 3000mg Keppra & 400mg Vimpat per day. I started the Keppra 1st so no real clue how Vimpat may do alone.I will definitely keep tabs on your progress.Good luck!

Erin - Keppra took me well over 6 months to adjust to. The combination had 1 odd side effect. I became allergic to oranges....... could only happen to me.

[SteveUK]

@ Knothing, Thanks for your msg. We will have nearly identical meds once I'm fully loaded (2 months off).

@Erin, Keppra has always kept the tonic clonic's away for me and (like Knothing) it took me a while to 'adjust' to. I also had a very weird allergy to strawberries, gone now though - strange hey?


Steve

[SteveUK]

Taking 50mg of Vimpat twice daily now, along with Keppra.

No Petit Mals for past 4 days! Happy Days . Cannot remember the last time I had a petit mal free day - roughly about 3 months ago

Quite severe head aches for about 2 weeks, but now seemed to have passed and now experiencing no obvious side effects.

Thanks for your continuing support

Steve

[huskymom]

Steve,

Glad to hear that you are doing better. Yeah, the headaches can be a pain (ha, get it, pain) anyway, mine went away as well. I'm now at 200mg of vimpat with the 2,500 of keppra and 1,000 of carbatrol. It is always so interesting to read what works for others. Just shows how "special" we all are

[SteveUK]

I'm now on 100mg of Vimpat am and pm, along with 1500mg of Keppra am and pm.

Sadly experiencing some petit mals recently, up to 5 in the morning. Normally my petit mals subside shortly after I take my medication - perhaps I should take my meds earlier.

Maybe my meds will settle soon, my head's taken quite a hit of medication alterations recently, so hoping a settling period will calm things down.

Forever hopeful,

Steve

[huskymom]

fingers crossed!!!

[knothing]

I have notice that 30 minutes before medication time that I get really agitated. It is almost as if the medication is wearing off. I take both medications at the same time everyday. I always seem to get headaches at that time.

[Meetz1064]

suggestion, but I've had to do this with my meds--I can't take all of my anti-epileptic drugs at once, or I won't function. I take 4, and I have them set for 3 different times...5:30, 8 & 9...AM & PM respectively.

Have you considered staggering the times that you take your meds by an hour or so apart? So if you take one at 6:30, wait an hour then at 7:30 for the other?

[peachy]

Meetz I don't know how you keep track of all those times...I take them all twice a day, but may not be a bad idea to stagger...

I have taken Vimpat for 5 months. The last two months my doc has increased me from 400 mg a day to 500 mg and now wants me up to 600 mg. Insurance is having a coronary (nothing new BUT it is over recommended dosage). I have not done any better on 500 mg than 400 mg. When I went from 400 to 500 I noticed weird sensations-I think I have figured out that they are auras??? and from what I understand they are also considered seizures??? I have been decreasing back down to 400 mg. BUT in general vimpat helped more than any of the others that I've tried. I also take 3000 mg a day of keppra xr. I am not sure that I am having any other side effects. Good luck.

[mrzonk]

I've tried them all, nothing seems to work well enough or not cause a problem. I've been on Dilantin for a long time, after trying everything else. Neurontin was the first and basically the only one I could tolerate. Vimpat seems to be working; I only have one every other day. My seizures are odd; short periods (30 seconds, where I get confused and can't speak properly, type or read).

Has anyone noticed a positive change going above 400 mg? I'm not taking anything else but I'd like to know if going to 250 am and 250 pm helped anyone. I was late with my evening dose last night and around 12:30 my head was vibrating like a propeller going into the water.