VIMPAT: My experience

Of course i suffered extreme depression while on VIMPAT. However, the depression was not caused by the drug itself; the depression was caused by the loss of control over my own body that I had experienced while on this drug. Dr. David Treiman (St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix) was my neurologist at the time. When he recommended that I try VIMPAT, we argued because I was fearful of any prescriptive drug that was brand new to the market. Unfortunately, Dr. Treiman won the argument and I now consider him responsible for the nightmare that my life became while on this drug. If you are considering adding VIMPAT to your therapy OR if you are currently taking VIMPAT, please read on to become aware of the drug's potential side effects. I find it interesting to read that the drug's most frequent and most severe side effects supposedly deal with depression. From my perspective, the depression is caused by the actual physical side effects and loss of motor control caused by this drug. MY VIMPAT SIDE EFFECTS I was nearly unable to walk on my own because of an extreme lack of balance; this inability to walk did not begin until I had been on VIMPAT for a few months. This was extremely frustrating mentally I loved to walk and was unable to while on this drug. In fact, when I was taking VIMPAT my entire body was covered with black and blue marks from the many falls. It was impossible to break a fall if there was something to grab on to because my reflexes were non-existent on the drug. In fact, it became impossible for me to even stand still without falling over unless I was gripping tightly on to something. At times, I was unable to speak. Although I was able to form the sentences in my mind, only "gobbly-gook" came out of my mouth. Eventually, over time while on VIMPAT, I became unable to even formulate the sentences mentally. I experienced total loss of memory while taking VIMPAT. I would watch a movie on cable with a friend; if we decided to watch another, I would frequently select the movie that we had just watched with absolutely no recall of having just seen it. While taking VIMPAT, the frequency of my grand mal seizures did not decrease from the 2 or 3 that I had been experiencing each week. And, unfortunately, the aftermath of my seizures became more severe. My loss of consciousness after the actual seizure increased from 30 minutes to 45 minutes. Although unconscious, I would be physically active; during this time I would change into my pajamas and get into bed. If I had been working on my laptop, it could take me up to one hour to find where I had placed it while unconscious. In addition, I would have absolutely no idea if I had been "out of it" for one hour or for one day. I would be totally unable to recall when I had last eaten a meal or taken my drugs. I want to say that, of course, I suffered extreme depression while on VIMPAT. But the depression itself had been caused by my total loss of mind and body control while on this worthless drug. I honestly did not think that all of these physical difficulties could be side effects because none of them occurred soon after I first started taking VIMPAT. And, because I trusted my neurologist at the time, I did not think that I was suffering side effects or that VIMPAT was actually unable to control my seizures. This was due to the simple fact that Dr. Treiman had frequently switched my drugs in the past if they were ineffective or if I suffered severe side effects. I had assumed that the epilepsy had reached a new level or that I was suffering an additional disease such as diabetes. Try to imagine my shock and anger when I somehow made the decision to get a second opinion from a neurologist at John Hopkins Hospital. After discussing my dosage, physical difficulties, and then attempting to walk for the doctor I was informed that my lack of balance, loss of memory, and speech problems were all indeed side effects of VIMPAT; and, that my seizures had most likely intensified because my daily dosage of the drug was so low that it would have been impossible for it to control a seizure. I was prescribed a different medication and instructed to stop VIMPAT immediately. Now that I am no longer taking VIMPAT and suffering from its side effects, I have regained my balance and am able to walk, I no longer have problems with speech or formulating sentences, and that my memory is as sharp as it was prior to my VIMPAT experience.