Side note: Vimpat is a fairly new medication and there's no generic available. Even though my insurance covered it, we had to complete a Prior Authorization screening and it took several weeks to go through, but we did get him approved. And the best part: it only costs $50 a bottle!
Adam's transition started with weening himself off of Zonegran that he's been on for several years, and introducing the Vimpat slowly for about 2 weeks. This last week was the first week with no Zonegran and only Vimpat and Carbatrol.
We researched Vimpat online before he went on it and noticed that most people claimed drowsiness as their #1 side effect. Others included mood swings, extreme fatigue, double vision. We were most concerned about the drowsiness as Adam is in the middle of a college semester.
Since Adam's seizures happen primarily at night, this was definitely something we prepared for. Adam takes the pills around 9 pm at night and we're generally in bed by 9. He awakes around 7 or 8, usually when I get up for work.
I'm happy to report that Adam has only had ONE small seizure since he started the transitioning (we expected more), but this was also a night that he was out with friends and drank a few beers, so to me, this is considered a seizure WITH a known cause.
The drowsiness has lightened up since Adam continued on the medication , but he has been a little "twitchy", spasms in his arms, legs, randomly and without cause. His phone flew from his hand the other day and he had a dramatic spasm in Wal-Mart yesterday, which worried me. We took care of the business we had there and got home so he could rest.
Other than that, Adam is happy, enjoying married life, feeling good, and working hard at school. This medication has been known to work wonders for Adam's specific type of seizures- "partial seizures", and several reviews online have claimed that those that have taken it have been seizure free for over 2-3 years! What inspiration to us!
As we start this married journey, we are looking forward to having children and possibly even Adam driving! This was never an option, or even a fantasy before- we knew he would never be able to. We are so excited to see what life has in store for us!
Check out my other, non-seizure related blog at (http://pennelforyourthoughts.blogspot.com)! I write about married life, share recipes, and other tidbits of inspiration!
