HealthCareMagic is now Ask A Doctor - 24x7 | https://www.askadoctor24x7.com

Get your health question answered instantly from our pool of 18000+ doctors from over 80 specialties
159 Doctors Online

By proceeding, I accept the Terms and Conditions

Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

HCM Blog Instant Access to Doctors
HCM BlogQuestions Answered
HCM Blog Satisfaction

Experiencing Headache Due To Seizures

We are weaning our son off Vimpat right now, I just decreased his dose from 2cc BID to 1 cc BID today. He is complaining of a really bad headache right now. I am wondering if this is a side effect of weaning him off the medication. The only time he ever had head aches was right before he had his seizure 3.5 months ago, and he has also been seizure free since then.
Mon, 5 Dec 2016
Report Abuse
Psychiatrist,  's  Response
Hi, Weaning from Vimpat rarely cause some discontinuation symptoms like headache. If you want to tapper the dose ,do it very gradually. Abrupt reduction from 2ccBD to 1ccBD is not advisable. Tapper 0.5 cc every week until reaching the desired dose.
One more thing i would like to stress is about your son's last seizure episode. If any of my patients consult me with similar situation, i will suggest them to continue the drug or change to another anti-seizure drug with less problems. As your son had last episode of seizure 3.5 months ago, it's not advisable to discontinue or give inadequate doses. For any person to stop the antiepilesy drugs, he should have seizure free period of at least 1-2 years. So i request you to consult your neurologist before weaning. If you feel discomfort in continuing Vampat, he will suggest alternate drugs. If the headache persists for long, better to take a CT brain. I hope this measure will be enough to take care of your son.
I find this answer helpful
Disclaimer: These answers are for your information only and not intended to replace your relationship with your treating physician.
This is a short, free answer. For a more detailed, immediate answer, try our premium service [Sample answer]
Share on
 

Related questions you may be interested in


Loading Online Doctors....
Experiencing Headache Due To Seizures

Hi, Weaning from Vimpat rarely cause some discontinuation symptoms like headache. If you want to tapper the dose ,do it very gradually. Abrupt reduction from 2ccBD to 1ccBD is not advisable. Tapper 0.5 cc every week until reaching the desired dose. One more thing i would like to stress is about your son s last seizure episode. If any of my patients consult me with similar situation, i will suggest them to continue the drug or change to another anti-seizure drug with less problems. As your son had last episode of seizure 3.5 months ago, it s not advisable to discontinue or give inadequate doses. For any person to stop the antiepilesy drugs, he should have seizure free period of at least 1-2 years. So i request you to consult your neurologist before weaning. If you feel discomfort in continuing Vampat, he will suggest alternate drugs. If the headache persists for long, better to take a CT brain. I hope this measure will be enough to take care of your son.