Hello to my comrades in clusters.  I seem to only check out this board when I am in a cycle, and for me, the beast is back.  I saw my neurologist, and he wanted me to try a new drug called Vimpat.  It, like topamax, is an anti seizure drug.  I have been taking a small dose and am incrementally increasing as per my doctor's instructions.  It does not have nearly the side effects, but it also doesn't seem to be as effective.  Being a new drug, it is also quite expensive.  Does anyone else have any experience with this drug?  I always hated topamax for the usual reasons.  Any info would be appreciated! 

I confess to not understanding why anyone should play "lab rat" with an unproven treatment UNTIL the well established, predicatable, and effective treatments have been tried and failed.

Self-interest, for me, is to get effective relief. Yet, year after year, the same pattern appears in messages.

A new med has hit the medical journals; folks write that their doc has given it to them and they are asking for others experiences and/or reporting side effects/effectiveness; a year or more of such messages flow until some degree of collective judgment begins to emerge here. But over the 30+ years that I've been following the medical literature, a fair number of meds have been the next savior only to disappear in a year or two.

Years ago, CONSUMER REPORTS magazine used to say: "Don't buy the first year of a new model car."

Yeah, I know what you mean.  I usually don't go in for unproven stuff, but in my line of work, I can't use topamax.  It messes up my speaking and affects my thinking to a lesser degree.  Vimpat is apparently similar to topamax...whether it has the same effect in decreasing the number and severity of attacks remains to be seen.  Verapamil and lithium are of only minimal effect with me, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed with Vimpat.  Thanks for your concern and comment.