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• Shared Perspectives
• A Story of New Opportunities
• A Story of Caring
• A Story of Hope

Veronica was a teenager who had been having seizures for several years before she was diagnosed with epilepsy. After many different EEG and MRI tests, the diagnosis of epilepsy was finally made. "The way I felt when I was first diagnosed was surprised, because I had no idea what epilepsy was," she says. "I had never heard of it. I had never seen anybody have a seizure."

As a high school student with epilepsy, Veronica encountered challenges. "I didn't talk about it very often, so very few people knew I had seizures," she says, noting that she was always worried about having a seizure in school, which would have made her disease obvious to her classmates.

Epilepsy was also a challenge as far as Veronica's career goals. "When I first started college, I planned to go to law school. But over those 4 undergraduate years, the stress of college increased my seizures, and I ultimately decided not to apply." One of her other goals was to become an FBI agent. But instead Veronica applied for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. After a 2-year application process, she didn't get the job because of her epilepsy. "Having epilepsy has definitely changed many of my goals. I now work for a law firm as a law librarian, so I am still in the legal field, but it's not exactly what I originally planned for."

Over the years of living with epilepsy, Veronica says there were points where she felt that she was going to have to settle with the number of seizures she was having. "After 11 years and 7 different medications, I was ready to actually consider surgery," she says. That was when her doctor told her about Vimpat. "He told me about a clinical trial that he thought I should start before I had surgery, because that really wasn't what I wanted to do. And the good news was that Vimpat worked very well to decrease my partial-onset seizures."

Before she started Vimpat, Veronica says she was having about 4 to 6 partial-onset seizures a day. Vimpat was added on to the medication she was already using. After that, her partial seizures decreased significantly. "I actually went so long without seizures I almost forgot about them, which is surprising after having had seizures on such a regular basis for so many years. I was surprised to have actually found something that really worked for me."

Being seizure free has opened up many new opportunities for Veronica. She was finally able to find the career that she wanted, could travel on a regular basis, and was also able to finally live on her own. "I'm very happy to have my own place," she says. "I admit in the beginning it was scary. Basically I'm used to someone taking care of me. But now that I am able to take care of myself, I feel like a responsible adult."

Veronica has one piece of advice for others living with epilepsy—don't settle. "If I were to meet an epilepsy patient who felt that they were ready to settle with simply having seizures on a regular basis, I would explain to them how much more their life could be if they didn't settle. You can expect so much more if you continue to search for the right treatment. There are plenty of medications. You can't just assume that nothing else is there. There's always something else, and your life could be much better if you were to keep trying."

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Indication

Vimpat^® (lacosamide) is a prescription medicine that is used with other medicines to treat partial-onset seizures in people 17 years of age and older with epilepsy.

Important Safety Information

Vimpat is generally well-tolerated, but may not be for everyone. Ask your healthcare provider if Vimpat is right for you.

Warnings and Precautions

Antiepileptic drugs, including Vimpat, may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people, about 1 in 500. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have new or worsening symptoms of depression, any unusual changes in mood or behavior, or suicidal thoughts, behavior, or thoughts about self harm that you have never had before or may be worse than before. Do not stop taking Vimpat without first talking to your healthcare provider. Stopping Vimpat suddenly can cause serious problems.

Vimpat may also cause you to feel dizzy, have double vision, feel sleepy, or have problems with coordination and walking. You should not drive, operate machinery or do other dangerous activities until you know how Vimpat affects you.

Vimpat may cause you to have an irregular heartbeat or may cause you to feel faint. Call your healthcare provider if you have a fast, slow, or pounding heartbeat, shortness of breath, feel lightheaded, or if you fainted or feel like you are going to faint.

Vimpat is classified as a federally controlled substance (C-V) due to a low potential for abuse. Keep your Vimpat in a safe place and do not give it to anyone else.

In rare cases, Vimpat may cause a serious allergic reaction that may affect your skin or other parts of your body such as your liver or blood cells. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have a skin rash or hives, fever or swollen glands that do not go away, shortness of breath, swelling of the legs, yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes, or dark urine.

Vimpat oral solution contains aspartame, a source of phenylalanine.

Common Adverse Reactions

The most common side effects with Vimpat are dizziness, headache, nausea, and double vision. To report Suspected Adverse Reactions, contact UCB, Inc. at 866-822-0068 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

Please see additional patient information in the Patient Medication Guide. This information does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider about your condition or your treatment.