Topamax for migraine

I'm on it too, but only starting at 25mg.  I have to call my doctor this week and I believe we're upping it to 50 mg based on the past 2 month trial of the lowest dose.  I still got migraines this month (mine are currently mostly hormonally based - it's a perimenopausal situation at this point) although I do have to say they were not as severe, but I did get the same amount of them the week I expected them to show up.

As for side effects I have experienced some but as I'm on it longer they seem to have evened out.  First you may have heard that it makes soda taste funny.  This is true!  Thankfully I am not much of a soda drinker so this hasn't been an issue but it was quite a shock to me to find this out. 

It also seems to have made my appetite drop just a bit, not a lot, but I do think I'm eating a bit less.  This too is not a problem, since I'm somewhat overweight and can afford to lose a good 25 pounds.  This side effect if it were to continue would be most welcome in fact.

The two that are bothersome are that I do have occassional tingling in my feet, they fall asleep for no reason at all at different times during the day.  However, in the last couple of weeks this has been happening a lot less than the first couple of weeks I was on it, so that's encouraging.

Also, I was experiencing 'heart flutters".  My heart was having occassional racing feelings.  Again, not all the time, a couple of times a day but it was unnerving.  I have no history of heart issues at all.  I called the doctor about this one because this was enough to worry me but he assured me it was a side effect.  Since it was not happening enough to effect me in any real way, I decided to continue with the medication for the time being.  This side effect too, in the last week or so, has nearly stopped completely.  There are days where it does not happen at all.

So all in all, I'm tolerating it just fine but I am on a very low dose.  My doctor is very cautious about how to increase it, which I appreciate.  We'll see how it goes when he bumps me up to the 50 mg next week.  I have not experienced any mental fog, or anything which makes me feel impaired in my thinking at all so far either.  I do think it may be helping me sleep somewhat better which is an appreciated effect.  Hopefully, that will continue.  For my situation he does not feel that I'll need to be on a higher dose than 50 mg anyway.

While I'm not a very active poster here yet, I do read through the board so please do keep us posted on your experience.  I think it's important for all of us who suffer with migraines to read about others. 

Laurie

I have been taking Topamax for about 11 months - It has been very effective for me.  It was VERY hard at first, even tho I was on only 25mg to begin with.  My doctor seemed to want to bump my dose up much, much faster than I wanted to go after reading a lot of personal accounts online about Topamax for migraines, so I kind of had to fight with him about how fast I did it.  Bottom line is the medicine won't work if you end up not taking it because of the side effects, and I really needed this to work.  So I did it slooooowly.  The side effects I had were not good, but they have gotten better, even though the dose has gone way up (I am currently at 150/day in a divided dose).  The worst for me was not being able to think clearly at work, not being able to speak in meetings like I had a clue.  I really think I have experienced what it must be like to get old and kind of 'lose' yourself.  My access to my own temporal lobes seemed to be cut off...I lost the words for common things a lot.  I remember trying to come up with the phrase 'money order' at work on the phone with my boss...after SHE figured out what I was trying to say and named it, I had to say it again 15 seconds later and I couldn't remember what it was called again.  Duuuuhhh.  It was awful.  But it did get better.  I suggest letting people know what you are doing so they don't think you are on street drugs (Topamax has been called 'Stupamax' and 'Dopamax' because of this side effect) - chances are they prefer you try to get help for your migraines than continue to miss work because of them. Then again, you may not have the same problems I had at all- I guess that is the beauty of reading all of these personal experiences.  Everyone's account is different.

I did have the 'emotional instability' problem that is sometimes reported - feeling like bursting into tears all the time.  It never made me sad for long, just really sensitive. That is gone.  I guess if you are prone to depression, the coupling with an antidepressant might be a good idea, if it is in effect in your system by the time you start Topamax. 

I also had a problem falling and staying asleep on this medicine, but that seems to have completly gone away, even when I increase my dose. I hear that most people have the opposite problem with this medicine - they are sleepy around the clock, especially if they start at a high dose.  I had and do sometimes still have the tingling in my hands and feet.  When I increase my dose I will temporarily have some confusion again, as well as more tingling, maybe stomach problems.  I sometimes have a couple of days of running for the bathroom, and that isn't fun. I did seem to not want to eat as much, which was a good thing for me, as I need to drop some weight, which I believe it helped me do.  I hear it does not always do this for everyone.  Anything carbonated still tastes horrible to me - for instance, I totally can't tell the difference between diet and regular soda - they both taste equally disgusting to me.  I used to be a diet Coke expert.  I did not seem to have any negative sexual side effects.  ; ) 

Overall, this medicine has really, really helped me.  I still get headaches sometimes, but much less frequently and they seem to be way less severe.  It is kind of like I know I should be hurting more when I have one, but for some reason, I am not.  It is a godsend.  I would recommend it to anyone who suffers with migraines and isn't finding relief anywhere else.  Treating the symptoms just isn't effective for me, and the abortive medications usually wouldn't catch my headaches early enough.  I would be happy to answer questions about my experience - carolonius1111@yahoo.com.  Good luck to anyone looking into this medication.  

Carol

I have been on Topamax for about 11 months not including the month i couldnt afford it because of no insurance, the only side affects ive experienced is the tingeling feet and loss of appetite.

Some things taste different. I have lost 20 pounds and i find that every time i eat i have a bowel movement which i guess is why i'm losing weight , i don't know. It seems like no more than 15 or 20 minutes after i eat, i'm in the bathroom.

But compared to as many migraines i was having, those side affects are more than worth it to me!