Im new in here, Just started Topamax 25 Mg with prozac 20 MG for headaches.. working my way up. I was on this medication a few years ago and due to no health insurance I had to go off. No I have the proper insurance to start it again.
I find this medication combination to be the best for headaches.. I have been under numerous drugs and so many doctors that it made me crazy.. From spinal taps. to cat-scans to MRI's .. They admitted me so many times.. in the past. Then I doctor gave me narcotics.. Oh boy did I love them too much I got so much involed with them that I couldnt get off of them.. Until 3 years gao when I found the right doctor who put me on this combo of topo and Prozac.. I will work through the side effects.. I was wondering if anyone else is on the same combo as me for headaches.
I'm taking Topamax -- 100mg twice a day. I also take Elavil -- 175mg at night and Zoloft -- 100mg a day. What side effects are you having? I've heard from others who have had crying spells with Topamax. I did, too at my present dose.That's when my doctor prescribed Zoloft. He said it's an antidepresant that is also used for migraine prevention. I still don't have good control. I know of another migrainer who's taking 200mg Topamax twice a day. When I see my doc next time, I will ask if he thinks a higher dose will help.
Nance, I know of two reasons for starting you on a low dose. (1) A low dose might work for you, and it's better if you don't need a whole lot of medicine. (2) Working up to a higher dose, slowly, helps your body get used to the medicine gradually and reduces the chance of side effects.
I'm still having daily migraines. Fortunately, most of the time I can tolerate them. Only 1 or 2 times a week do I have to resort to escaping to a dark and quiet room.
Hey nance, I am on topamax 200mg daily, I had to build my way up to the dose. The side effects that I had are tingling in hands fingers numbness in face especially around mouth and nose,and weight loss i'd say about 25 pounds. As for the crying spells that others mentioned I had none of that it actually helped me with my depression and I was able to come off of prozac. I have been on it for over 6 months now and the tingling has gone away and the weightloss has platued...my my headaches have gone from 5-6 a week to 2 maybe 3 a week so it was made a great big difference in my life!! I take it a night before I go to bed. I hope you get the same results!! Good luck and let me know. Jess :)
I have a question. I am new here - 2nd day. I would like some info on a subject and have tried twice to post a new topic. Both times it appears to be just a posting even though I am hitting the "new topic" bar. What am I doing wrong??
Make sure you click on new topic and make sure you give a subject heading.
Hope this helps. I will try and write a new post to you, just to review how I do it. I have never had any difficulties before. If it contines ask the moderator of this forum for help. The moderators are excellent and very knowledgable people. judy/effie
Iam new to this site Iam glad to see Iam not alone I love being on topamax I lived with migraines for as long as I can remember so this is a life saver for me I do not like the side effects I was starting to think it was all in my head. I would like to know if anyone out there that still has break through headaches are they more powerful and do they last longer.
I am on Topamax for the second time. Unfortunately, I have not had good results. I could live with the side effects if it helped the migraines, but so far it has not
i have have the best luck with taking on dose in the morning and and one and night have you tried this? i still have headache but they have been cut in half but they have become more intense now that i have started topamax have you or anyone else had this problem?
I just began increasing my Topamax dose again. I've been taking 100mg twice a day for a few months. I'm still having lots of migraines, (nearly every day).
But I can't really say if they're more severe than before Topamax, because: Before Topamax, I was taking Depakote, with excellent migraine control. (Only 1 or 2 migraines a month.) But I was having really bad short term memory loss. Stopping the Depakote helped my memory, but the migraines came back really often.
I saw my doc a couple of days ago and he's having me add 50mg Topamax in the morning for a couple of weeks, then add 50mg at night, also. We are both hoping that helps. He is also having me taper off the Zoloft. I started taking that about a month after I started the Topamax because I was having crying spells, like quite a few people here have mentioned. Well, he showed me a printout that says Zoloft can have the side effect of migraines! So I agreed pretty fast to stop taking that! It's probably one of those side affects that can go either way. For many people, it HELPS migraines, and for a few, it agravates them. He's thinking about what to replace it with. In the meantime, I'm researching several antidepressants myself.
I also take Elavil, 175mg daily. Reducing that had no effect on my memory, so we kept it.
Has anyone had any experience with weight loss with Topamax? I am beginning to get extremely concerned, I have dropped about 20 lbs. since Jan. I am 5'4" and down to 105. I am getting really scared here. I was getting migraines 3-4 times a week and have only had 2 in about the last 6 weeks. i try to force myself to eat but it is pretty hard when you're never hungry. I am on 75 mg 2x a day.
Weight loss is a pretty common side effect I believe. I know I have problems with it. It is very difficult to make your self eat when you are not hungry. My solution is to make myself eat small amounts several times a day. Also I have to make myself drink because it seems I never want to drink water either.
WHEN I READ THE SIDE EFFECTS OF TOPAMAX MY HUSBAND SAID YES THEY HAVE TO LIST THEM BUT NOT EVERYONE GETS THEM! BUT I CAN COME ON HERE AND SEE IT NOT JUST ME OR WHAT IAM DOING OR NOT DOING. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF ANYONE OUT THERE HAS HAD PROBLEMS WITH THERE EYES SINCE THEY HAVE BEEN TAKING IT? OR JOINT PAIN ?
EVEN WITH ALL THE SIDE EFFECTS I WILL STILL GET UP EVERYDAY AND TAKE MY PILL IF IT WILL PREVENT ME FROM HAVING A MIGRAIN HEADACHE YOU CAN LIVE ON THIS "DOPAMAX" OR LIVE DOPED UP ON PAIN MEDS OR JUST LIVE IN PAIN I"LL TAKE THE DOPAMAX
I have recently just started taking Topamax AGAIN, and I am really struggling with the side effects, as I have fallen to my worse trait...my impatience and tapered too quickly!!!
I am up to 200mg already and I have been feeling a little "off." Today is definitely one of those off days so I am trying to be very careful about what I say...to not scare anyone off or terrify someone into not trying Topamax as it can be a wonderful thing....heck, i love it so much I am taking it again...I am just too darn hardheaded to take it nice and slow like I should.
Please someone, relate here....I feel like I am in a fog...(fibro maybe contributing???) I go to say things and can't find the right words, I look at people when they are talking and it takes a minute to understand what they are saying, I am very emotional-extremely happy one minute, sad and almost crying the next and on the verge of being angry, full of energy and then exhausted....hmmm...sounds like med side effects, depression and migraine all mixed together? ha ha ha. I'm ok!
Oh, whoever asked about the eyes...I have had several medications effect my eyes as far as dryness etc. there have even been little warnings or precautions on the information sheets that you get at the pharmacy that say things like dryness may occur or that you may not be able to wear contact lenses while taking x,y,z prescriptions. Just thought I would throw my two cents in!
Sara
(Please don't make fun of this post later....ha ha ha)Sara-Migraine/Headache Forum Moderator
Sara, Sara, Sara......I'm not going to make fun of your post......But.........don't you think you should back off a little on your dope a max? Maybe you went up to 200mg just a little too quickly?
I have my prescription form. Personally, the main side affect I've had with Topamax is the crying spells! Drives my husband nuts!
As far as eye problems goes, my form says "Seek immediate medical attention if any of these RARE eye problems occur: SUDDEN vision change/blurred vision, eye pain or redness."
And "loss of appetite and weight loss may occur." is also listed.
I had spinal surgery a few months ago. I didn't know it then, but one of my medicines caused my taste to be "off." The only things that tasted the way they were supposed to were juice and canned fruit. But, since I needed to lose some weight, and I was bedridden anyway, it wasn't a big problem. By the time I was ready to start getting up and around, I was done with that medicine and my appetite returned. But because of that experience, I can really relate to the problem of not having an appetite. My husband kept cooking, and kept trying to get me to eat, but how can you eat when nothing appeals to you?
I think a good approach would be to make sure you are consuming calorie rich foods when you DO eat. Get some high calorie shakes like you see advertised on TV. Or make your own with fresh bananas and ice cream. Try to drink a shake whenever you take your medicine. Spread a bagel with nutrition packed peanut butter. Munch on raisins, walnuts, & almonds throughout the day. Have something at your fingertips all day long.
If you don't already, start taking a good multi-vitamin. And ask your doctor for any other ideas (s)he might have. Your local community hospital might have a dietician or nutritionist who can help you also.
I started taking Topamax about a month or so ago, you may remember my post. I have had horrible side effects from it. I increased my dosage far too quickly and experienced the following side effects:
Extreme nausea
Weight loss
Dry eyes
Burning muscles
Foggy brain
Memory problems
Dry sweating
Incredibly emotional
Change of taste
Sensitive sense of smell
Inredible fatique
I visited my doctor as well as posting a message which resulted in some really good suggestions including not increasing the dosage until the side effects have subsided. The side effects I'm left with are nausea, weight loss, emotional problems, change of taste, and foggy brain / memory loss. I'm up to 125 mg / day. At 100 mg / day I didn't have the foggy brain / memory loss problems and emotional problems so I may go back to 125 mg. I find the brain challenges the worst because someone will ask you a question and you'll know the answer but it won't come out. It's also embarrassing to start crying at work because someone says the wrong thing to me.
My headaches haven't got any better, in fact they're worse. When I was on neurontin I had headaches 5 out of 7 days. The neurologist felt that this could be reduced with Topamax. My GP says that when the headaches go it will be a slow going to sleep of the headaches but I don't know if I have the patience to wait for that.
I was on a really low dose of Topamax a couple of years ago and had no problems. It seems to be the higher dose. I now know why it has been nick-named dopa-max by some people.
I really think you increased your dose too quickly. I know it's really hard to stay at a low dose if you're still having migraines. But going up gradually is supposed to lessen the chance of bad side effects. Many neurologists prescribe an antidepressant in addition to an anti-spasmodic. Some also prescribe a beta-blocker and/or a calcium channel blocker, two drugs whose initial speciality was for blood pressure control. Talk to your doctor. See if (s)he thinks dose changes or additional meds might be in order.
Thanks! I think you're right about going up too fast. I have reduced my dose again today by 25 mg because the nausea has become unmanageable again. I was at 100 mg and the side effects had subsided to a level where I could live with them but up 25 mg could not. I have an appointment with the neurologist on the 24th and plan to stay at 100 mg until I see him and discuss it with him then.
