I, too, am originally from Kansas. We used to refer to Topeka as "Topuka."
Everytime I think of Kansas I think of Dorothy and Tornado's. I really do, red ruby slippers and yellow brick roads. I am a a**, like they reallly have that in Kansas, well they probably have the shoes at a shoe store and yellow bricks for people who like yellow brick houses. I have no clue why I am posting here. I think I like to hear myself talk. 
Back from the knee surgery and - gasp - walking!
Shannon -
thanks for the support & fun comments. Kansas City is large enough that there's a good mix of viewpoints & greater level of tolerance for such. My sister lives in Austin. I love their winters but the summers . . . even hotter than here? I dunno. That was one thing I loved about San Diego. Even the heat wasn't humid, and the temps topped-out about 1 p.m., so it was pretty nice by early evening. The divorce is almost over (dancin' with a limp!).
Dobson -
Topuka? I missed that one (don't know how) but sorry to say it hits the spot! (Apologies to any Topeka fans)
Hope you're all doing as well as possible. I'm coming out of a nasty depression & better in that sense but emotions right at the surface (you should see all the things I cry at that I see on tv, many are happy tears at least!).
Trish
Hi, Trish -
so glad your surgery is over with! did you have it in Sept as scheudled? My dad had it last Jan and did really well a month later with the rehab and he's 64!
Did you divorce go thru yet? Are you still planning on going thru with it?
I'm sorry to hear of your depression, but GLAD you're coming out of it! I know how the crying at every little thing is; esp the good things, lol. I actually like that, am I weird or what. Esp. songs I like, lol. Goosebumps and then tears streaming. Drop of a hate crying, it's like that esp in fall, we've all been experiencing pretty big mood swings and it's the most likely time for depression. I hope you're keeping n touch with your pdoc!
Glad to see you back,
Shannon
Variety is the spice of life, BP is the key
Variety is the spice of life, BP is the key
Shannon2, I was ton topamax 200mg and did loose weight but that is about the only benefit I got from it. I had the side effects you get building up, tingly and headache, that sort of thing, but that all went away after a short time. But, I did get a llittle dumber!! And god knows I can't afford that! Now I'm on Abilify and I sing it's praises. I am able to control my eating and I'm not as dumb as a brick.
Good luck to you whatever you choose.
Sandra
Good luck to you whatever you choose.
Sandra
BP brings new meaning to Life's Little Ups and Downs
I defo second that about ABilify - I have been on everything except Topamax, not gonna go there, dont need the dopey effect, but since I added Abilify whoa! Best I've ever been. Didn't quit any of the others, but it was the icing on the cake. Good mood every day, way less sensitive to criticism, and I dont take accidental comments to me as always an insult! I have NEVER been like this, calm serene, not dopey and still have a sense of humour. It didnt change my personality at all, just made it better. Awesome med!
Variety is the spice of life, BP is the key
Variety is the spice of life, BP is the key
Hi, Shannon,
Actually, the operation was in mid-August. I just spent a lot of time molting during the earlier parts of my recovery.
The divorce should be final within the next month or two 
, I'm a little confused about something with the dates & need to call my atty's office about it, but the settlement papers were just filed.
, I'm a little confused about something with the dates & need to call my atty's office about it, but the settlement papers were just filed.I have my first appt. with my new pdoc on Monday (all these moves with the divorce going on). I hope I'll be staying with the same one for a while, finally!
Happy Halloween!
Trish
Hi, Trish!
I'm glad you are feeling good still about the divorce, you will be so much better of emotionally ,and I hope you got a good settlement, lol! 
Don't know much about Austin, but summers here average 98 degrees and humid. Absolutely miserable and this year had a 5 day run of 100+ in March!!! No break one of the worst in the 20 years I've been here, but the last week has been awesome, 70's like California, I have just been fantasizing.........lol. Actually could open windows, breeze too, what a treat!
Keep healing, I hope it is almost there, and happy Halloween to you too, one of my fave holidays!
Shannon
Variety is the spice of life, BP is the key
Bipolar, 300mg, daily not stupid, holding down a wonderful job in the medical field for the first time in 10 years, the weight loss is a fact my weight is down from 235 pounds, been over 200 all my life, to 160 pounds for the 4 years I have been on Topomax. My therapist insists that I should be the Topomax posterchild because I am level and staying that way. I have been on many different meds over the course of the past 25 years and this is the ONLY treatment that has consistantly worked for me.
I take 50mg of topamax twice a day in combination with 75mg of seroquel {3x a day} and 25mg of naltraxone {once a day}. I've been on topamax and seroquel since march, I got put on it while in a psych hospital. My medicines before that were trileptal and abilify.. so going from those 2 to seroquel and topamax was a big change, well going from any medicine is different I guess. I've noticed that the topamax does make me feel slightly slow, I forget my words and try and think about what I have to say a lot {usually I'm sharp sometimes I'm not though} and I mix up words like 'little girl' I'll say 'gittle lirl' etc. -so embarrasing lol, it really is :/
the seroquel makes me gain weight, and I'm on a low dose.. not even gain a ton of weight just EAT constantly!! the topamax doesn't even help w/ reducing appetite or losing weight, I don't think at least.. well who knows what I'd be like without it I guess? I might get an increase in a month. I just got started on naltraxone 2 weeks or so ago to help w/ urges to cut {it's used mostly for alcohol and opiates}
hope I helped a little (:
best of luck
-col
"Narcissus died because he could only
the seroquel makes me gain weight, and I'm on a low dose.. not even gain a ton of weight just EAT constantly!! the topamax doesn't even help w/ reducing appetite or losing weight, I don't think at least.. well who knows what I'd be like without it I guess? I might get an increase in a month. I just got started on naltraxone 2 weeks or so ago to help w/ urges to cut {it's used mostly for alcohol and opiates}
hope I helped a little (:
best of luck
-col
"Narcissus died because he could only
love his image at the expense of himself."
*I meant to type that I take 75mg of seroquel total a day, sorry
"Narcissus died because he could only
"Narcissus died because he could only
love his image at the expense of himself."
Hi Everyone,
I just thought I might add my own two cents regarding Topamax; in other words.. my personal experience regarding this specific drug for my Bipolar Dx. It might be noted that many ppl are initially drawn to Topamax due to its appetite supression appeal. And being the addition to a Bp cocktail, Topamax might very well be the drug to balance a persons appetite. I can say that I had some very, very adverse reactions to Tpmx. I just want to forewarn ppl that the aftermath of being on a drug such as Tpmx (or any other drug where one suffers adverse reactions from) can be devastating. There is the always the possiblity of wondeful outcomes, yes.. but for myself.. it was devastating. Within 3 months of being on Tpmx, I came to have some deeply suicidal thoughts. I also became angry-- with my family, the world.. my treasured dog (whom I love more than anything). All of these feelings causing me to feel terrible guilt which therefore heightened my suicidal feelings. I felt as if I had drifted so very far from myself; I no longer knew the woman I once was. I lost all self-confidence, became completely self-critical and drew away from all those who love me. I also became increasingly paranoid and perhaps the most difficult for me to deal with when on this particular med was the overwhelming anxiety that accompanied me day in and day out-- it was incessant. I had always considered myself to be a somewhat articulate teenager and young woman. However, on Topomax I found I had lost the majority of my word-finding ablilty. I found this very embarassing. I found myself to be 'spaced out' all the time-- ALL THE TIME. I could no longer hold down a full-time job. I went on disability. My short-term memory seemed to have completely deterioated. The effects were simply overwhelming. I had been on multiple drugs prior to Tpmx for my Bp with no luck in the stability of my overall mood, but had never experienced such negative side effects such as the ones listed when on Topamax.
But listen.. this is just my story. I am simply one of millions of people who have used the drug Tpmx for Bp, or to control seizures or migraines, and I have heard of Tpmx working very well for some. I am simply recommending that all who consider taking this drug proceed with extreme caution, as with any other pharmaceutical drug. We have to be proactive about our health, yes.. this is true-- but be smart, please be very, very smart. Always consider your well-being. And with regard to Topomax and the perks of weight-loss? If you try Tpmx and find you are, in fact, losing weight.. but are receiving no other benefits.. please, please, please.. get off the drug. It is not worth it. You know it is not worth it.. doesn't take me to tell you.
If you are taking a drug and are really feeling unlike yourself.. talk to someone, talk to qualified people. I know that the Bp road (specifically) is a very hard road and that sometimes we feel as if it is actually ourselves we cannot trust. But never falter. I still truly believe, in all essence, that we know ourselves the very best-- whole, whole-heartidly. So please keep these words near. I wish all of you happiness.. and good fortune on this walk of life that we all must walk. Take long strides.. or short strides; stride in whatever fashion suits you best. All that matters is getting there, getting here, getting somewhere.. getting to a place that feels good in your bones and knowing you are never, ever alone in your troubles.
Peace and love,
Meg
I just thought I might add my own two cents regarding Topamax; in other words.. my personal experience regarding this specific drug for my Bipolar Dx. It might be noted that many ppl are initially drawn to Topamax due to its appetite supression appeal. And being the addition to a Bp cocktail, Topamax might very well be the drug to balance a persons appetite. I can say that I had some very, very adverse reactions to Tpmx. I just want to forewarn ppl that the aftermath of being on a drug such as Tpmx (or any other drug where one suffers adverse reactions from) can be devastating. There is the always the possiblity of wondeful outcomes, yes.. but for myself.. it was devastating. Within 3 months of being on Tpmx, I came to have some deeply suicidal thoughts. I also became angry-- with my family, the world.. my treasured dog (whom I love more than anything). All of these feelings causing me to feel terrible guilt which therefore heightened my suicidal feelings. I felt as if I had drifted so very far from myself; I no longer knew the woman I once was. I lost all self-confidence, became completely self-critical and drew away from all those who love me. I also became increasingly paranoid and perhaps the most difficult for me to deal with when on this particular med was the overwhelming anxiety that accompanied me day in and day out-- it was incessant. I had always considered myself to be a somewhat articulate teenager and young woman. However, on Topomax I found I had lost the majority of my word-finding ablilty. I found this very embarassing. I found myself to be 'spaced out' all the time-- ALL THE TIME. I could no longer hold down a full-time job. I went on disability. My short-term memory seemed to have completely deterioated. The effects were simply overwhelming. I had been on multiple drugs prior to Tpmx for my Bp with no luck in the stability of my overall mood, but had never experienced such negative side effects such as the ones listed when on Topamax.
But listen.. this is just my story. I am simply one of millions of people who have used the drug Tpmx for Bp, or to control seizures or migraines, and I have heard of Tpmx working very well for some. I am simply recommending that all who consider taking this drug proceed with extreme caution, as with any other pharmaceutical drug. We have to be proactive about our health, yes.. this is true-- but be smart, please be very, very smart. Always consider your well-being. And with regard to Topomax and the perks of weight-loss? If you try Tpmx and find you are, in fact, losing weight.. but are receiving no other benefits.. please, please, please.. get off the drug. It is not worth it. You know it is not worth it.. doesn't take me to tell you.
If you are taking a drug and are really feeling unlike yourself.. talk to someone, talk to qualified people. I know that the Bp road (specifically) is a very hard road and that sometimes we feel as if it is actually ourselves we cannot trust. But never falter. I still truly believe, in all essence, that we know ourselves the very best-- whole, whole-heartidly. So please keep these words near. I wish all of you happiness.. and good fortune on this walk of life that we all must walk. Take long strides.. or short strides; stride in whatever fashion suits you best. All that matters is getting there, getting here, getting somewhere.. getting to a place that feels good in your bones and knowing you are never, ever alone in your troubles.
Peace and love,
Meg
Hello there,
I have read through many of your posts and am glad to see there are good things to Topamax. I just thought I would take a moment to share an experience that occurred recently with my girlfriend and I.
My girlfriend takes Topamax primarily for frequent headaches and migraines, but I have come to learn it is prescribed for a wide spectrum ailments. She also is bipolar takes Lamictal (a fairly common drug) for that.
Anyways, I felt to need to inform people of what happened to her. It was a Friday night and we were about to watch a TV series in my bedroom. I was going to grab the DVD out of a bag on the floor in my room and she just ran up to me and hugged me really hard. She is real cute and does things like that occasionally so I didn't really think much of it at the time. After about a minute I tried to push her off and she tried hugging me even harder. She then looked up at me with a look of horror in her eyes and then and jumped onto my bed. She was kneeling on my bed and grabbing her head and I suddenly had no idea what the hell was going on. I immediately sat down next to her and comforted her and tried to figure out what was wrong. I was pretty scared...
She then kept saying she didn't know what was going on and to call 9-1-1. I wanted to make sure I knew what was wrong first before it came to that but she was having such severe pain in her head and then out of nowhere she started screaming loud, and I mean like someone is trying to murder you loud. I ran my butt downstairs and grabbed my dad and had him come up and had my sister call the 9-1-1 operator while I stayed and comforted her. Then she decided to lay down on her stomach on my bed and began to hyperventilate. She was having a hard time trying to calm down and she kept saying things to me that made me quite sad...
She started spilling out her final words to me like right out of a movie saying things like... "I love you... I'm not gonna make it. Tell my brother.... Make sure you tell Chris and John...."
I hadn't been more scared in my life. I kept saying, "You'll be fine babe, just breathe, you can't leave me like this. I know you can do it!"
To that she would just shake her head and say things like, "No, it's okay, it's my time..."
Long story short, the paramedics came and by then she had calmed down. Apparently she had no recollection of what happened in my room. While the paramedics were looking her over in my room, I was speaking with her mother on the phone and she had a similar episode a week prior to the the night of the incident, just less intense according to her mother. Scary, ya think?
Without getting any more in depth, it turned out she was just fine. I guess the big question here is if this has happened to anyone else and if it hasn't, you better make darn sure you and your doctor have an understanding of the side effects of this drug.
After the paramedics and all of them left, I found out that Topamax is known to cause: Hyperventilation, Tingling sensations in the limbs, weight loss, fatigue, difficulty trying to concentrate, and many more side effects. The scary thing is that she claimed to of experienced all of these side effects while on the medication.
If you want to know more about what happened from her perspective, then perhaps I will add another post, but for now I want to see your initial reactions to this event.
I have read through many of your posts and am glad to see there are good things to Topamax. I just thought I would take a moment to share an experience that occurred recently with my girlfriend and I.
My girlfriend takes Topamax primarily for frequent headaches and migraines, but I have come to learn it is prescribed for a wide spectrum ailments. She also is bipolar takes Lamictal (a fairly common drug) for that.
Anyways, I felt to need to inform people of what happened to her. It was a Friday night and we were about to watch a TV series in my bedroom. I was going to grab the DVD out of a bag on the floor in my room and she just ran up to me and hugged me really hard. She is real cute and does things like that occasionally so I didn't really think much of it at the time. After about a minute I tried to push her off and she tried hugging me even harder. She then looked up at me with a look of horror in her eyes and then and jumped onto my bed. She was kneeling on my bed and grabbing her head and I suddenly had no idea what the hell was going on. I immediately sat down next to her and comforted her and tried to figure out what was wrong. I was pretty scared...
She then kept saying she didn't know what was going on and to call 9-1-1. I wanted to make sure I knew what was wrong first before it came to that but she was having such severe pain in her head and then out of nowhere she started screaming loud, and I mean like someone is trying to murder you loud. I ran my butt downstairs and grabbed my dad and had him come up and had my sister call the 9-1-1 operator while I stayed and comforted her. Then she decided to lay down on her stomach on my bed and began to hyperventilate. She was having a hard time trying to calm down and she kept saying things to me that made me quite sad...
She started spilling out her final words to me like right out of a movie saying things like... "I love you... I'm not gonna make it. Tell my brother.... Make sure you tell Chris and John...."
I hadn't been more scared in my life. I kept saying, "You'll be fine babe, just breathe, you can't leave me like this. I know you can do it!"
To that she would just shake her head and say things like, "No, it's okay, it's my time..."
Long story short, the paramedics came and by then she had calmed down. Apparently she had no recollection of what happened in my room. While the paramedics were looking her over in my room, I was speaking with her mother on the phone and she had a similar episode a week prior to the the night of the incident, just less intense according to her mother. Scary, ya think?
Without getting any more in depth, it turned out she was just fine. I guess the big question here is if this has happened to anyone else and if it hasn't, you better make darn sure you and your doctor have an understanding of the side effects of this drug.
After the paramedics and all of them left, I found out that Topamax is known to cause: Hyperventilation, Tingling sensations in the limbs, weight loss, fatigue, difficulty trying to concentrate, and many more side effects. The scary thing is that she claimed to of experienced all of these side effects while on the medication.
If you want to know more about what happened from her perspective, then perhaps I will add another post, but for now I want to see your initial reactions to this event.
Post Edited (badandywsu) : 7/16/2007 5:52:42 PM (GMT-6)