Hello,
I was diagnosed with migranes last week, and also started taking topamax 25mg tabs (1 a day for the first week) and naproxen 500mg tabs (for whenever I get headaches). The neurologist said i have to drink a lot of fluids while taking these medications. I play soccer, and I was told to drink even more fluids while playing soccer. Recently, I have been getting the taste of copper or blood in my mouth while playing soccer. Is this good or bad? Why might this be happening? Am I not drinking enough fluids? Is there something else I should be doing? Please help. Thanks!

Call your doctor to find out if this is a side effect of one or both of the meds you're taking.
Better yet, you can check yourself by reading the info that came w/your meds or use Google to check on the web.

I am sorry abot this message I just dont know how to delete it! :p

Hi! I am new to this web site and I am 15. I was diagnosed with migrains about 3 months ago and have been getting them for the past year. I get them in a ring around my head (forhead to behind ears to back of head) They get so bad they make my neck and back hurt so bad I cannot sit up and cry cause of the pain. I take Naproxen (250 mg) and took Vicadine (500 mg) but no longer take it bacause of school(made me loopy) and no longer worked and made me really itchy. But about my Naproxen I have heard some rumors like it can give you cancer and other long term side affects :confused: .Is this true? My doctor told me "Take 1 tablet every 8-12 hrs as neede for headaches" but I take 3 every few hrs If i need it. But My migrains never completly go away even when I took the Vicadine. Why won't anything work?
I also go to a behavior counsler and they said my migrains could be stress related and I have been takin classes to relax and am better but still get them. And they worsen in the sun! But if you can help me and answer my questions that would help. Thank you!
Sincerely, Katie

Hi! I am new to this web site and I am 15. I was diagnosed with migrains about 3 months ago and have been getting them for the past year. I get them in a ring around my head (forhead to behind ears to back of head) They get so bad they make my neck and back hurt so bad I cannot sit up and cry cause of the pain. I take Naproxen (250 mg) and took Vicadine (500 mg) but no longer take it bacause of school(made me loopy) and no longer worked and made me really itchy. But about my Naproxen I have heard some rumors like it can give you cancer and other long term side affects :confused: .Is this true? My doctor told me "Take 1 tablet every 8-12 hrs as neede for headaches" but I take 3 every few hrs If i need it. But My migrains never completly go away even when I took the Vicadine. Why won't anything work?
I also go to a behavior counsler and they said my migrains could be stress related and I have been takin classes to relax and am better but still get them. And they worsen in the sun! But if you can help me and answer my questions that would help. Thank you!
Sincerely, Katie

Katie, any concerns you have about the medications you are taking you need to discuss with your doctor with your parent(s) present.
I am quite sure if there were any dangers, he/she would have discussed with you & your parent(s).

Since you have access to a computer you can do your own research on the side effects of Naproxen by doing a Google search.

Good luck :angel:

Ok your wright and i plan on askin the doc but( I am in Germany) like you said i did my research and this is what I found but the CNN was posted last year!

"The NIH halted the trial, called ADAPT, after data suggested that naproxen raised the risk of heart attack and stroke in study patients."from www.webmd.com

"ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to users of the over-the-counter pain reliever naproxen Monday after federal researchers found an increased number of heart attacks and strokes among users.

The warning followed recent studies linking two prescription arthritis drugs to cardiovascular problems.

Naproxen, sold under the brand name Aleve, was part of a study by the National Institutes of Health into whether naproxen or the arthritis drug Celebrex could be used to treat Alzheimer's disease. NIH researchers halted the survey after finding people who took naproxen were 50 percent more likely to have heart attacks or strokes. (Full story)" from www.cnn.com

Thanx!

Hi Katie,

Sorry to hear that you are having problems and nobody here seemed to help you with your questions.

From what I know and have read many medical people are not big fans of Naproxen. For that reason, unless it is the ONLY thing that has ever helped you, I wouldn't take it.

How often are you having migrianes? You say you have been getting them for a year, but I mean how many days a month do you have a migraine on average? How many days a month are you taking any type of analgesic (Naproxen, tylenol, aspirin, Vicodan etc.).

Have you tried any other types of medication? Much of what your Dr. does will be based on how you answer some of those questions. If you are having migraines 2 or 3 days a month, then he/she probably wouldn't consider trying any preventative medications. If you are having them 25 days a month then that is a different story.

There are a few things that you can do that might help;

-get into a consistant sleeping pattern. Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning. If you can't sleep after 1/2 hour, get out of bed and go read until you are really tired and try again. No matter what though, get up at the same time. (I remember how much I loved sleep when I was a teenager so this might be tough, but try it!!).

-have you tried to change your diet at all? There are some foods that trigger migraines for some folks. Chocolate, red wine (you are too young for that right?), red meat, MSG (in many chinese foods), cheese. If you need a complete list let me know. What you do is to eliminate all of those foods for a period of time. If that helps you then you start reintroducing them one at a time until your h/a get worse again and you know what food is causing them.

-avoid hot showers for a while and stay out of hot tubs.

-eat 4-6 small meals a day and never go without eating something more than 2-3 hours.

-stay hydrated. Drink lots of water (not pop or anything with caffeine or sugar as it works in the opposite way).

-be aware of your intake, if any, of caffeine. Some need to eliminate it completely.

-keep a headache journal. Note when your migraine started, how bad it is on a scale of 1-10, what you took, how well that worked. Note the weather (a change in the weather either way causes some to have migraines).

-you already know about the sun.

There are many other things that you can try. Let us know where you are at and some answers to the questions at the top if you find anything here useful.

Cheers//Chaz

ChuckJR-

I too took Topamax for my migraines and the tast in your mouth is a common side effect; though very annoying. It also affects the way some drink (i.e soda) tastes and makes you no longer crave them as much. It is ESSENTIAL that you drink tons upon tons of water as to aviod kidney stones while on this medication. It is especially important for you and your active lifestyle. Topamax can adversely affect your kidneys if you fail to follow the advice of your physician. Be careful on this stuff because as you titrate up to larger doses (Iwas on 400 mg/day) you may begin to lose your train of thought or become very forgetful. It's sort of like a fog.

I do not know if you know this or not but Topamax is what they call a psychotropic drug and CAN cause depression, drastic mood swings and angry outbursts, so just be careful and look for these signs. If you see them call the doc b/c you can not just stop taking this stuff. You must be weaned off of it. It also stays in your system for a while after you take it so the symptoms may still be present after you are on it. It is a very serious drug so please, please, please be cautious.

Reace

ChuckJR-

Topamax is what they call a psychotropic drug and CAN cause depression, drastic mood swings and angry outbursts,..........
I didn't know this!!!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

I have been on Topamax for 2 1/2 years now & my doctor has never mentioned this, never seen this info mentioned as an side effect on the net or the Topamax materials.

Me & doc gonna have a little talk! :nono: