originally I was prescribed 400 mg of topamax for epilepsy when I was 14 and I began to notice side effects lke anxiety,my periods never became regular I constantly got headaches and was such a ***** . I've been reading up on the side effect of topamax and have found that those are all side effects .And symptoms that I began to experience more and more as i was on topamax . Now I am on 100 mg and I can actually talk without sounding like a idiot.
Before topamax I was prescribed depakote which i never noticed any bad side effects from but all of my doctors say that it is the worst medicine for a young girl to be put on , apparently it can cause hormone issues .
I believe allot of my symptoms may be attributable to topamax but i dont know where to go to find out anything ,or what is supposed to happen to me when I am being taken off topamax ,(im being taken off now ),and my doctors certainly don't give a crap about helping.
hi i was on it for 6 months fine,woke up one morning and went crazy .i was put in hospital for 3 days lowered strength of the the drugs.but 2 days later i was put back in hospital for 1week but i was that bad that my parents put me in the psychiatric ward .the way i was seemed like schizophrenia but was classed as by doctors (psychotic episode) .its unbelievable what it can do to your brain.the best thing that happened to me was when i was taken off it . thanks
I was recently increased to 100 mg. 2x/day and so far, the only problems I've experienced with this drug is horrible stomach problems. I'm enjoying the weight loss I'm seeing, but the stomach/gastric problems are endless, I can barely eat. Will mention this to the dr. on my next visit. Glad to hear this dosage is working well for you, I hope to be able to remain on it as well as it is controlling my seizures.
I had every adverse side effect to "dumb as rocks" syndrome to eye pain (I had to go to ER this weekend for that and today I am seeing an opthalmologist.) to waking up one morning w/ double vision. Leg cramps, insomina, headaches (yeah, I know that the max is used to treat headaches but it's actually documented to CAUSE headaches in 25% of those patients who take it), anxiety, depression, speech problems, insane memory problems (I studied theatre, used to memorize pages and pages of dialogue and it got so bad I couldn't memorize a sentence). I would sit in job interviews (I lost my job right after going on topamax, and my insurance which left me stuck on this drug since my neurologist got it for me for free and refused to help me get on anohter patient assistance program) and space out, couldn't remember what I was asked. They probably thought I was crazy. Finally had to move back int with my mom to wean off the stuff. Am charging Keppra to my credit card, getting help through county. As I wean, I have bizarre side effects like sensitivity to odor, joint pain but my cognitive functionality is coming back and my memory is better. Still not 100 percent. My eyes are a disaster. I'm in pain right now.
I wouldn't recommend this drug to everybody. If your body doesn't mesh with it, the results can be devastating.
Quote:
Originally Posted by geye
originally I was prescribed 400 mg of topamax for epilepsy when I was 14 and I began to notice side effects lke anxiety,my periods never became regular I constantly got headaches and was such a ***** . I've been reading up on the side effect of topamax and have found that those are all side effects .And symptoms that I began to experience more and more as i was on topamax . Now I am on 100 mg and I can actually talk without sounding like a idiot.
Before topamax I was prescribed depakote which i never noticed any bad side effects from but all of my doctors say that it is the worst medicine for a young girl to be put on , apparently it can cause hormone issues .
I believe allot of my symptoms may be attributable to topamax but i dont know where to go to find out anything ,or what is supposed to happen to me when I am being taken off topamax ,(im being taken off now ),and my doctors certainly don't give a crap about helping.
Depa can cause hair thinning and weight gain. I gained a good 30 pounds on it. I was on at least 2000 or 2500 of Depa/day (ya, pinks are 500s).
Not being female I can't help you there.
IF, big keyword there, if you can see a specalist; Epileptologist, see what they may say. Thats if you don't mind changing Dr's. I wish mine didn't change fields from epilepsy only to sleep study. I'm back to a normal neurologist now. Anyway. That educated breed of Dr may be of more help to you.
It's rare that we are brought back to an old medication. So keep that in mind. They tend to try us on new ones our bodies have not seen yet. You can mention how the Depakote worked for you if you end up changing Dr's... but if you change Dr's, give the new one a chance. Especially if they are a specalist.
I was put on Depakote for an autonomic neurological disorder, and had tremors so bad, I had to stop it. Been on Dilantin, Keppra, Lyrica, with ok results with the Dilantin, til I was given 700mg/day, and my liver rebelled. The Keppra caused constipation I won't even describe, and the Lyrica was useless. I'm on Neurontin for the autonomic disorder, but it seems to help with the seizures, along with Tegretol, Klonopin, and as needed Ativan.... I'm wondering if this old body just deals with old meds
Real quick comment relating to last post. Lyrica originally was put out for Diabetes patients. For some reason they discovered it helpfull in cases of seizures (epilepsy) and how it works in the neurological system.
My friend had to get off it in less than 2 weeks for how she reacted. I'm sure there are much better responses than that case for it working well. However it being such a newly approved drug (a year or two) for neurological seizures I have not heard much.
Lyrica is a metabolite of Neurontin- which has been found to be good for many disorders. I was given it for the autonomic disorder to try, when I was unable to afford Neurontin (on Medicaid- no prescription coverage). It's still considered an anticonvulsant since it's an offshoot of Neurontin- I hope it works better for neuropathic pain than it did for autonomic symptoms
I think it's great that they keep looking for better meds for epilepsy, but so far, I haven't been impressed with the 'new' ones I've tried. I haven't tried Lamictal, Zonegran, or some of the others, but I also don't do well on most meds, so prefer to do the ones that can be tapered slowly up and down. At least with the Topamax, they've got the 25mg tablets, so I can use small doses..... and the plan is to get rid of the Tegretol (which had been working) but now they're calling the seizures refractory.
One doc mentioned a VNS.....but, with the autonomic disorder, I may end up with a cardiac pacemaker, and I can't imagine a magnet being much good for that....
I was on topamax for only a week and had to stop b/c of eye pain. I have been off it for a few months and am still having discomfort in my left eye. Did your eye pain go away? Are you still on it?
Thanks
I can tell you my husband had been on most of the anti seizure drugs. On Depakote he gained a lot of weight, lost lots of hair, had terrible tremors, saw double often and it made him irritable. On Keppra he had the outburst of rage. On topamax the word recall was really bad. Right now lamictal seems to be ok. He hasn't noticed much, but all medication react differently on everyone. Just thought I would post some info. Good Luck
My dad and neighbor (the only two people I have any contact with) were horrified at how bad I'd gotten on Topamax- like a zombie, word finding trouble, always dead tired, etc. The "dumb as rocks" description sounds like how I felt, and came across to those who know me.
Side effects of TOPAMAX 
