Recently Dx w/ Seizures and Migraines - Topamax Q.

I was diagnosed with seizures (affecting the left side of my brain) and migraines - this week! Long time with symptoms, just finally got the referral to the neurologist who did the tests.

I am on my 2nd full day of Topamax and having awful headaches! It's kind of a constant headache that just hasn't let up since that first dose 2 days ago. I'm willing to go the length of this if there is an end in sight. Does it take awhile before the initial headaches wear off? Do most people get "starter" headaches with this drug?

Already after 2 days, I can't stand the taste of Diet Coke and that's really the ONLY thing I ever drink. Milk tastes sour and food in general has become kind of gross. Other than potato chips :)

I've read a lot of negative, with little positive, about this drug, online, so far. Is it all really that bad?

How large of a dose did they start you on? I did not get the soda effect until 75mg. It did taste AWFUL at first. But now it doesn't taste bad, just flat. I can't sense carbonation at all. I can be watching a glass bubble away, obviously fully carbonated, and it tastes as flat as a soda that has been left out all night. I went up in 25mg per week increments. I had a 24/7 migraine to start with, so I can't say that I noticed a change in headache when I started it, so I can't answer that question. At 50 mg, I had several headache free hours per day, which was a Godsend for me. I am now at 125mg daily and am for the most part migraine free. For me, being largely migraine free has been worth what I consider to be the minor inconvenience of the side effects, but everyone reacts differently to medications, and it is an individual decision as to what is tolerable. Giving up soda to be migraine free was a small concession for me :) I've lost some weight, and I go through periods of time where food holds little interest to me, so when I have a craving, I indulge, regardless of what it is for. When I first started, and when my dose adjusted, there was a few days where many foods tasted strange, but that usually went away once my body adjusted to the new dosage. The soda thing has not. I've been on topamax since May. I get the standard tingling in my hands and feet, but it is transient and usually only lasts a few minutes at a time. Compared to the debilitating pain of the migraines, I'm fine with the trade-off. It took about 3 months to get me to the dose I am at and get my migraines stabilized.

I was a bit apprehensive of what I read on the internet too, but then I had to remind myself that people who are happy with a product or service rarely take the time to put a review out on the internet, or anywhere else. Have a complaint, and we tell tons of people. Have a compliment, we tell a few. So I try to remember that for every horror story out there, there is likely a lot more people who had positive results and never had the idea to go post their experience on a web site. :) I wish you the best in your search for pain relief. If topamax winds up not being for you, I hope that your doctors are able to find something that does help you with your pain.

You might want to consult your physician again. I was a Topax "experiment exhibit" before it became approved due to all of my migraines. They told us in the study flat out you work yourself up to it. I started on 10 mg for a few weeks then to 25 mg. At first it seemed like it wasnt working. A month after I started taking it, I went from my 20 migraines a month to 3 to 4 migraines a month. I had the real deal. It was a 3 month study. then it was approved by the fda and my doctor kept me on it til I found my triggers. Topamax is a medication for seizures and migraines.