Side Effects of Topamax or Other Migraine Medications

coquitlam55

I experienced similar side effects to topamax  My current neurologist told me that the previous one had me on too high a dosage.  It was lowered but I still have problems with nausea and have to carry phenergan everywhere I go.  I am trying to give the topamax a chance but have not seen the kind of resuls others here have seemded to.

Keep in touch

This is the first time I have heard of these side effects. I would see my Dr. immediately. If you have a good pharmacist I would talk to him/her also. One side effect I had you need to be careful of is lowered white blood cell count.

Take care and be careful

droll

The key to Topamax is to start at the lowest dosage and stay there until side effects are minimal and then slowly continue to taper up to your desired dosage. I have found that several doctors do not do this at an "optimal" pace. I had to stop Topamax and start over twice now....the slower the better, promise! Talk to your doctor about any side effects or questions- remember you are the one taking the medication and it needs to work for YOU...

Sara

I did start out very slow since last dec. now up to 100mg 2 times a day an just recently beginning the dry mouth with other side effects. But also with other meds flexerill, lexapro mouth drying meds. went to see specialist  along with my dentist and gp all are working with me. I was on Neurontin for nerve pain and that med I gain 50 lbs and and got 11 cavaties and never had a cavitiy in my life was that a shocker. so my gp took me off that and put me on Topamax. I think that is the med that is causing all the problem. So now I have to see an oral surgeon to get the saliva glands open. and see my gp to revaluate my meds . It is not painful , the specialist called it chronic dry mouth it is very very annoying and the salt taste is driving me nuts. He said drink alot of water which I can not it bloats me bad. Oh me .Roz

Hi loved ones :~) Please trust that I am not being negative, just honest. Now, I HATE Topamax and think it should be taken off the market (those that it helps PLEASE dont get angry with me...I love you all). I was put on Topamax for my seizures (see below for all my illnesses), but I still had migraines at the time and it didnt help at all as far as the headaches. Now as far as the sides I thought I was losing my mind (and I was taking a very small dose). I lost 20 lbs in a month, not because I didnt have an appatite, I just spent the month feeling like I was on a bad trip or something. I had all my shades and curtains drawn and stood at the window peeking out the window waiting for the aliens to come and get me. Please dont think I am psycho or lying or nuts, etc. it is true. I am here to help, not hurt anyone. I do not drink or take drugs, except those that are prescribed for me. I am well aware that most migraine sufferers think Fioricet is a joke and yesterdays news. But my friends I swear by it. After 30 years of having grand mal seizures, my brain is beat up. Now, let me say that I would agree about the Fioricet, it is a non event as far as making u feel better. I tried it as I cant take triptans. But have any of u suffers tried Fioricet w/Codeine? I understand if u dont want to take a narcotic pain reliver, however the amount of Codeine is equal to a Tylenol #3 (aka: not much), but with the caffeine, butalbital and acetaminophen it will knock your migraine right out Let me know if u have any further ? as I am an expert with this! One more thing, if u try this med...just be careful and only take it when your headaches are vicious! Hope u try and get better!

Love to you all,
Patti ;~)

 I just wanted to throw my few cents around. I am in between studying for two classes, gotta take a break evry 25 minutes to let my brain absorb all the enough. Anyhow.... I want to say I love my topomax, it has been a dream. I don't want to say it is the only reason I lost weight though, I do have to eat healthy and workout, ( diabetes type II), so I think it was a combo of all. I started topomax after coming of depakote. OHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh depakote, helped quite a bit , but didn't in the weight area. I packed on 20-30, in the six months of depakote. YIKES!!! If you can handle the weight gain it is a terrific drug, unfortunately I couldn't. I know everyone refers to topomax as the dopomax or stupamax , but I haven't seen those side effects yet. I take 100mg, and about to increase to 150mg, the max I will go. The reason is I am in school and can't afford those side effects. I just wanted to say that, every med works different with each one of us. I just need to get my depression under control.Happy posting , love kitty.

Razzle51-

the combination of medications could be contributing to some of your issues....Other medications can make the Topamax feel stronger and alter the side effects making them more pronounced.

Sara

For kittycat27---It IS odd that different people get different side affects from the same drugs. I had trouble with Depakote, too. But my trouble was short term memory loss. My husband would tell me where he was going and would leave the house. The phone would ring and I'd wait for him to answer it. I was recovering from an illness and many people with the same illness had the same memory problem. So it was a couple of years before I asked a new migraine doc if it could be either of my migraine meds. He kept me on the Elavil and took me off the Depakote. Then he put me on Topamax. I'm up to 200mg Topamax, taken 100mg in the morning, and 100mg at night. I don't notice any dopamax that people talk about. And I don't think anyone else has ever mentioned memory trouble with Depakote. But getting off the Depakote cured my memory. Just wish stopping it hadn't brought back the migraines.

I hope you tolerate the Topamax well and don't get those awful side affects. Happy studying!

~~Pegasis

Yes, I have taken Trazodone before and it made me sleep alot, had really dry mouth and packed on the pounds.

Dan and Roz- you can email me at [email protected]

Try that, hopefully that will work! 

Thanks everyone for your input. It was very insightful. Just knowing I'm not alone has been helpful! I'm happy to say that I'm starting to feel better. I drank a Latte and a Cinamon Roll today! I never thought I would be happy to drink and eat those.

I went to the doctor (GP) yesterday and he feels that the extreme nausea was increasing the dosage of the Topamax too fast and the severe headaches reducing it too fast trying to stop the nausea. I have found a happy medium of 25 mg in the morning and 75 mg in the evening. I am going to stay there for one to two weeks and then try adding 25 mg. I really like the suggestion to increase the dosage and not add anymore until the side effects have disappeared.

I realize that my body really reacts to medications and any changes can throw me into turmoil. Someone mentioned feeling you like they were on a bad trip. I have never taken "drugs" that weren't prescription, but I imagine that's how it feels. One 200 mg, when I felt nauseous I also felt like I was bouncing off walls.

Someone else mentioned pain killers and narcotics. I know they work but I just end up in an endless cycle of rebound headaches. I have lost count of the number of times I have gone throgh weaning off narcotic pain killers because if I stop them cold turkey I end up with rebound migraine headaches.

The other challenge I have is that I only see the neurologist every three months. He is very good but doesn't know me very well. He prescribes what generally works and because I tend to be very sensitive to medications I often suffer at this hands. I now go back to my GP with his recommendations and we work out a plan, because my GP knows my a lot better.

I also get BOTOX injections for my migraines. They are about 50% successful and when I'm old enough to get wrinkles I won't. My extended health (Canadian medical coverage for prescriptions) covers the cost ($400) because it is prescribed as a medical necessity. The only problem is that it takes 19 injections in my forehead and that triggers a migraine every time.

I've rambled long enough. I just wanted to share my week's challenges and successes. Thanks again for everyone's input. It's nice to know to have others to bounce ideas off of. 

hello,

  about a month ago I was put on topamax and I encountered a similar reaction where my migraines increased (so I'm glad I'm not alone there) My question is, has anyone experienced any gland swelling?  I know it sounds weird but I have had 2 occurrances of what I am assuming are the lymph glands behind my right ear and near my left jugular being swollen and painful.  I am not sick and this has never happened before...even when I have a sore throat is bilateral!  Just wondering if its the medication or it I should be freaking out about lymph cancer or something like that.

She started me off on 50mg 1x a day which according to pamphlet is pretty standard.....and dear god I hope I don't have to be on it for years, my doctor said just a couple months to balance things out....is years standard? not a fan of drugs unless its the last possible resort (because they do thing like make my glands swell and make my hypocondryia act up) But thank you for imput, I will definately check with my doctor to see if this is normal. I have an appointment in 2 weeks. I'm very glad to hear the medication is working well for you...migraines suck. :P