Posted by Sooshi on January 16, 2004, at 10:52:47
In reply to Re: Starting on Topomax for Migraines. Advice anyone?, posted by miggis on January 14, 2004, at 6:12:54
Miggis and Ren,
I don't take Topamax for migraines, but I thought I could answer some of your questions about the side effects. I take 200mg/twice a day. Almost all the se's you are experiencing will fade the longer you are on the medication, except when you titrate up on your dosage, in which they will come back for a while.The tingling face, fingers, feet, etc. will still come and go but not nearly as much...for me, it's mostly that my feet just fall asleep a lot faster than usual and tingle a lot more when waking up!
The sleepiness went away once I adjusted to and settled on my dosage after about a month or so. I also take an anti-depressant though, so this may help with the grogginess, so take that into consideration.
The cognitive se's ("stupids") have now virtually gone, but were quite bothersome at first. I was unable to recall even the simplest of names and such, but now, all in all, I seem to have simply adjusted to the medication well and any cognitive problems I was having have gone away.
You must drink tons of water to prevent dry mouth, eyes, skin, hair, and kidney stones! I had very bad eye pain when I first started Topa, because I became dehydrated....now I have no "dryness" issues at all. I have not experienced any hair loss, but apparently this is a problem with some Topa users.
Topamax does have the unfortunate side effect of causing depression in some individuals, so you may want to keep an eye out for that (a poster named "Murphia" discusses this if you want to search the archives).
So basically, for me, I have adjusted to Topamax quite well, and am experiencing very little in the way of se's, after having experiencing quite a lot in the beginning....so hang in there!
poster:Sooshi
thread:50878
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040114/msgs/301588.html