My doctor has prescribed Topomax for my migraines. Anyone else take it? Pros/Cons??
I did and it caused me to have depression and I slept a lot. I was so not myself. Certain foods tasted weird.
Try it and see what happens. Sometimes you have to go through different meds to see what works for you.
Yes, I have and will never take it again.
I had side effects from it my doctor hadn't heard of and had to call the company. I guess they were severe enough that he was legally obligated to report to them.
My cousin takes it without a problem.
A co-worker took it and was hospitalized. I met her after my experience.
I personally would advise not taking it and discussing an alternative. There are a lot of different treatment options available. I have another appt scheduled with my neurologist to discuss Botox as an option. It's not exactly like what ppl do for wrinkles, and is becoming more wide spread for migraine treatment.
I am not a doctor, but you may want to bring it up to yours.
I have taken it for migraines for a very long time, maybe 8 or 9 years. I take a high dose(300 mg./day) for my size, too, and have relatively decent success with it. I also do Botox on my scalp every 3 months and have fair success with that, too.
I don't have bad side-effects. Whenever I change the dose of Topamax I have memory issues, but only for a few weeks; then I'm back to normal. I also have a little tingling in my hands and feet, but only for a few minutes in the mornings, and it doesn't bother me. Other than that, I'm FREEZING all the time, even in our Texas heat. It's not a listed side-effect, but I know it has to do with the Topamax because it gets worse when the dosage is higher.
It does cause weight loss at first, and I have to be careful not to lose too much because I'm a small person. My neurologist watches my weight closely.
Good luck. Migraines are awful.
I stopped taking it because it screwed with my emotions. In other words, I got a lot more upset than I normally would while taking it. Just keep that in mind.
It also can aid in weight loss! I was prescribed it and didn't want to take it because I read a common side effect was that it can mess with short term memory. Exercise, yoga, drink water, look at the foods you eat, and also determine the cause. Mine are hormonal. They come every month. I haven't seen a neurologist but I would before I took topomax.
Here's a link to a similar question from a few months ago:
http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/371086455029891073
I will repeat part of my reply from that question. If this is your primary care doc prescribing topomax, I would recommend seeing a neurologist because, in my experience, they offer more options.
I've been on it, but it stopped working so I stopped taking it.
It gave me tingling feeling in my fingers and/or toes - it was sporadic, but still weird.
It also made some foods taste weird.
Finally (and the worst) was that I had a hard time remembering words. I'd look at something and knew that I knew the word for it, but couldn't seem to remember it. I'd also forget weird stuff - one day I was shelving books in the library, and I couldn't alphabetize!
But as a migraine preventative? It did OK for about 2 years.
