Guest guest Posted July 25, 2003 Report Share Posted July 25, 2003 Dear Friends, I'll try to tone it down, does anyone here use Topamax? I am on a gradual increase schedule of +25 a week and am now up to 150mgs a day take half morning and half around 7. I need to go to bed around 9 but recently have been having trouble falling asleep. Could it be the Topamax. Have a good day. I'll try to act normal. Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 25, 2003 Report Share Posted July 25, 2003 I was using Topamax for awhile but stopped because of it causing me some sleepless nights and it also affected another part of my anatomy which shall go un-named at this time. This is why I am now on Wellbutrin instead because it doesn't affect that area. Topamax? I'll try to tone it down, does anyone here use Topamax? Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 25, 2003 Report Share Posted July 25, 2003 , I found Topamax almost immediately effective for reducing breakthough pain but not as effective now but still effective for reducing nerve pain like electric shocks. I am happily divorced and miserably celebate but after a week I stopped Topamax because I could not function as a teacher it had me so mentally wacked out. I am no longer teaching and so resumed the med, the dosage I am on is itself disabling. Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 25, 2003 Report Share Posted July 25, 2003 It never helped with my pain levels at all. I was being given this med for sleep in a very low dose but like I stated it caused problems with another area of my anatomy that I didn't care to have a problem with. I hadn't heard that it would give you brain fog once you started getting into the higher doses. I'm glad I'm no longer taking it. I hope that it works better for you and if not your doctor tries something new for you. What type of pain are you dealing with each day? Re: Topamax? Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 27, 2003 Report Share Posted July 27, 2003 I've been taking Topamax (100mg twice a day) since approximately last August or so in the treatment of bipolar disorder. I switched from Depakote, which was less effective, and made me gain 50lbs. in about 6 months. When I started taking Topamax, I was in the middle of a highly severe, and very painful reaction to Levaquin and steroids. It helped get my BPD well under control, but did nothing for my pain. At that time, I didn't even know it was USED to treat pain! I can't go over the amount I take now, or I'm a zombie like others have stated here. Now comes the unusual part. I'm one year and one month post- reaction to Levaquin, and was diagnosed with FM and chronic tendonitis in May. I also have Baker's cysts on the backs of both knees. Last week, I ran out of Topamax and kept forgetting to get it refilled. I ended up missing 5 doses. On the day of the 5th missed dose, I noticed that my pain was highly diminished. I looked up the side effects on the net, and some of the rare ones include leg and joint pain, 2 of the things that I suffer from. Now it's got me wondering if it hasn't been " some " part of the pain problem. I would have never noticed these side effects back when I started taking it, as I was already suffering severe pain from the Levaquin ADR. Now I'm in a quandry. I know I need to keep taking this medication to remain stable, but I don't want to keep taking a drug that could very well be a source of some of my pain! It's hard, because I'm really happy with how well it's controlled the manic episodes, and that it helped me to lose most of the weight I gained on Depakote. I ramped up pretty slowly on it, and my psych stopped at the lowest possible effective dose, so it doesn't leave me unable to function. Has Topamax CAUSED anyone else to have more pain? I would really appreciate hearing from you if it did. I could use that kind of back-up info to take to my psych when I go to see him in August. He's very supportive, and I don't think he'll doubt what I'm saying, but I'd like to be able to report other stories to him. Thanks in advance! Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2003 Report Share Posted July 28, 2003 Jen said: > >I've been taking Topamax (100mg twice a day) since approximately >last August or so in the treatment of bipolar disorder. I switched >from Depakote, which was less effective, and made me gain 50lbs. in >about 6 months. > > ! It's hard, because I'm >really happy with how well it's controlled the manic episodes, and >that it helped me to lose most of the weight I gained on Depakote. >Hi Jen Have you considered taking Geodon? My son is having good control of his manic episodes with Geodon,Lamictal and Klonopin. Geodon is a fairly new antispychotic that does not cause weight gain. Lamictal is a fairly new anticonvulsant that I has made a profound improvement in my depressive states. (I am more depressive than manic) Neither drug makes any claims about pain control that I have heard of. Good luck Kaylene > > _________________________________________________________________ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2003 Report Share Posted July 28, 2003 { Extraneous text deleted by Moderator } Hi Kaylene, Thanks for the suggestions. I will ask my psych about these drugs when I go to see him. I like to be able to go in " informed " about my choices! I'm pretty evenly divided on the manic/depressive states, and I'm a rapid cycler. I'm kind of scared to attempt a different med, since I'm so well controlled, but I also don't want to keep taking Topamax if it IS causing some of my pain. But if it is causing the pain to be at a higher level, going off of it could mean the reduction or elimination of some other meds. AAARRGGGHH!! What a mess! Anyway, thanks for the input. I really do appreciate it! Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 29, 2003 Report Share Posted July 29, 2003 , Hi, I'm sorry it took me so long to respond to your post, but I didn't see it at first! When my " old " psych (as in I fired him!) refused to take me off of Depakote even though I constantly complained of the weight gain, his only response was " Depakote doesn't make you eat more! " My eating patterns had not changed, but it really screwed up my metabolism! His only solution was to change me to the extended release form. This halted the weight gain, but did nothing to get rid of it! My new doc immediately started ramping me down on it and started me going up on Topamax. I lost most of the weight I'd gained almost from the beginning. He and my PCP have also always believed in my Levaquin ADR. It's just that since then, I have been unusually sensitive to meds. Apparently the ADR screwed up something in my metabolic process, and either drugs are totally ineffective, or they get totally toxic in my system. I am going to discuss different treatment options with my psych when I go to see him next, which is coming up soon. Kaylene has suggested Geodon and Lamictal, so I will be asking about those. Then again, I may research homeopathic alternatives, as an Alternative Medicine forum I belong to has brought this subject up not too long ago. If I can get good control with a non-chemical treatment, I'm all for that! My new psych is Indian, as well as being very progressive, so I think he'll be open to working with the best solution for me. Well, I better get going. I have to get up at 4, and if I don't get to bed soon, I will never be able to get up! Take care and thanks for the input! Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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