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Our daughter is 8 years old. She has Absence Seizures. We are going to be starting her on Topamax. I am very worried about the side effects. Can anyone tell me what they have experienced? I am also wondering if there has been success with seizure control.
Thanks,
concerned mommy
I'm on topiramate, but I'm an adult and I do not take it for seizures. I do have a colleague at work who has a 6-year-old daughter with a seizure disorder who takes Topamax and has great success with it. J&J has a published pilot study on absence seizures if you want to take a look. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00210574
There are side effects to this medication, but in my experience, the benefits FAR out-weigh the side effects. Good luck! You're a super mom to be doing your homework and looking out for your little girl! Kuddos to you!
im sorry that it is taking people so long to answer but here is a comprehensive list of side effects.
Side Effects by Body System
General
General side effects including fatigue, fever, and malaise have been reported to occur frequently. Oligohidrosis, pain, chest pain, and hyperthermia have also been reported.
Nervous system
The majority of cognitive-related adverse events were mild to moderate in severity and frequently occurred in isolation. Rapid titration rate and higher initial doses were associated with higher incidences of cognitive-related adverse events.
Nervous system side effects have been common and have included somnolence, dizziness (greater than 25%), ataxia, speech disorders, psychomotor slowing, hypokinesia, vertigo, grand mal seizures, diplopia, nystagmus, tinnitus, and paresthesias. These nervous system adverse reactions do not appear to be dose-related. Dose-related adverse effects have included fatigue (frequently), nervousness, difficulty with concentration or attention, confusion, psychomotor slowing, difficulty with concentration/attention, difficulty with memory, speech, or language problems (particularly word finding difficulties), and tremor. Headache, vertigo, sensory disturbance, and aggravated migraine have also been reported. A case has been reported of cerebrospinal fluid acidosis associated with hyperventilation that was probably caused by topiramate.
Hepatic
Hepatic side effects including hepatic failure (sometimes fatal) and hepatitis have been reported.
Ocular
The primary treatment of cases of secondary angle closure glaucoma cause by topiramate is discontinuation of the drug.
Ocular side effects including cases of secondary angle closure glaucoma characterized by ocular pain, acute myopia, abnormal accommodation, and increased intraocular pressure have been reported. Maculopathy has also been reported.
Gastrointestinal
Gastrointestinal side effects include diarrhea, vomiting, pancreatitis, gastroenteritis, constipation, gastroesophageal reflux, tooth disorder, and flatulence have been reported. Tongue edema has been reported rarely.
Cardiovascular
Cardiovascular side effects including palpitations have been reported frequently. Hypertension and hypotension have been reported infrequently.
Hematologic
Hematologic side effects including anemia and epistaxis have been a reported frequently.
Metabolic
Metabolic side effects have included metabolic acidosis, dehydration, diabetes mellitus, and weight increase.
Musculoskeletal
Musculoskeletal side effects including arthralgia, myalgia, and muscle weakness have been reported. A case of hemiparesis has also been reported.
Psychiatric
Psychiatric side effects including insomnia, personality disorder, impotence, hallucination, euphoria, psychosis, decreased libido, anxiety, depression, mood problems, and suicide attempts have been reported. Two cases of panic attacks have also been reported.
Depression and mood problems were dose related.
Genitourinary
Genitourinary side effects in the female frequently have included intermenstrual bleeding, leukorrhea, menorrhagia, vaginitis, and amenorrhea. Urinary tract infections, micturition frequency, urinary incontinence, dysuria, and renal calculus have also been reported frequently. Cases of reversible anorgasmia have also been reported. Kidney stones (1.5%) have occurred more frequently in men.
Respiratory
Respiratory side effects including pulmonary embolism, coughing, pneumonia, asthma, and bronchitis have been reported.
Dermatologic
Dermatologic side effects including bullous skin reactions (including erythema multiforme, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis), pemphigus, acne, rash, and alopecia have been reported. Pruritus has been reported rarely.
Other
Other side effects including taste perversion have been reported frequently. Headaches have also been reported to occur.
Renal
Renal side effects including kidney stones (1.3% to 1.5%) and renal tubular acidosis have been reported.
Hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity side effects including allergic reaction have been reported.
Immunologic
Immunologic side effects have been reported including infection and genital moniliasis.
on the drugs.com website ther is a list of side effects on every drug. that is where i obtained this information.
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Hi phillip. Wow, where did you find this list? Just curious, I haven't seen this one before. Some of the items on the list surprise me... for example, under metabolic it list weight increase; seems strange because a more common side effect is weight loss. Infact, Topamax is often used off-label for weight loss. And headaches? This medication is also used as a migrane headache preventative. Hmmm... Oh well. I guess if someone takes a drug and experiences some sort of an effect it has to be reported whether it's related or not. I'm not a doctor or a pharmacist, just a patient on a medication always looking for information. Have a great day! :)