[anotheraddict]

Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone might be able to tell me a little bit about Topamax. The real stuff, not the insert info, you know? I had my PM appt yesterday, and things were interesting. I felt like a jerk for asking questions...within the first 3 minutes of the appt, the doc had already written for the oxycontin, oxycodone for b/t, and topamax.

The oxycodone comes with 2 full sheets of stuff from the pharmacy, but the one for the topamax was literally blank besides its name. Has anyone else taken this before? Are there things I should be concerned about? Is it habit forming? I don't want to go there, I have struggled enough with the opiates and finally gained my power back. It helps they are not readily available to me now. I must ask for them from someone who can read me well enough to know if I am bsing or not.

Anyway, the doc said nothing about the Topamax really other than to take it at night, as it should help with my sleeping issues as well as muscle spasms. Is it worth it to open this can of worms? Should I run for the hills and rip up the script instead of taking them? I don't want to risk everything I have worked so hard for. I know there's info on the internet, but I trust you guys on this board. More so than any doctor or website.

Thanks for any info you might have.

Jean

[flypup]

well, i'm sure everyone is different. but here's my info. i tried it while seeing a pain specialist after trying gabatril. the gabatril made it so after about 6 weeks on the stuff i couldn't read...literally i could look at a paper doc someone handed me at work and look at it and see nothing but garbled letters that made no sense. After a few weeks coming off of that we tried topomax the lowest dose which if i remember right was 50mg at night then after a week he had me up to 100...well after 4 weeks I'd be driving home and couldn't find my house. I could get to the right street but for some reason i couldn't find my house...this only happened at night but i worked swing! so, that was a disaster. fortunately, i had friends who i could follow home after the first few nights driving up and down my street until i had to call a friend who told me it was 4 house from the corner on the left of the street so I could just count and find it. but the dangest thing is even after that the next night same problem! I thought i was going crazy. a few days after stopping the topomax .. no problems with finding my house. that's when i gave up on those type of meds for pain relief.

good luck!

[anotheraddict]

Flypup,

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond. That sounds really scary! Yea, I have already tried Lyrica and Neurontin (gabapentin) for the nerve issues. Neither one helped me at all.

My doc wants me to take 25 mg at night. I am still researching, but your post definitely makes me think twice, or maybe even a third time about trying this med. I guess if I do decide to try it out, I will know what to look for. Luckily I still live at home right now, and I can tell my parents to keep an eye out as well. I don't always notice the changes that come along with new meds as well or as quickly as the people who live with me and see me daily.

I don't want to seem noncompliant with my PM doc. I felt bad enough for asking about b/t meds. However I cannot afford the lidoderm patches I have been using for so long since I lost my job and insurance. Of course, that means more narcotics. I was secretly hoping the topamax would be a miracle drug for me so I could take less of the darn narcotics. I have really cut down my usage...not even taking 1 daily on a consistent basis, only taking a piece of a pill when things are bad. So, I kinda hoped topamax would be a way to be completely off of the drugs and have my life back.

Oh boy, I am sorry for writing so much. I intended to drop a quick note and thank you for your time, and of course I started rambling. So, I will leave it with thank you for your time and for sharing your experience with me. I am definitely going to have to think a good bit before I make the decision to take them or not.

Jean

[flypup]

It never hurts to try something... well that might not be technically true but you know what I mean. I had hopes of going off all narc's myself but I think I have finally just come to the conclusion it will never happen. I tried lyrica and wow! that was a fun time for me. Every time I closed my eyes to sleep it was like the 4th of july behind my eyelids. It was cool for about the first 5 minutes then it was annoying and caused many sleepless nights until I quit it. Now I'm on Cymbalta. Seems to do pretty well for me. I also just started ultram which in the past was a bad experience for me but the doc gave me the ER version (slow release). No nausea and while I worry due to all the reported bad interactions it could have with cymbalta, I'm still trying it. I'm a bit amazed but it may actually be working. Maybe the synergistic components are just enough to work out for me. We'll see. Now if I could just give up my crutch of Norco I'd be good. I do actually need it some of the time but really now it's more not needed but I can't seem to feel right without it. So a lot of time I take it just in case I may need it or habit or any reason really other than pain. I figure I'll work on that after we figure out if the ultram is going to work or not. If it does then I can reduce the norco a little at a time until i'm off. hopefully, that will happen soon as my liver labs have been screwed up for 3 months now. my doc is still in the wait and see mode but i'm not sure what he's waiting for...liver failure? haha. well not really funny but sorta.

biggest thing about topomax is to go up slowly on it. my problem could have been related to increasing too quickly but i wasn't willing to keep taking it after about 4 weeks of wondering if i was going to be able to find my house each night. and the doctor i was seeing was an idiot so i quit him and that med.
goodluck,
flypup

[praetor]

Hi there! I have severe migraines and if I'm not on Topomax I pretty much can't leave bed. I get by only taking 50mg a day but I'm not going to lie I hate it. I've read a lot of people lose their short-term memory but at most I'm at a loss for words sometimes. I do get numbness and tingling in my hands and feet. Very annoying! I've never heard of it being addictive and I actually stopped taking it two weeks ago (for another failed migraine treatment so I'm back on it). That said you could just try it for a couple days under supervision and if you lose everything (especially your house) stop taking it. I shouldn't really say I hate it because I wouldn't have a normal life without it and for me that outweighs the side effects. Overall I'd say it's pretty safe.