Topamax is making me stupid (UPDATE pg 7)

[luvwinnie]

This is why I"ve avoided it. Luckily, I haven't been "forced" to take it yet. I'm an editor and the thought of forgetting words is terrifying. I had enough of that with my autoimmune disease. Did you tell your dr?

 

[disneymama73]

Oh..okay..wow..because I could not believe it when you said SINUS', DS has sinus issues and is taking something called ZYRTEC and he is terrrrrribly allergic to cats. He can tell immediately if SOMEONE around him has a cat without even being at that person's house...something about their clothing and him asking and they always end up saying YES!!!

WOW...Thanks, Disneymama!

You're welcome! :

Has your DS seen an ENT? I am seeing one for my sinuses. Your DS may need a CT scan to make sure he does not have polyps or anything else going on. Also, if the Zyrtec isn't doing the trick, ask for Clarinex. I switched to that recently, and it seems to work much better for me. DH takes Clarinex, too.

 

[momrek06]

You're welcome! :

Has your DS seen an ENT? I am seeing one for my sinuses. Your DS may need a CT scan to make sure he does not have polyps or anything else going on. Also, if the Zyrtec isn't doing the trick, ask for Clarinex. I switched to that recently, and it seems to work much better for me. DH takes Clarinex, too.

Thanks, so much for this info, Disneymama! I will have to wait abit though. DS is attending college at the University of Glasgow in Scotland until Jan 2007. He went overseas loaded with his Zyrtec! Thankfully, all the dorms have PRIVATE bedrooms and one HUGE common area for all to gather. When DS is down and out, he excuses himself from the crowd and heads to the privacy darkness of his room until ALL IS WELL.

So I should follow up with an ENT. His general physician was the one to prescribe the Zyrtec (not a specialist)!

 

[disneymama73]

Thanks, so much for this info, Disneymama! I will have to wait abit though. DS is attending college at the University of Glasgow in Scotland until Jan 2007. He went overseas loaded with his Zyrtec! Thankfully, all the dorms have PRIVATE bedrooms and one HUGE common area for all to gather. When DS is down and out, he excuses himself from the crowd and heads to the privacy darkness of his room until ALL IS WELL.

So I should follow up with an ENT. His general physician was the one to prescribe the Zyrtec (not a specialist)!

Sometimes I feel like I should just become a doctor and get it over with.

Seriously though, yes, when DS comes home, I would ask his dr for an ENT. I feel so badly for him. I remember having to excuse myself from different events or having to cancel altogether to lay in a dark quiet room with an ice-cold cloth on my head. I'm praying those days are over.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

They tried DS (15 now) on it about 2 yrs ago to prevent headaches. He acted sooooo spacey and stumbled over words that I told him not to ever take one again! You can't be that way and be in school!

Luckily we got to the root of the headaches (TMJ) and he only occasionally needs an Imitrex now.

 

[disneymama73]

They tried DS (15 now) on it about 2 yrs ago to prevent headaches. He acted sooooo spacey and stumbled over words that I told him not to ever take one again! You can't be that way and be in school!

Luckily we got to the root of the headaches (TMJ) and he only occasionally needs an Imitrex now.

Was your DS on a high dose? I'm glad they got to the root of the problem and that he is being successfully treated now! :

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I've been on Topamax for awhile. Don't remember how long because I can't remember anything. I do know that when I first went on it, one of the really frustrating side effects was that I was so easily flustered. I couldn't multi-task at all and got over-stimulated easily. Thankfully that passed. My short term memory is still pretty bad, but not quite as bad. I still have a hard time with names. When I was at the dr recently she was going over the current meds that I'm taking and I told her, but then joked that there could be others, but who knows what I'm forgetting with the Topamax.

I have lost weight, which is the main advantage since I don't think it's helping my headaches much. I'm only one 25mg tablet in the morning and one at night, so it could be that the dose isn't high enough.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

My DD is on Depakote for a seizure disorder, and most of the drugs mentioned in this thread can be used for seizures. DD is only 7 and the side effects with blonde moments caused her to have severe difficulty with reading in 1st grade last year. Currently we are weaning her off the meds with the hope that the seizures have subsided. Her behavior has gotten better and hopefully her reading will too.

 

[paintnolish]

Don't forget your daily dose of !

 

[MzDiz]

Wow!!! That must have been FREAKY! What dosage were you on?

It was really low. I got a starter pack from the doc - one pill once a day for a week, two pills once a day for a week, etc., until I'm up to the full dose. I was still on the first week. I can't imagine what I would be like on the full dose!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

About the weight loss, do you actually have a decreased appetite?

For me, I get filled up faster. Also, I don't want to snack as much or as often. If I'm not hungry I don't care as much about eating. So if I'm eating a meal and I get to the "not hungry" point, I tend to stop eating. I can make myself eat more like I did today when I was eating lunch and knew it would be awhile before I'd be eating again and knew I should be eating more than I wanted to eat. Also, when we're having something that I really like I do eat more, so it's not as if I totally lose my appetite, but if I don't like the food I don't waste my time on it.

Soda tastes fine to me. Maybe on a higher dose it wouldn't.

MzDiz, I was pretty ditzy like that at the very beginning. That passed with me quickly, though. I think it's part of the reason I was so flustered--I just couldn't think straight.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

Was your DS on a high dose? I'm glad they got to the root of the problem and that he is being successfully treated now! :

No, a low dose in fact. He was going to work up a little, but still fairly low. He never made it past the first week. He complained of feeling "foggy" and just acted strange to me. Freaked me out in fact!

Thankfully a great specialty dentist and a nightguard reduced his headaches 90%. The chiropractor, then the neurologist caught the TMJ.

Good luck with your blond moments! (I am a blond and come by this naturally! )

 

[Mad4Mickey]

So I am not alone ! I suffered really bad from migraines and they had me on Topamax , I had CRS for the 2 months I was on it . I was hoping it would make me lose weight ( cause I need it LOL) but it didnt and then I was just fat and sounded dumb ; )

 

[klmall]

I've been on Topamax for at least four years and it has almost eliminated my migraines and helped me lose about 30 pounds. My current dosage is 50 mg twice a day but I have been up to 100 mg. twice a day when my migraines were much worse.

But the downside has been all those foggy moments and years of trying to remember a word or a name or a date. I never had the taste problem but I did find that certain vitamins I used to tolerate really started to bother me and I can barely stand to swallow them now.

Oh, I found out recently that a good friend was given Topamax to lose weight and had no problems doing so but he gained most of it back when he went off the drug!

For me this drug was a lifesaver though and I don't regret giving up 3 - 4 weekly migraines!

 

[disneymama73]

I've been on Topamax for awhile. Don't remember how long because I can't remember anything. I do know that when I first went on it, one of the really frustrating side effects was that I was so easily flustered. I couldn't multi-task at all and got over-stimulated easily. Thankfully that passed. My short term memory is still pretty bad, but not quite as bad. I still have a hard time with names. When I was at the dr recently she was going over the current meds that I'm taking and I told her, but then joked that there could be others, but who knows what I'm forgetting with the Topamax.

I have lost weight, which is the main advantage since I don't think it's helping my headaches much. I'm only one 25mg tablet in the morning and one at night, so it could be that the dose isn't high enough.

I'm on the same dosage as you, T&B. My neurologist had mentioned bumping me up to 50mg at night if I wasn't getting enough relief. Have you told your dr you're still having the headaches?

to you! I hope you find relief soon!

 

[waltsgirl]

Memory loss and confusion are both side effects of this drug. My DR warned me of that before I started to take it. We started with low doses and worked up. I have found that writing things down has helped. Before I never had to write anything down, I would just remember, now I know I have to write out list, especially at work.

 

[disneymama73]

Memory loss and confusion are both side effects of this drug. My DR warned me of that before I started to take it. We started with low doses and worked up. I have found that writing things down has helped. Before I never had to write anything down, I would just remember, now I know I have to write out list, especially at work.

My DH is getting really angry with me for forgetting to do things like if he asks me to throw his clothes in the dryer. I honestly forget! I will have to start writing things down like you mentioned.

The worst though is when you're talking to someone and suddenly you have no idea what you're saying. VERY embarrassing. It doesn't happen very often, but still...

 

[AZKathy]

I did not read through all the replies, so forgive repetition.

You know the nickname for Topomax is, don't ya? It is Dope-a-max or Stupid-max. It really messes with your memory. I would say something and forget a word in the sentence. It also was fantastic for the weight loss. Actually, my doc told me that FDA was going to allow it to be used as a weight loss med but the side effects were too much just for weight loss.

I had to get off of it when my vision started to get blurry. They gave me Keppra (I took these meds for the radiculopathy down my legs from a back injury not for migraines) which did not take off the weight but gave me back my brain. It also did not put on the weight like Neurontin did to me.

I also had a very weird side effect with Topomax, I could not drink carbonated beverages any more. They all tasted awful. I started this med right before we went on a trip to WDW, so I thought that the cokes were just bad from the water or something; I had no idea that it was a side effect from the drug until I came home from the trip and did more research on the drug. I also had lots of ressies at great buffets (Ohana, Prime Time, etc) every day of the trip, and I sure did not get my money's worth of the meal since my appetite was nothing with the med. Nothing really tasted good there with this med. Waste of good meals and money! But I lost the weight I put on when I was on the Neurontin!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I'm on the same dosage as you, T&B. My neurologist had mentioned bumping me up to 50mg at night if I wasn't getting enough relief. Have you told your dr you're still having the headaches?

to you! I hope you find relief soon!

At the time the side effects were bad enough we didn't want to up the dose. They seem to be a little better now and we could probably up it, but I don't know if he thinks it will help. I'll mention it it to him, though, before my supply runs out.

Bummer about weight maybe coming back on when the meds are stopped. Has anyone else heard this? I'm sure with work the pounds can stay off, but it goes without saying that if the appetite picks up and a person goes back to their old eating pattern without exercising more, they will likely gain weight.

 

[Jennasis]

Topamax made me stupid. I HATED it. I becam dyslexic!! I couldn't type, I forgot how to spell words, I couldn't do simple math. Drop a handful of pennies on the floor and ask me to count 'em...not happening. It also gave me weird vision problems when I would go from bright to dark light or vice versa. And let's not forget that it makes all carbonated beverages taste like @ss!

I would have tolerated all of those things if it helped my headaches but it didn't. After complaining to my nuerologist he took me off of it (slowly of course) and put me on Keppra. Oh my GOD! What a miracle drug this stuff was for me. I finally foudn the relief I hadn't had in a year and a half (chronic, daily, ALL DAY headaches). Picture a headache that lasted for a year and a half. The Keppra saved me.

I cannot take/tolerate most "rescue" meds like Maxalt, Relpax, Axert (though Axert was the least offensive). They make me feel like I'm having a heart attack/anxiety attack and only work SOMETIMES.

So if Topamax (hehehe DOPE-amax) is not for you, tell your doc to give you something else.