Aa
Migraines & Topamax to Treat them
I have recently begun taking Topamax 25mg the 1st week one pill a night for 7 days and then went to "2" two pills a night for 7 days and am now on my "3" three pill a night for 7 day... then next and final step is moving up to the 100mg pill once a night. I take this for severe migraines... I used to have migraines about 20+ times a month (almost everyday) now I dont have any at all. My question is if anybody has experienced any intense tingling in the feet especially the toes? I know about the weight loss but I believe my weight loss from it is because the medicine gave such a fowl taste to my beloved soda that I could no long drink it and kicked my 8 can a day habit! and on top of that it Topamax gives me so much energy that I dont sit still... my house has never been so clean! I just wanted to know if anybody has ever been on or knew anybody who has taken Topamax because I personally have never talked to anybody that has and just wanted to know if that tingling went away because it is the only "bad"/"negative" side effect I have and not one I want to keep. And not taking the medicine is not an option because the headaches were way to bad for me to even funtion day to day.
Awesome on the migraines! The energy you have is unusual - from what I understand, and from my own experience, it seems to make most people sleepy - so take advantage - and it sounds like you are! You go girl! The feet tingling is very common and will go away, but it takes time, so be patient - it's just an annoyance.
Drink tons of water to avoid kidney stones (or other stones), and if you feel like you're getting one (a pain in the middle of your back on either side) make lemonade with real lemons, or real lemon juice, to taste with artificial sweetner, and drink it in addition to your water (3-8 8oz glasses of lemonade) to acidify your urine and break up the stones. I had a stone that landed me in the ER - it wasn't fun, but I learned, and now I drink my water with lemon all the time. Unless you're calcium deficient you might not want to add a calcium supplement because it's calcium deposits that causes the stones to form, but check with your doctor of course, and if you're drinking lemonade it will help prevent stones from forming.
OJ doesn't help because it actually causes alkalinity. Once it's in your system, and gets to the urinary tract it causes the urine to be more alkaline - which just aids in the formation of stones.
If you just can't sit still, and finish w/your house, feel free to come help me clean mine! Good luck!
Drink tons of water to avoid kidney stones (or other stones), and if you feel like you're getting one (a pain in the middle of your back on either side) make lemonade with real lemons, or real lemon juice, to taste with artificial sweetner, and drink it in addition to your water (3-8 8oz glasses of lemonade) to acidify your urine and break up the stones. I had a stone that landed me in the ER - it wasn't fun, but I learned, and now I drink my water with lemon all the time. Unless you're calcium deficient you might not want to add a calcium supplement because it's calcium deposits that causes the stones to form, but check with your doctor of course, and if you're drinking lemonade it will help prevent stones from forming.
OJ doesn't help because it actually causes alkalinity. Once it's in your system, and gets to the urinary tract it causes the urine to be more alkaline - which just aids in the formation of stones.
If you just can't sit still, and finish w/your house, feel free to come help me clean mine! Good luck!
howdy!
I've been taking Topomax since March, have had to increase my dosage about every two weeks and am now up to 200 mg per day (100 day/100 night). I had tingling hands and feet in the beginning weeks and whenever I increase my dosage, and it goes away and is one of the more minor side effects.
However, I have had many other side effects which have been more difficult to deal with and which have led me to take medical leave from my job as a custom framer for about the past six weeks. Topomax also gave me tons of "clean the house" energy (like Joan Crawford on acid) and also tons of anxiety and depression. The s.e. (side effects) which made me take medical leave were the memory loss and concentration issues (to the point of having to write down my moment to moment tasks on a piece of paper, and not being able to remember customers and coworkers names) and severe verbal difficulties. Topomax has also made me feel at times very fatigued and/or too incapacitated to drive a car or use power tools (which I do at work). All of this has had a huge impact on my life, and like you, I was really suffering with a constant migraine that was so severe and would not go away so medication is very necessary however the s.e. are a high price to pay. Have experienced weight loss and taste change (and I'm pretty skinny to start with, now people comment to me that I look so thin they are worried about me) despite my best efforts to eat as much as possible it seems that Topomax just makes food run right through me.
So, I would say regarding Topomax, it does't affect everyone like it does me, in fact, when I started at 25 mg and had severe side effects my doctor was really surprised. But it's not like a magazine ad, a miracle drug that will get rid of your migraines and suddenly make it possible for you to lead a normal life and care for your screaming toddler again.
Good luck to you, love Aurora2000.
I've been taking Topomax since March, have had to increase my dosage about every two weeks and am now up to 200 mg per day (100 day/100 night). I had tingling hands and feet in the beginning weeks and whenever I increase my dosage, and it goes away and is one of the more minor side effects.
However, I have had many other side effects which have been more difficult to deal with and which have led me to take medical leave from my job as a custom framer for about the past six weeks. Topomax also gave me tons of "clean the house" energy (like Joan Crawford on acid) and also tons of anxiety and depression. The s.e. (side effects) which made me take medical leave were the memory loss and concentration issues (to the point of having to write down my moment to moment tasks on a piece of paper, and not being able to remember customers and coworkers names) and severe verbal difficulties. Topomax has also made me feel at times very fatigued and/or too incapacitated to drive a car or use power tools (which I do at work). All of this has had a huge impact on my life, and like you, I was really suffering with a constant migraine that was so severe and would not go away so medication is very necessary however the s.e. are a high price to pay. Have experienced weight loss and taste change (and I'm pretty skinny to start with, now people comment to me that I look so thin they are worried about me) despite my best efforts to eat as much as possible it seems that Topomax just makes food run right through me.
So, I would say regarding Topomax, it does't affect everyone like it does me, in fact, when I started at 25 mg and had severe side effects my doctor was really surprised. But it's not like a magazine ad, a miracle drug that will get rid of your migraines and suddenly make it possible for you to lead a normal life and care for your screaming toddler again.
Good luck to you, love Aurora2000.
I use to take topamax and prozac together for my Depression, Anxiety, and Bi-polar disorder. Topamax works great with my body. I have a what i call a binge eating disorder and it took control of it and i lost 50 pounds in 3 months. It also helped my Mood swings due from my bi-polar. But last year i started itching like crazy whenever i got hot. And it wasnt just like scartch scartch then it goes away, it was like all over and i felt like a crack addict. I went off the topamax and i still had the itchting. I believe it to of been the prozac. So now im going back on topamax. Has anyone had that extreme itching on topamax? if so let me know. Gotta play safe =] But i really think it was the prozac because i switched the topamax to tripletal for a awhile and the itching was still there. When i got off all my meds together then it went away. Damn that prozac!!
Btw topamax is used for diffrent things like headaches, seizures, bi-polar disorder etc etc. side effects will fade away hopefully over a month. if they dont consult your doctor.
Btw topamax is used for diffrent things like headaches, seizures, bi-polar disorder etc etc. side effects will fade away hopefully over a month. if they dont consult your doctor.
1 Comments
Hello I was taking topamax last summer for my headaches. I didn't take anything else. I was so itchy when I'd lay down for bed I would have to strip down to nothing just to get comfortable. Once I stopped taking the topamax it took a few months for the itching to stop. The worst side effect I had was hair loss. Did you have that? I believe it effects the nerves and that's what caused the itching all over!
Please be careful taking Topamax.
I took the drug for only 8 days for my migraines and then on the 8th day, I began losing my eyesight "suddenly". My son had to take me to the ER and I was one of the people who had a severe reaction to that drug.
Do a search and you will find a FDA warning about "narrow angle glycoma" which can be a side affect from the drug. Several people have become permanently blind from this medication, I was lucky but my left eye does have some damage.
Most people who will have a reaction to the drug - have the reaction within a couple of weeks so if you have been taking it for a while - you are probably fine.
They lead you to believe that side affect are rare BUT - my Opthamologist has seen many people who have had problems with Topamax and he feels that it should be a requirement that anyone who goes on this drug should have the pressure in their eyes monitored for the first few weeks of treatment.
Best of luck !!!
Nancy
I took the drug for only 8 days for my migraines and then on the 8th day, I began losing my eyesight "suddenly". My son had to take me to the ER and I was one of the people who had a severe reaction to that drug.
Do a search and you will find a FDA warning about "narrow angle glycoma" which can be a side affect from the drug. Several people have become permanently blind from this medication, I was lucky but my left eye does have some damage.
Most people who will have a reaction to the drug - have the reaction within a couple of weeks so if you have been taking it for a while - you are probably fine.
They lead you to believe that side affect are rare BUT - my Opthamologist has seen many people who have had problems with Topamax and he feels that it should be a requirement that anyone who goes on this drug should have the pressure in their eyes monitored for the first few weeks of treatment.
Best of luck !!!
Nancy
I know this has been many years since it's been active but I've been taking topamax 400 mg for 9 years and when I get hot my back starts to itch so bad I can't take it. And it only happens on my back. And I've never been on Prozac. I stayed on it because it's been the only med that helped for the nerve pain.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Neurology Community
Top Neurology Answerers
Allentown, PA
ON
Queensland, Australia
Queen Creek, AZ
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease
