Be Careful with your Topamax!

Friday, November 28, 2008

I have suffered from migraines for most of my twenties. I could feel them starting over my left eye, and as I got to my mid-twenties, they would spread to neck and tighten everything that could be tightened. Needless to say, this was negatively effecting my ability to function at work, play, and everything else.



Then, my internist prescribed Topamax 25 mg. This cut my migraines by about 75%. I almost found religion again. I was bumped up to 50 mg, and the migraines went away. I occasionally missed a day or two, but for the most part, I took my little yellow pill regularly. When I moved from GA to IN, and my schedule became more regular, I don't think I missed a day. That's when I started to notice something was wrong.



It started out with some brain issues. I wasn't as sharp as I usually am. I had a harder time getting words from my brain to my lips. I had been losing my balance, becoming short of breath, and I was feeling some tingling in my feet and hands. I thought I was just overly bummed from having moved--until I started having stabbing chest pain at age 26, had great difficulty remembering my birthday and phone number, and I kept falling over into walls.



The hubby took me to the ER, and of course, the chest pain complaint freaked everyone out. By the time they rolled me down to take an x-ray of my chest, I had lost my ability to walk. After ruling out blod clots, heart attack, and goodness knows what else, the diagnoses through me for a loop. It turns out that my Topamax dosage was too high, and it had built up a toxicity in my body. The sudden onset of symptoms was blamed on my recent strictness in taking the pill.



So, my lifesaver has been cut back to 25 mg, which still causes the above mentioned side effects. This is supposed to taper off as my body readjusts. I'm still hoping that Topamax works out for me, but I had no idea that these side effects could occur.



So the moral--be informed and watch out for side effects. Topamax is a good drug, but too much of any good thing can be bad.