Migraine

hi all, thanks for your replies. I just got back from 3 wks in Italy..a great time, no migraines til we came back, then Bam,! got 2 whoppers! I was scared to go so far away for so long, the the migraines hit me 6 yrs ago and ruined my life. But all was ok til we got home. I am now up to 150 mg of Topomax, taken only at night. I had a very very bad experience with 25 mg so we have moved very slowly to this dosage.I had a meltdown in my 1st wk, severe depression, crying,etc, and no Md available right before Xmas. I looked up side affects and saw that depression, personality disorder were among them, so backed off to 12 mg for 1 mg. I am very sensative to any drug. Am now much better. Drowsiness is better, but not gone. Headaches were gone for a mo, but hit me for 2 days this wkend, no trigger. I contine to lose wt. I am not a teenager, I am 51. I have always been small, 98 lbs last yr, now down to 89, It really scares me. I eat everything but i can tell my appetite is off. Of course, i walked 5-8 miles a day in Italy, and that walked off the lbs too, but I am still scared that I have lost so much wt no matter what I do! 98 lbs to 89 lb is not good~. Any suggstions besides Ensure?? Thanks for your support and advice!!!!

ps I am 5' 2"

Beth, I have talked to my doctor, he said to drink Ensure. Not much help. I will see him again tomorrow and SHOW him that my pants FALL OFF me without trying!! I dont understand why he is not concerned, he is a headache specialist.

Terri, I had already called my headache specialist about being so dang tired in the afternoon...he said it was not the Topomax and that I should get bloodwork done ( which I just had done). So no answers there.

How long have you been on the Topamax? I am just starting on the medication for my migranes and am at 25 mg also and am very hungry also, and am having some weird dreams also. Sleeping somewhat better. What is your age? I am 50 years old and am going through menopause.

Kathleen

I have been on the topomax since Mid Dec. It has helped with the migraines. I have not started memopause yet because I am on Yasmine continual birth controlpills continually for ments. migraines, altho they proved to b eonly 1 of my triggers. I will go off of them in a yr, but not til I get the Topomax regime down.

Good news: headache specialist said my huge wt loss was more to my feelings of NAUSUA than to anything else. Esp in the AM and afternoon, I feel hungry but very nauseaus, so didnt eat much. Even when I ate, I felt "greem". In the clinical trials, wt loss was 2-3% and I am at 10%! So I am splitting dosage and it has agready made a difference. This AM I woke up and didnt feel "sick", just hungry. I still fill up fast, just like you all do, but at least I am not nauseas.

Has anyone else had this "sick, nausea" feeling??

oh, ps I just turned 51.

Yes, I am feeling a kind of nausea feeling, but not much; also a dizzing kind of hazy feeling. But mostly feeling very hungry....Is this normal?

I too had wierd dreams the first month/2 months? on Topamax. They seem to have calmed down now. And just this week - I notice my appitite coming back I Wanted it to last a little longer....getting married in two weeks - now is not the time to be packing on the pounds!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by kbyrd:
How long have you been on the Topamax? I am just starting on the medication for my migranes and am at 25 mg also and am very hungry also, and am having some weird dreams also. Sleeping somewhat better. What is your age? I am 50 years old and am going through menopause.

Kathleen

I think the weird dreams are normal. I started having them when I started taking Inderal, for migraines, 3 yrs ago, so I didnt notice any difference w/ the Topomax. But the readings I have done indicate that this is normal, because it is a brain drug, after all. Dont freak out, tho. I think it is common. It makes me talk in my dreams

Is it normal to have an enormous appetite? It is helping me with my migranes, but when I take my dosage I am am extremely hungrey.

Not usually, but everyone is different. You may want to discuss this with your doctor to see if anything else is going on...

I was on it for 8 months and lost 14% of my body weight. I think part of it was because my memory was so bad I would forget to eat!

Hi! I am new here. I used to be on Topamax a couple of years ago for about 2 years. It helped for my migraines for awhile and I lost 60lbs that I truly needed to lose, however I started having problems with my bladder and I now have a kidney stone. I have heard from different doctors different things. One will say that it was the Topamax causing the bladder problems and caused the kidney stone, then one will say no. I have tried other medications with relief. I see my doctor today and have thought about trying the Topamax again. I have gained alot of weight from other medications so the weight loss would be a relief, but I'm not sure I'm ready to feel "blonde" again lol..I am really a blonde. I have sleep problems too and am currently taking ambiem for that. Anyhow, has anyone had any bladder issues or kidney issues on this medication? Thanks!

Welcome!
The doctor who said the Topamax caused the kidney stone was probably right. A study showed that Topamax can increase the occurrence of kidney stones. You can read more in [b][i] Topamax for Headache & Migraine Prevention Can Increase Occurrence of Kidney Stones.

Your sleep issues could be triggering some of your Migraines, so getting better sleep is something else to discuss with your doctor.

One thing to remember about side effects is that they're POTENTIAL side effects. There are other preventive meds that don't list weight gain as a side effect. Zonegran is in the same class as Topamax, but has a lower potential side effects profile. I couldn't take Topamax, but am doing well with Zonegran.

Welcome again!

quote:

Originally posted by BeachGirl:
Hi! I am new here. I used to be on Topamax a couple of years ago for about 2 years. It helped for my migraines for awhile and I lost 60lbs that I truly needed to lose, however I started having problems with my bladder and I now have a kidney stone. I have heard from different doctors different things. One will say that it was the Topamax causing the bladder problems and caused the kidney stone, then one will say no. I have tried other medications with relief. I see my doctor today and have thought about trying the Topamax again. I have gained alot of weight from other medications so the weight loss would be a relief, but I'm not sure I'm ready to feel "blonde" again lol..I am really a blonde. I have sleep problems too and am currently taking ambiem for that. Anyhow, has anyone had any bladder issues or kidney issues on this medication? Thanks!