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Topamax, please help!!
Thu, 03/03/2005 - 10:56Comments
RE: Topamax, please help!!
Submitted by fishergal on Thu, 2005-03-03 - 07:40
Hi, I'm a veteran of medication nightmares. And I do take Topamax but as a supliment to another drug. I was stoned for a couple of days, when I began my medication. It's the depression that worries me. All these meds can cause depression and alter a person's true personality. Is it possible she might be taking too much?
Doctors have guidelines and tests to go by, but some of us are ultra sensitive to drugs and a little can do a whole lot. This may be the case with your daughter. Ask you doctor if you can stop at a certain level and wait and see. The result will be another seizure if the dose is too low. If she has no more then less is better. She'll adjust to the medication in time. Well, we all reach a point where we cope or manage. But to be who she was before, that's not always the case. For me, I am only a shadow of who I was before medication. Fortunately, it's only my family who knows and everyone else accepts me as my faultly self. And we all know nobody's perfect.
Get the meds straight, help your daughter adjust then accept the personality changes as meds are for life. If you don't she'll have the impression she failed you or you don't love her or alot of the emotions the rest of us out here deal with daily with family. It doesn't help when depression cycles hit or life gets overwhelming. And don't coddle her as one incappable of a normal life or mentally skewed.
Hi, I'm a veteran of medication nightmares. And I do take Topamax but as a supliment to another drug. I was stoned for a couple of days, when I began my medication. It's the depression that worries me. All these meds can cause depression and alter a person's true personality. Is it possible she might be taking too much?
Doctors have guidelines and tests to go by, but some of us are ultra sensitive to drugs and a little can do a whole lot. This may be the case with your daughter. Ask you doctor if you can stop at a certain level and wait and see. The result will be another seizure if the dose is too low. If she has no more then less is better. She'll adjust to the medication in time. Well, we all reach a point where we cope or manage. But to be who she was before, that's not always the case. For me, I am only a shadow of who I was before medication. Fortunately, it's only my family who knows and everyone else accepts me as my faultly self. And we all know nobody's perfect.
Get the meds straight, help your daughter adjust then accept the personality changes as meds are for life. If you don't she'll have the impression she failed you or you don't love her or alot of the emotions the rest of us out here deal with daily with family. It doesn't help when depression cycles hit or life gets overwhelming. And don't coddle her as one incappable of a normal life or mentally skewed.
RE: RE: Topamax, please help!!
Submitted by theresab72 on Thu, 2005-03-03 - 10:56
I was on Topamax from September until the end of January. This was after being on Depakote, which I begged to be taken off of, because of 20 lbs. weight gain and the horrible hair loss that I had suffered from. The Depakote seemed to stay in my system a while, as my hair loss continued until November. My neuro kept promising the weight loss advantage and it didn't start happening until November. But I had absolutely no appetite or thirst. I could go a whole day without eating and drinking if I didn't force myself. And when I did eat, two bites would make me feel full. Eventually I did lose weight, but this wasn't the way to do it. I lost about 15 of those pounds between November and January, but being a Weight Watcher person, I knew that this was a dangerous way to lose weight, since you are supposed to eat a certain amount of calories per day. I did start supplementing my diet with Boost or Ensure shakes, just to get some added nutrition.
I also suffered from these weird feelings, almost like hallucinations, but it was like my body was morphing into a different shape. One day, my husband found me lying on the couch and I was so upset. He begged to know what was the matter and I was so embarrassed because I had to admit to him that I felt like a tree trunk was growing out of the right side of my head. In my mind, I knew it wasn't true, but the feeling in my body kept saying it was true. I also had nights when I would be getting ready for bed and lying down and I would feel like my head was disconnected from the rest of my body. Also, I would feel like my head was blowing up and I was drowning inside of it, like I couldn't breathe. This was HORRIBLE!! My neuro attributed all of this to the Topamax and reduced my dosage from 400 to 200 mg. It worked for about a month, then those feelings came back again, but less frequently. I haven't had one since I've been off the Topamax.
I am glad your daughter is being weaned off of it, if it was making her attitude change. I also had crying fits and would get angry for nothing. I believe that was also due to the Topamax, because I haven't felt that way since I stopped, except for reasonable causes.
I don't know why they keep praising this medicine! Seems like there are a lot of us out here that have had a nightmare of a time being on it. I guess everyone's body is different, and some people can tolerate it, but I for one, am glad I'm off of it!
Be well and your daughter too! Theresa
I was on Topamax from September until the end of January. This was after being on Depakote, which I begged to be taken off of, because of 20 lbs. weight gain and the horrible hair loss that I had suffered from. The Depakote seemed to stay in my system a while, as my hair loss continued until November. My neuro kept promising the weight loss advantage and it didn't start happening until November. But I had absolutely no appetite or thirst. I could go a whole day without eating and drinking if I didn't force myself. And when I did eat, two bites would make me feel full. Eventually I did lose weight, but this wasn't the way to do it. I lost about 15 of those pounds between November and January, but being a Weight Watcher person, I knew that this was a dangerous way to lose weight, since you are supposed to eat a certain amount of calories per day. I did start supplementing my diet with Boost or Ensure shakes, just to get some added nutrition.
I also suffered from these weird feelings, almost like hallucinations, but it was like my body was morphing into a different shape. One day, my husband found me lying on the couch and I was so upset. He begged to know what was the matter and I was so embarrassed because I had to admit to him that I felt like a tree trunk was growing out of the right side of my head. In my mind, I knew it wasn't true, but the feeling in my body kept saying it was true. I also had nights when I would be getting ready for bed and lying down and I would feel like my head was disconnected from the rest of my body. Also, I would feel like my head was blowing up and I was drowning inside of it, like I couldn't breathe. This was HORRIBLE!! My neuro attributed all of this to the Topamax and reduced my dosage from 400 to 200 mg. It worked for about a month, then those feelings came back again, but less frequently. I haven't had one since I've been off the Topamax.
I am glad your daughter is being weaned off of it, if it was making her attitude change. I also had crying fits and would get angry for nothing. I believe that was also due to the Topamax, because I haven't felt that way since I stopped, except for reasonable causes.
I don't know why they keep praising this medicine! Seems like there are a lot of us out here that have had a nightmare of a time being on it. I guess everyone's body is different, and some people can tolerate it, but I for one, am glad I'm off of it!
Be well and your daughter too! Theresa
RE: Topamax, please help!!
Submitted by BrainyB on Thu, 2005-03-03 - 05:49
Hi there,
I am new to the forum and would like to advise that Topamax has very scary side effects. I was originally diagnosed with Front Temporal Lobe Epilepsy at the age of 14 and suffered a multitude of Tonic/Clonic attacks. This has been continuing for the past 21 years and the drug of choice was first Epanutin.
This worked for a while but, steadily the attacks were more frequent. The next drug administered to me was then Tegretol CR. Tegretol had a much more favourable effect on me and I didn't suffer attacks as frequently and with such vigour.
Lately (the past two years) my attacks have been more pronounced and a lot more violent. This could be attributed to a messy divorce and work stress, so I was given Topamax to minimise and control the fits.
This made me feel totally spaced out. I found that my short term memory was just non-existent. It felt as if the world could blow up around me and I didnÂ’t care. When I had to make split second decisions, it made me slow in responding.
I went to my Neurologist and told him that the drugs were affecting me in this manner and his response was that we look into operating on the brain to remove the so called problem on the brain!! Naturally my response was in the negative and I have since not been back to him.
I slowly decreased my Topamax and threw what was left away. After that, my short term memory slowly re-appeared and I am trying to piece my memories together again.
I have since been diagnosed with “Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy” and have been given “Valproate” in conjunction with the Tegretol.
Please be aware of the side-effects. I’m sure that this drug works well in certain types of epilepsy, BUT definitely NOT with “Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy”
Hi there,
I am new to the forum and would like to advise that Topamax has very scary side effects. I was originally diagnosed with Front Temporal Lobe Epilepsy at the age of 14 and suffered a multitude of Tonic/Clonic attacks. This has been continuing for the past 21 years and the drug of choice was first Epanutin.
This worked for a while but, steadily the attacks were more frequent. The next drug administered to me was then Tegretol CR. Tegretol had a much more favourable effect on me and I didn't suffer attacks as frequently and with such vigour.
Lately (the past two years) my attacks have been more pronounced and a lot more violent. This could be attributed to a messy divorce and work stress, so I was given Topamax to minimise and control the fits.
This made me feel totally spaced out. I found that my short term memory was just non-existent. It felt as if the world could blow up around me and I didnÂ’t care. When I had to make split second decisions, it made me slow in responding.
I went to my Neurologist and told him that the drugs were affecting me in this manner and his response was that we look into operating on the brain to remove the so called problem on the brain!! Naturally my response was in the negative and I have since not been back to him.
I slowly decreased my Topamax and threw what was left away. After that, my short term memory slowly re-appeared and I am trying to piece my memories together again.
I have since been diagnosed with “Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy” and have been given “Valproate” in conjunction with the Tegretol.
Please be aware of the side-effects. I’m sure that this drug works well in certain types of epilepsy, BUT definitely NOT with “Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy”