United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

take dilantin my husband was on tegratol and dilantin has been great dilantin is great for seizures

My name is Shelley. My doctor put me on Topamax in February, as the Depakote I had been taking for epilepsy caused me to gain a significant amount of weight. I immediately started losing weight and my seizures are under control, but I hate the side effects of the drug. The insomnia, tingling in my face and hands, constipation, dizziness and confusion, and nausea, just to name a few, are terrible. Will this ever go away? Or do I need to decide whether I'd rather be thin and feel miserable or heavy and feel "normal" again??

Hi Terry,

I was very curious about your post re: BOTOX-I was prescribed topamax today for severe migraines-I immediately did a search because i like to know what I am taking-the side effects are worrisome to me-particularly the loss of coordination,balance etc. (I am a Personal Trainer) this can't happen! My question is this, how did you get the insurance company to approve BOTOX? The reason I ask is that I *have* had BOTOX for cosmetic reasons-and I had only one headache in 3 months following the treatment! Totally amazing-however I cannot afford $500.00 a pop-know what I mean? BTW I am in TX too! Fort Worth. Any info you have would be SOOOOOOOO appreciated. Thank you Deidre S.

I have been on Topamax for 6 months now and have been recently moved to 200mg. I also take this drug for migraines and Fibromyalgia pain. I was not aware of the side effects until alot of things started happening to me and I went on a search and found this forum. I also have been experiencing worsening of depression, severe confusion,numbing,radio sounds in my head after taking it at night and other undesirable effects. Now that I know its the topamax I will be talking to my Dr. about decreasing or discontiuing the med altogether.

I have the pins and needles in my feet,legs, and hands. It feels as if they have fallen asleep but they hurt really badly. My psychiatrist told me to eat two bananas a day because the potassium helps take away the side effects. So far I see a little bit of a decrease in the tingles. So hopefully it might work for you.

I am having problems with tinnitus from the topamax. I have had the "brilliant" idea of going for a second opinion to a neurologist who specializes in sz disorders. Hooray for me. Perhaps I will be able to hear myself think. Some neuros treat a wide variety of pts and just parrot the party line, and some drs. are just hard to talk to. My current doctor
doesn't like to hear questions, and I want to scream, "Just whose brain do you think we are discussing..."

I wondered if topamax was what was causing my pepsi to taste like metal and have come to the conclusion that it is. I am taking it for fibro amd headaches and had hoped to lose some weight that I put on while having vascular problems. I have lost a little already and only taking 50 mg a day for a little over two months.But I have recently started having heartburn really bad and throwing up yellow bile ,have you experienced this problem? Thanks

I just started on topamax and I am only on 25 mg of for migraines, and fibro. Today I started having heartburn which I have never had in my life that I can remember. I also have problems with my vision being blurry and my eyes being more sensitive to light. Anyone else have these problems? I just new glasses two weeks before I started the topamax so I know that is not the problem.

Wow - I am so fascinated by this post!
I am taking topamax for migraines - 2 months now - not sure of dosage, but I think about 60 mg??
Anyway, has really helped with headache symptoms, migraines down from about 20+ per month (can you believe that?) to less than 10. But better than that, it has really helped with the other "head" symptoms, such as nasal swelling, TMJ, ear stuffiness, sinus pain, etc. So, in general, I just feel so much better than I used to.
Side effects:
Yes, metallic taste of sodas - this gets better. Bloated stomach, this has not gotten better and is very annoying. My ears feel a lot of pressure, like in an airplane. I have also noticed confusion in driving (very slight) and a bad temper sometimes that I don't like. My doctor said it could cause kidney stones. I have an appt. on Mon and think I will either decrease or get off it b/c of the bloating and temper thing. I'm so wimpy when it comes to meds, but after reading these posts it just doesn't seem worth it. I've lived with migraines for 25 years - better the devil you know!
- Tina

sexual side effect yes!!!! i too cannot reach orgasm i am on 100mg 2x a day for bi polar and have been on it for about 3 months I am also on Lexapro so im not sure which one is doing it???