Topamax & IDEAS???
I have been on Topamax for over 3, maybe 4 years.. I was prescribed it from my previous doc at Johns Hopkins...I didn't think it worked until I was late in sending in my mail order prescription. While I was waiting for it to come through the mail, MY HEADACHES INCREASED. So....based on that, I would say that the Topamax works...I take one pill at night. I am also on Verapamil twice a day, also prescribed by my former doc at Hopkins. They prescribed Migranal and DHE shots...worked for maybe 3 mos...then NOT. So now since I am no longer there, I am taking what my local internist/gp had me on which was Midrin (boosted with 2 or 3 aspirin) and if that doesn't work (and take it at the VERY first twinge of discomfort), then it is on to the Percocet. If it is the Percocet, then it is lately 3 to start and also take the 2 or 3 aspirin, have pro or hubby do manual physical therapy in the form of an osteopathic type called craniosacral therapy and then lie down in dark, quiet room with bag of ice on my head. If I take the Percocet and KEEP LIVING...then the headache just escalates into KILLER MIGRAINE. I have yet to find anything that I could take and KEEP FUNCTIONING...Or to help with desensitizing me from all my headache triggers which are environmental sensory overload triggers: light, smell, noise, vibration, crying, sleeping too little/too much, etc. ANY IDEAS??? Lately this has been enough...occasionally it can take 2-8 Percocet. I have just made arrangements with my local doc to have him call or meet me at the local ER if necessary for the next KILLER migraine I get when I vomit...Last one I vomited for 24 hours straight so I couldn't even get the Percocet down me to start working!!! I have never been to an ER but I wasted 5 days with this one...between the migraine and then trying to get my low blood pressure (88/55--WHAT'S YOURS!!!????), dizziness and all my drugs going back in without throwing them up!!! I have even contacted Dr. Lawrence Robbins and he had never heard of Topamax used for headaches THEN but it was over a year ago. Hope the Topamax works for you! Blondielou
Hi Blondielou! I've only been on this Topamax for a few months... but I've gotten a 75% decrease in my migraines since I started. I take 2 tablets a day - 200mg in the morning, and again at night. It is the only preventative I take. If for some reason I get a HA, I take my usual Fiorcet/Reglan combo, but I've onlly had to do that a few times in the last 3 months. I guess I'm lucky. My BP is usually around 100/70, but since I've been on the topiramate it fluctuates between 90/60 and 120/90 (that's quite high for me), so I was wondering if it has an effect on BP. I know what you mean about all the wild triggers, but you certainly sound more sensitive than I am. Crying is one of the worst for me, followed by light. As for the nausea, have you tried meds delivered via suppository? Not pleasant, but they won't go anywhere if you throw up... so they will be absorbed better than those taken orally. Who is Dr. Lawrence Robbins? I am now a big Topamax fan, but not every drug is for every migraneur. If it works for you, keep using it. Have you lost any weight on Topamax? So far I lost 15 pounds, and it's gotten to the point that I have to make sure that I eat during the day sometime, otherwise I would never eat at all. I have no appetite at all anymore - it was good at the beginning, but I can see how it could become a bit of a problem with some people. Talk to you later, sue h