Anyone taken Topamax for migraine relief? Positive or negative experience with it?

Well, I was at 75 mg per day (3 25 mg tablets), and it definitely DID work for my headaches. I was having daily headaches (severe, sometimes migraines).

However, the side effects outweighed the pain for me and I quit taking it. I was constantly in a fog. My husband would talk to me about something and ten minutes later I couldn't remember the conversation. I had blackouts all the time, I just would be missing huge chunks of time!

I also had blurred vision when I was on the pill, and so did my mom who was also taking it, and several people at her work who took it. Almost like you need glasses on to see far away. My speech started slurring when I went up to 100 mg (I was still having headaches), and I had to go back down. The sad thing is I didn't even notice it, my mom had to ask me if I was drunk. My limbs would go cold and stay that way all day. It decreased the blood flow to my body so badly.

It does help you lose weight as well, but I wouldn't let that be the primary reason to take it. If you are already underweight you will have real problems with that. It completely takes away all appetite. I was also VERY moody on this med. I would swing from perfectly peachy to PISSED OFF in two seconds flat!! It was scary. Not to mention you can't just quit taking it, you have to step it down every few days or you will suffer major withdrawal symptoms. I tried to just quit because the blackouts were scaring me (I have a three year old), and I started shaking really hard and having cold sweats and slurred speech.

I forgot, after a few months at 75 mg, I started losing my hair in CHUNKS.... Very scary to start going bald at 23!

Try Zebutal for the occasional migraine. Gets rid of the headache, little to no side effects! That's what I take!

I have been taking Topamax for prevention of migraines for just over a year. The biggest side effect I've had is loss of appetite, which in turn has caused me to lose weight. I'm not complaining! I still get the odd migraine here and there but I think the Topamax is helping. Just make sure you take it as prescribed and drink plenty of water during the day. It has been known to cause kidney stones. I haven't had any, but the doctor doesn't tend to tell you these things when they prescribe it. Hope this helps!

You sound a lot like me a couple years ago. I also suffered with migraines probably every 10 days or so. I had some success with Imitrex, but when it didn't work, my life was miserable! I had heard a lot about Topamax. I was unable to go on it for a while due to my not having health insurance. It is very expensive. About a year and a half ago, I finally got health insurance. I started taking the Topamax. I did not notice any side effects and my hope was that it would lessen the frequency of my migraines. But it was even better, it actually knocked them completely away! It took about 3-4 weeks to completely kick in, but since then I have had only one migraine, and I kicked it with one Imitrex. My migraines no longer have control of my life. I hope it will work for you. Trust me, I know how frustrating it can be. Good luck!

Taking meds prophilactically is smart. It's better to try and head off the migrained/pain than to try and catch up with it.

Topomax has helped many people. I would think it would be worth a try.

Migraines can be difficult to treat and no drug may prevent 100%.. but preventing even 50% is better than nothing.

Not sure you'd see minor side effects after 1 or 2 doses... but yes, once the drug exits your body, the side effects go away. Rarely would there be a long term problem.

I use Inderal for prevention. It's a beta-blocker which affects the heart and circulation. Inderal has been a tremendous help.

There are many medications to treat and prevent migraines so hopefully you'll find something that works for you.

Unfortunately, there's no crystal ball so the only way to determine if topomax will work will be to try it.

Here's some info that should be helpful

mayoclinic.com

Prevention

Whether or not you take preventive medications, you may benefit from lifestyle changes that can help reduce the number and severity of migraines. One or more of these suggestions may be helpful for you:

Avoid triggers. If certain foods seem to have triggered your headaches in the past, eat something else. If certain scents are a problem, try to avoid them. In general, establish a daily routine with regular sleep patterns and regular meals. In addition, try to control stress.

Exercise regularly. Regular aerobic exercise reduces tension and can help prevent migraines. If your doctor agrees, choose any aerobic exercise you enjoy, including walking, swimming and cycling. Warm up slowly, however, because sudden, intense exercise can cause headaches.

Reduce the effects of estrogen. If you're a woman with migraines and estrogen seems to trigger or make your headaches worse, you may want to avoid or reduce the amount of medications you take that contain estrogen. These medications include birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy. Talk with your doctor about the best alternatives or dosages for you.

Self-care

Self-care measures can help ease the pain of a migraine. Try these headache helpers:

Keep a diary. A diary can help you determine what triggers your migraines. Note when your headaches start, how long they last and what, if anything, provides relief. Be sure to record your response to any headache medications you take. Also pay special attention to foods you ate in the 24 hours preceding attacks, any unusual stress, and how you feel and what you're doing when headaches strike. If you're under stress, tell your doctor.

Try muscle relaxation exercises. Progressive muscle relaxation, meditation and yoga don't require any equipment. You can learn them in classes or at home using books or tapes. Or spend at least a half-hour each day doing something you find relaxing — listening to music, gardening, taking a hot bath or reading.

Get enough sleep, but don't oversleep. The average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep a night.

Rest and relax. If possible, rest in a dark, quiet room when you feel a headache coming on. Place an ice pack wrapped in a cloth on the back of your neck and apply gentle pressure to painful areas on your scalp.

Complementary and alternative medicine

Nontraditional therapies may be helpful if you have chronic headache pain:

Acupuncture. In this treatment, a practitioner inserts many thin, disposable needles into several areas of your skin. The penetration is so shallow and the needles are so thin that acupuncture generally causes little or no pain or discomfort. A number of clinical trials have found acupuncture may be helpful for headache pain, but evidence from these trials isn't strong enough for experts to routinely recommend this treatment.

Biofeedback. Biofeedback appears to be especially effective in relieving migraine pain. This relaxation technique uses special equipment to teach you how to monitor and control certain physical responses, such as muscle tension. This technique can be combined with preventive medications.

Massage. Although massage is a wonderful way to reduce stress and relieve tension, its value in treating headaches hasn't been fully determined. For people who have tight, tender muscles in the back of the head, neck and shoulders, massage may help relieve headache pain.

Herbs, vitamins and minerals. There is some evidence that the herbs feverfew and butterbur may prevent migraines or reduce their severity. A high dose of riboflavin (vitamin B-2) also may prevent migraines by correcting tiny deficiencies in the brain cells. There is also some evidence that coenzyme Q10 supplements may be helpful in some individuals. Oral magnesium sulfate supplements may reduce the frequency of headaches in some people, although studies don't all agree on this issue. In addition, infusions of magnesium sulfate seem to help some people during an acute headache, and they seem to relieve migraine pain in people with magnesium deficiencies. Ask your doctor if these treatments are right for you. Don't use feverfew or butterbur if you're pregnant.

Cervical manipulation. There are no scientifically valid studies that prove that chiropractic or other spine-manipulation treatments are effective in the treatment of migraine.

Midrin Replacement

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Hardly any, pl see what suits you.

If you are in cold country use all warm things.

Pl try cold water bath and observe if in hot country, if pain increases use warm.

If you have cough/cold body hot water bath will help.

Massage and exercise in front of morning sun is good thing, pl try.

Pl try simple acupressure given below for immediate relief.

If it fails you will have to go for Acupuncture.

There is hardly any medicine for H/A OR MIGRAINE. Not only these but for RA, OA, Back ache, Ear ache/ringing, Stomach ache and almost all painful diseases. Hence they become chronic.

Acidity, WORRY, sadness, excessive wind, cold , heat, sour food and sinusitis, constipation, intestinal inflammation; drug side effects, stress, bad smell, TV & COMPUTER SOMETIMES, Blockage in the flow of Vital Energy, BODY CONSTITUTION etc are their causes.

None of them can be treated with medicine.

Our 100% success in treating migraine &H/A confirms it.

Acupuncture is the best treatment.

I can treat it with naturopathy and YOG, but how can you manage pl see.

Pain killers don't treat the pain but we loose the sense of pain for some time; in that duration our body itself treats sometime and credit goes to meds.

The useless drugs have tremendous power of side effects like liver/kidney failures, ulcer, inflammation of intestines and lot more.

Avoid late sleeping if possible; worry, tension, spicy foods, sour fruits, stale bakery foods, SMOKING and alcohole.

Sweet foods, COCOANUT WATER,sweet fruits like dates, milk, rice, SPROUTS, SALADS and good sleep will help if cough is not there.

But you try one herbal remedy- two drops of drumstick leaves' juice in opposite nostril if one side pains and both nostrils if full H/A will give you rescue. Betel leaf helps but it is very strong.

If it is acute pl search a painful point (with round tipped pen/jimmy) 3-6 mm behind your thumb nail and press it, H/A will disappear within 30 seconds.

For forehead/eye pain the points are in front of nails on the finger tips or 3-7 mm below.

It may disappear naturally too.

Source(s):

SHREE SWASTHYAYOG TREATMENT, TRAINING & RESEARCH INSTITUTE

R.H. 19, Jhulelal Society, Sector 2/E, Airoli, Navi Mumbai, INDIA.

Well i had horrible migrains and could not see and could not stand sound, light anything.. i would crawl to the bath room.. imitrex, made me real sick....... i had spinal tap with was horrible, they could not figure out why i was getting migrains.... alot of it was stress but. topamax.... worked great i felt wonderful it also helps you lose weight... i would say ask your doctor for topamax.. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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