Metabolic acidosis symptoms and conditions

i have been on this for 5 weeks topamax and am now very depressed and anxious and having suicidal thoughts and bad upset belly and am now coming of it does anybody think that this is the cause

In August I started taking Topamax and every week i am to up the dosage now I am taking 50mg in the morning and and 50 mg at night because my headaches was so bad that I had to quit my job because I couldn't serve food and vomit at the same time. Now that my headaches have gone from everyday to about every other day I have noticed the indigestion. Because I had because sick so long the doctor suggested I had a reflux and it would correct itself.I started looking at all the medication I was on and the list from the pharmacy never indicated indigestion on as a side effect for Topamax.My appetite is non.Weight lost about 20 lbs but I could afford that and then some. I try not to use the upstairs of my home if no one is there because of the dizziness.And simple chores around the house go undone.I have bounce $130 in bank fees this month and can't figure out how and gave the finances over to my husband to keep up with and I am a math major in college this semester.This is how bad things have gotten some simple words i can't recall how to spell . I have to use the dictionary. It's bad.

I've been having breathing issues since last Sunday (so for one week now) and ended up in the emergency room yesterday because I was hyperventilating so bad at work, I nearly fainted. My lips, hands and feet were tingling. On the way to the hospital my hands, feet and lips became numb. Then my muscles started to cramp and I lost the feeling in my hands (at this point, I was struggling to hold it together and not cry, so I was having some anxiety as well). At the hospital, I had my lungs x-rayed, blood work, urine tested, and an ekg---all normal. They gave me some Ativan and said it was probably anxiety. I still couldn't breathe. I was anxious because I haven't been able to breathe properly for a week and no one has an answer for me! When I talk, I get winded. If I have to move around and talk at the same time, I am gasping for air. If you read the information sheet on Topamax, it can cause something called "metabolic acidosis" which can be quite dangerous. My blood work came back normal. You can have the pH of your blood tested to see if this is the case. If your pH is too low, then the you may be experiencing this. Read your Topamax literature. For me, I decided to take myself down to 50 mg from 75mg anyway, just to be on the safe side and hopefully, I'll here from my headache doctor tomorrow and will follow up with my internist on my own. It's very scary. Please be careful. Good luck to everyone. Oh, yes, and if I forget that I wrote this, it's the Topamax! :)

There has been at least two documented cases of women having extremely high acid levels due to taking Xeloda. These high levels ultimately caused their deaths. All drugs cause side effects but death is not one listed in any of the literature that Roche presents with this drug. If you are taking this drug please make sure that your acid levels are checked regularly and if you know of someone who had the same complications from Xeloda please contact us.

You know, it's very irritating when people post "STAY AWAY FROM THIS OR THAT" etc ... just because *they* or someone they know had a problem with it. I've been on Topamax for about 4 months now - up to 300mg/per day, only side effect is the metabolic acidosis if I overexert in the heat (which is damn annoying) - I haven't yet reached tharaputic levels because the weight-loss hasn't kicked in, so I'm liable to get close to the 800mg per day dosage. All this AND I'm prone to kidney stones to begin with! So please stop all the screaming about how freaking dangerous it is just because it didn't work for YOU, hell, pennicillin KILLS people too but you don't hear people screaming about how terrible it is, do you?

Okay, so I think I may have stumbled on something more.....for all of you out there who have expeirenced the irregular heart rhythms....here's more on what I found in research about potassium. I learned that this was one of the greatest risks of Yasmin...but had no idea I was at 5.7 in blood tests just confirmed this morning after 3 months of being off of Yasmin and just last Dec. 2005-it was 4.7? So now, I am starting to wonder if my Adrenal Glands may not be doing their job as noted below to the release of adolsterone?

Why is the Test Performed?

Potassium (K+) is the major positive ion within cells and is particularly important for maintaining the electric charge on the cell membrane. This charge allows nerves and muscles to communicate and is necessary for transporting nutrients into cells and waste products out of the cell. The concentration of potassium inside cells is about 30 times that in the blood and other fluids outside of cells.

Potassium levels are mainly controlled by the steroid hormone aldosterone. (For more information see the aldosterone test.) Aldosterone is secreted from the adrenal gland when levels of potassium increase. Aldosterone, in turn, causes the body to rid itself of the excess potassium.

Metabolic acidosis (for example, caused by uncontrolled diabetes) or alkalosis (for example, caused by excess vomiting) can affect blood potassium.

Small changes in the potassium concentration outside cells can have substantial effects on the activity of nerves and muscles. This is particularly true of heart muscle. Low levels of potassium cause increased activity (which can lead to an irregular heartbeat), whereas high levels cause decreased activity. Either situation can lead to cardiac arrest in some circumstances.

In normal people, taking potassium supplements or potassium-containing drugs is of no consequences, because the kidneys efficiently dispose of excess potassium.