Seizure medications symptoms and conditions

I was on 200 mg/day of topamax for migraines. It did lessen the frequency and severity of the migraines. I lost 20 lbs and looked great. I felt horrible. I was suicidal and paranoid, cried frequently and thought that I was going to die. I was very tired, probably due to the topamax and the fact I was only eating about 500 cal per day on a good day, I was only rarely hungry and then would feel full after a few bites. I loved being thin, but was too tired to enjoy my life. I'm a nurse and couldn't remember anything, so I wrote everything down. My husband said that talking to me was like playing charades, because I couldn't remember the words for what I wanted to say. People would talk to me and my comprehension was very poor - it was like they were talking in another language that I didn't understand very well. I had always been sharp and quick witted, but on Topamax I was lost in a brain fog. I went off the drug under an MD's care. It took a while to feel like my old self, but life is now normal.

I was considering going back on it to lose the weight I put back on, but after reading all the other posts, I realize it's just not worth it. No, not everyone experiences all the awful side effects, but the side effects are not rare and some of them are horrifying. One of my friends who went on it couldn't even remember her children's names and she was on just 25 mg. I think this drug can make you feel like you are dying - just like a cancer patient at end stage. You don't want to eat, there is little enjoyment in life, your brain is foggy like you've been going through chemo and you feel incredibly sad as if you're going to die.

My advice would be to use the drug only if absolutely necessary. Try acupuncture, other migraine meds or seizure medications before this one. If you are taking it and notice that you are having extreme side effects, ask your doctor to be taken off it. If you can take it and the only side effects you get are a little pins and needles and an aversion to soda, go for it! But please note if you have strong emotional changes and try to eat healthy while on topamax.

My father is 85 and ended up in the hospital with a bacterial infection that started in the blood and went to the bladder. They put him on Levaquin. He received it intravenously for a couple of days. Then took it in pill form for three days. He was weak and didn't have much appetite in the hospital. When he went home he took one pill a day, in the morning. In addition to still having no energy he was nauseous all the time and felt lousy. Once I saw this website I was immediately alarmed and printed off all of the side effects. The main thing that made me insist that he call the doctor and be taken off the medication is this: He has been on medication for seizures since last August. They are very slight brain activities that come and go very rapidly. He hasn't had any episodes since being on various seizure medications. He experienced 4 mini-seizures within 2 days. This happened the last two days he was on the levaquin. On the long list of side-effects seizures is one of them. The doctor switched him to sulfamethoxazole to continue with an antibiotic. I didn't get to personally speak to his doctor, the night we called we got a partner and she immediately agreed that he should stop the levaquin. The levaquin had 2 refills on it; I wonder how long he would of had to take it if we didn't interfere. Before we called the doctors office we called an 800 number that his Blue Shield provider supplies for questions. We got a registered nurse and I specifically ask her if she heard much about this medication, I was surprised that she said no? I didn't get the impression that when my father went to see his doctor that the doctor said much about the levaquin. I tried to get my father to give him the entire printout of these articles but he didn't. What really gets me about this happening to him is the fact that we've been fighting with his specialist about his seizure medication because he has had such bad side effects taking them. He's on his fourth. Finally when he went in the hospital his family doctor met with the specialist and got him on a seizure medication that isn't as new and doesn't seem to have as many warnings BUT THEN the same family doctor that knows we've been concerned about harsh side effects, turns around and puts him on something like this, I almost flipped out when I saw the side effects and the stories on this site. I agree with some of the previous statements about the pharmaceutical companies being out of control, pushing new and expensive medications on doctors and then onto unsuspecting patients. I'm hearing more and more that people are having side effects that are giving them serious problems. My advise to everyone is to talk in depth about any medication you are being prescribed and check the side effects before filling the prescription. Take as little medication as possible, try to find quality vitamins and herbs to help with medical situations, only take prescription drugs if necessary. Watch out for any older people that you are involved with and help them to check things out. My father has been on Shaklee vitamins for over 20 years and I believe it has helped him get through many medical situations better then he normally would have. I think this whole thing would have been worse if he hadn't had the reinforcement of nutritional supplements and a good pro-biotic.