Just one question I have been on this stuff at the beginning dose...

I am currently weaning. YOU NEED TO WEAN OFF THIS CRAP or you can have dire side effects. Sorry. I feel your pain. I have lost jobs and all kinds of opportunities because of this drug (and the lack of education that goes with the whores prescribign this crap. they do not tell you that it CAN POSSIBLY mess up your mind to the point that you cannot function). It will take me 50 days to wean. I spoke to pharmacist and she said 3 weeks till it's out of system. Also ringing in ears is "normal". I went to epilepsy support group, told my story and somoeone said "welcome to topamax club. you're me 5 years ago".

My mission is to tell people what doctors and the pharmaceutical company won't. This stuff is toxic!

Thanks I didn't wean since I took it less than a week. Its been about 3 weeks and I can eat again. The weight loss was a nice side effect but oh my God this stuff is killer. On the flip side my neighbor takes it and absolutely raves about it. Wonder what she will say a couple of yrs down the road?? Luckily I found this site I may have stayed on it longer. Any of the drugs that affect your mind don't work well on me seem to get all the negative effects. Thanks again and good luck with your treatments. I personally am going herbal for a while

I have been on it for 8 weeks now ramping up to 100 mg.
It has been a roller coaster ride. But, I started taking the Topoamax July 23rd. In July on a scale of 1 to 3, I was having 3's 4 or 5 days a week and a few 4's mixed in between (4's are off the scale...).
After the last '4', I gave in to my fear of side effects and started the Topamax. There were defintitely serious side effects to deal with and to continue to deal with and prepare against. I drink 10 - 14 glasses of liquids everyday...my eating habits are still adjusting as my digestive system is still calming down from the rollercoaster ride of getting used to the medicine in my system. Only on 100mg. for about 1&1/2 weeks now.
However, I have had a drastic reduction in occurence in #3's and #4's.
Auguts is the Absolute worst month of the year for me. Iam 40 and have migraines all of my life, and they have gotten worse all of my life....Until Now! Topomax may not be for everybody. But for now, it is a miracle drug for me. I still have to take Maxalt when the attacks occur, because they have not completely subsided...but I have regained a major semblance of control in my life.

I have been on topomax since march 07 and am taking 150 mg a day and after twenty years of sever migraines I have been migraine free and have lost 126 lbs to boot.......but, on the downside at this point, on 150 mg my mind is very fuzzy! I forget things all the time and cannot seem to have clarity of thought and I have always had the ability to think very sharply!!! And for some reason I have noticed a drastic difference in my ability ot rather non ability to focus up close any more. I am an actress and preparing for a part and cannot remember my lines nor read my script and am panicking!!!! I think I will have to lower my dosage and risk migraines again just to get my memory back. It is pretty scary to think this medication is taking away my power to think and I will ask the optician about my eyes as maybe I am just paranoid having read bad things about Topamax and eyesight side effects, but it is rather a coincidence if you ask me! But I have to have a functioning brain to work I can't risk it so will lower my dosage to 75 mg or so..... and hopefully that will take the edge of the severity of the migraines....but keep me lucid!

My fifteen year old daughter started yaz because she was having extremely bad periods for a couple of months. She stayed in bed the first three days and cramped terribly. She had a bad headache and was bleeding real heavy too. Her younger sister had to go on birth control as well. The younger one had suffered for a while, so naturally when the oldest atarted to suffer, I wanted to help her. Her ob gyn prescribed triphasal for the youngest and yaz for the oldest one. The oldest took yaz for for five weeks. The school nurse called on August 14 and said she was in her office complaining that she couldn't feel her right side of her tongue or arm and leg. She was disoriented and unresponsive at times. I had her call an ambulance and take her to the hospital. There she acted as if she had had a stroke. She had been having mood swings that I didn'e associate with the yaz at first. She even had suicidal thoughts and outbursts of anger. She wasn't herself at all for a couple of weeks before the hospital. At the hospital, she had a severe headache and she couldn't say any words that had the T sound. She tried to tell me that her tounge was numb but she kept saying her young. At times she would grab her head and almost scream that her feet or stomach were hurting then she would catch herself and try to tell me that it was her head but she couldn't. She never did say her head but when I'd ask her if it was her head shae would say yes or shake her head yes. They did an EEG, blood work, a drug tes (urine), and an MRI of her brain. Later in the week she had another EEG, and an ultrasound of the corotid artery. The ultrasound of the corotid showed rapid blood flow. They did a MRA of the corotid on her neck because of the ultrasound reading. I found out a few days later that she can never have this MRA done again. NEVER. Because of the dye that they used. So later when she is 50-60 or so if she has any symptoms of heart attack or stroke, she cannot have this test, which could save her life later in her life. Her doctor didn't even tell me this so that I could make an informed decision. These doctors are making decisions about their patients that they have no right to make. He didn't counsel me or her about this test. The yaz is dangerous. My child could have died from it. Her little head still feels like it is going to split sometimes. I think yaz has some explaining to do and her doctor does as well.