I've been on Topamax for over a year for hormonal migraines, and ...

yes, I was on topomax for 4 months the side effects were too much for me to handle. I had every single side effect listed that was possible. You mentioned stomach pain, I had that too! I thought it was an ulcer, it was like I had something stuck and a constant pain down underneath my breast bone, doctor gave me prevacid , she said that I had inflamation of the stomach, I took the med. and it helped soon after that i went off topamax because I developed a twitching on my right side of my face that was involuntary, that was the last straw for me I took a leave of absence from work and got off the medication. I am seeing a new doctor now and taking propanolol 240 mgs it seems to be working for now but my depression has worsened.

When I saw my neurologist last week, the Topamax rep happened to be there. The doc wanted me to describe all my side effects. The rep said stomach pain is rare, but possible. All my pain went away when I stopped the drug, but I do worry I did long term damage like an ulcer. That's what it felt like. The last few days before I quit, I had constant diarrhea and even started vomiting. The doctor wanted me to quit cold turkey, but I took 4 days to decrease the dosage. I knew from experience I'd have awful withdrawal headaches, which I did for about a week. Now he's got me on nortriptyline, which is an antidepressant. I just started it, so not sure of the effects yet. I tried Inderal (propranolol) last year, but I didn't like it. My heart raced all the time and I felt jittery. A friend of mine is on it and she says it's great. I guess this type of drug, a beta blocker, is good for your mood. I would think your depression would get better, not worse. Maybe you should ask your doctor to switch to one of the antidepressants. I believe the only big negative side effects of nortriptyline are increase in appetite and loss of libido. Compared to my experience with Topamax, that doesn't sound so bad. It's also supposed to help your mood and raise your energy level, plus help you sleep better. With two little boys, these are definite plusses for me!

Talisha