I have been on Topamax since August 2005. This spring I began to...

I have been on Topamax since August 2005. This spring I began to have odd problems that I did not attribute to the drug. In April, my doctor prescribed Lasix for swelling in my legs and feet. In August I developed peripheral neuropathy in my legs and feet and began experiencing numbness in my chin and lower face. My doctor prescribed Lyrica for the peripheral neuropathy. Also in August, I began experiencing extreme fatigue and sleepiness. I became depressed and irritable. By September was falling asleep everywhere--even driving. I was exhausted because I awoke from sleep feeling totally unrested. I had a sleep study done and they told me I spent only 25% of the normal amount of time in the two deeper stages of sleep. At the beginning of November, I suddenly became plagued with excessive thoughts of suicide one Friday evening. I decided to stop all my meds, except the antidepressant. Within 48 hours I felt MUCH better. No obsessive thoughts and no more falling asleep. I felt like a giant weight had been lifted from my shoulders. By Thursday I was feeling rested when I awoke in the mornings. I looked up all my meds, including the clinical trials with ALL the side effects and recommendations on Tuesday of that week. Lasix increases the potency of the Topamax and has many of the same bad side effects as the Lyrica I was prescribed--sleep disturbance, depression, dry mouth, etc., etc. Since stopping those medications the first of November, Topamax, Lasix, and Lyrica, I have returned to normal. Even the peripheral neuropathy is MUCH better. No swelling or sleepiness or fatigue. No more irritability or deep depression. Definitely no thoughts of suicide. I can taste food again. And none of the migraines for which the Topamax was prescribed. My doctor is pleased that I am feeling so much better and concurs with the action I took. The medications were apparently interacting with one another and multiplying the intensity of the side effects. So, if you take multiple medications, please go to the clinical studies themselves and read about ALL the side effects uncovered in the studies. On the prescription information we get at the pharmacy, it lists only those discovered at "high incidence", including interactions with other medications.