Topamax and lungs

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! :)

I had been dealing with numbness in my hands and feet for about a month (I've been on Topamax for maybe 2 months now, maybe 1.5 months...) and I am happy to deal with that. Anything is better than the migraines that I had, and anything is better than waiting for the next migraine to start.

But for the past few days, I have been dealing with a total shortness of breath. It's like I can't catch my breath, in a way... or, as my mom put it, can't really get a "fulfilling" breath. I am constantly yawning, but that's how I am getting to that deep breath, although it takes me 3 or 4 tries to get there. It's frustrating, and SCARY!

I called the Topamax number today, and the nurse said that the side effects should only last 3 months total, but 1.5 more months of this?! I can barely imagine 1.5 more hours!!!!!