Posted by Merolz on November 4, 2000, at 3:42:15
In reply to Re: DOES ANYONE HERE TAKE TOPAMAX ????, posted by TrishaH on November 3, 2000, at 21:19:56
> > > > My wife had been suffering from migraines for several months and was prescribed Topamax. She took a 100mg dose on an empty stomach before bedtime on Oct.16th and never woke up. The autopsy results showed no abnormalities. Women who suffer from migraines want relief without weight gain and are being prescibed this drug. My wife of 36 years (56 years old and in exceptional health except for migraines) is gone....I NEED HELP!
> > >
> > > Hi Robert
> > > You really shocked me with this message, I'm very sorry for your loss. It seems as though you blame Topamax for causing your wife's death. I know a bit about Topamax, and there is no reason to think that this incident is due to the drug. Nearly half a million people over the world have been on Topamax, and while it certainly can cause side effects for some people, there is still no clinical evidence to suggest that it causes sudden unexpected death. It's much more likely that it's a coincidence that your wife died soon after she took the tablet. I wanted to post this message up because your message could cause other people taking Topamax to be very concerned for their own safety. I can't begin to put myself in your shoes for the loss that you feel, I'm very sorry.
> >
> > Dear Rober,
> > I am sorry to hear of your loss. My Husband can almost relate. I am 34 years old. I am also taking Topamax for migraine and cluster headache prevention. I am now up to 125 mg. I also take celexa and vepramil with it to prevent the headaches which still isn't working that well. I take zomig and percacet to abort them to try to stay out of the
> > ER. One night I had a bad headache and went to the ER. The Dr. in the ER gave me a shot of 6mg of dilaudid. I had been in the ER for an hour ok. I was home for a while ok. My husband was downstairs playing with the children while I slept upstairs. The office is right across the hall from our bedroom. He went in there to get a portable phone. When he left the office he saw me blue and not breathing. He dialed
> > 911 and got the paramedics. The gave me narcan and pulled all the narcotics out of me. Game me an iv, oxygen, etc. They said another 15 min. and I would have been non recoverable. What I found out is that there has been no research between the interactions of narcotics and topamax. So now whenever I get a shot the hospital keeps me for 2 hours and my husband and kids rotate staying up with me.
> > So I know that Topamax does have some nasty interactions there. I am glad I was able to escape with my life. It did give me a different outlook and view on life. I did talk to the ER dr. to. Sorry again to hear of your loss. I will be praying for you.
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> Robert, I am so sorry to hear about your wife passing away. I must say this concerns me a great deal as I have just started taking Topamax for basilar migraines. I was told it has no real side effects but have already noticed a feeling of being disconnected and am only starting out on 25 milligrams. Also have noticed liquids having a funny taste, especially soft drinks. Anybody out there taking this for migraines and having a good outcome ? Will these side effects lessen or get worse as I continue to up my dose ? Anyone out there with basilar migraines and has found a good treatment ???? Thanks.Hi Trisha
The sort of side effects that you're experiencing with Topamax are common and recognised side effects of Topamax. They might lessen OR get worse as you bump up the dose; the drug affects people differently. You may find that you have to discontinue Topamax because the side effects are affecting you too badly.
Karla above has another nasty story involving Topamax, and unfortunately it has the tendency of scaring people like you unnecessarilly. It is true that there has been no research between the interactions of topamax and narcotics. There also hasn't been any research to see if it interacts with Big Macs either, but that doesn't mean you have to worry when you go to McDonalds. Considering half a million patients have started Topamax there every reason to expect that if a reaction with narcotics existed it would been documented and researched long ago, and as it stands, there is no reason to expect it does.
Here is the website for Topamax. It includes Patient Information.http://www.ortho-mcneil.com/topamax/index.htm
It is common to become unnecessarilly concerned about drug misinformation. If you want the facts, the best place to go is to the people who know.
Best of luck with your migraines
David
poster:Merolz
thread:9390
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001102/msgs/48171.html