Posted by headachequeen on March 13, 2005, at 9:05:03
In reply to Re: topomax and weight loss » headachequeen, posted by challenged on March 13, 2005, at 5:20:09
> Thanks headachequeen.......keep your 2 cents coming because they certainly are a breath of fresh air after reading tylers unscrupulous comments. I will definitely keep in mind the dosage increase as I was unaware of that. Nice to have connected with you and will keep in touch.......Nettie
Nettie, I am not sure why you are taking Topomax -- shall have to go back and read the posts I missed while dealing with yet another bout of statis epilepticus...
in case you are not familiar with the delightful experience, it is a period of several hours when one's body is racked with seizure after seizure, one immediately following the other, no respite in between...
I could go into some severe and ugly not to mention embarrassing details to really educate you, but shall spare myself those parts.
During this twelve hour period the body reaches temps around 105 Fahrenheit, risking brain damage that is irreversible, not to mention damage to other organs... minor things like kidneys, liver, heart, and the like...
During this the patient is usually comatose.. thank heaven, otherwise the whole thing would be truly unbearable. I do remember coming to and demanding a pair of socks because my feet were cold the first time and the incredible thirst but being unable to have even a sip of water because of the tests that it might interfere with; instead they moisten your lips with this vile tasting stuff on a swab...
I'd rather be thirsty and unconscious...these episodes can be caused naturally, but in the latter case it was caused because there was no warning accompanying the antibiotic I was taking...
apparently, like aspirin, it increases the effect of one of the anti-seizure meds I take until one has the effect of ten times the dosage and bang...
statis...oh, it is so much fun....
not to mention that my gift from my God, my treasured uncle who has the same rare type of epilepsy that I have went into statis during surgery a few weeks ago and died before they could control it...
what Tyler is trying to say is that while weight control and other side effects that are medicinally helpful from Topomax do happen, it is first and foremost a drug developed to deal with seizures and epilepsy and like all aeds a dangerous drug to play with...
I guess I am no longer a breath of fresh air, but I am breathing fresh air a little longer...
twice within months I get to celebrate the fact this time because my primary care physician recognised the symptoms from the last time and jumoed in and reacted instead of waiting to ship me out to the city...a third time I might not be so lucky...
yes, Topomax helps take off weight... but it is a side effect not the primary intent..
yes, it helps with migraine... but it is a side effect...
the other uses I am not sure of...
the top two I know of only because the last neurologist I had was the one who led the research into migraine (knew precious little about epilepsy though I was better off with the one I had been seeing since childhood except he retired) and my present one did the research into weight loss...
the rest I am not aware off...but I do know one has to treat these anti-epilepsy meds with a great deal of respect and be darned careful why one takes them and what one does with them....
They are wonderful things and terrifying things...
remind me of fire.
kat
poster:headachequeen
thread:5053
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050312/msgs/470376.html