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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by boonie on December 23, 2003, at 13:21:20
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness?, posted by bridgey1128 on December 23, 2003, at 13:09:54
I completely lost my appetite, so make sure you stick with the vitamins. I had to make a protien shake every day and I had to make myself drink it. I started doing some weird, dizzy stuff cuz I would literally forget to eat, that's why the protien shake. But, the weight just fell off - So did my pants. ;-) Congrats on the Bloody Mary part!!!!!
> Shoot! I'd love to lose 30lbs in 3 months!! I am taking so many vitamins I doubt it would matter much!Actually if I went back on the Atkins diet I could do it in a month and a half probably. Right now I am sick as a dog so I am not going to attempt it. That and I just got cast as Bloody Mary in our Community Theatre production of South Pacific. Just thought I thought throw that in! That has been a great mental boost lemme tell ya.
Posted by bridgey1128 on December 27, 2003, at 15:15:47
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness? Atkins Diet?, posted by mags on December 18, 2003, at 17:46:49
Anyone else have a problem with blurred vision? I just started the 50mg two days ago of the Topomax and all of a sudden I can't see far off distances. I am thinking I had better call my Dr because this has come on pretty sudden. Anyone else have this problem?
Posted by headachequeen on December 27, 2003, at 15:52:10
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness? Atkins Diet?, posted by bridgey1128 on December 27, 2003, at 15:15:47
Bridgey, I remember my neuro telling me that blurred vision, more specifically double vision was often a side effect of meds used to overcome seizures...
amd this, in my experience is a very short term problem with topomax...
it came and it went...kat
P.S. my aim id is tegreine if it will work for me and I would love to talk with you...
Posted by bridgey1128 on December 27, 2003, at 17:44:09
In reply to bridgey » bridgey1128, posted by headachequeen on December 27, 2003, at 15:52:10
This isn't just run of the mill blurred vision..This is I can't hardly see the TV in front of my face blurred vision. I laid down to take a nap and now there are these rainbow halos all over! If this is temporary I can live through it. But so far it's just getting worse! HELP!
Posted by boonie on December 28, 2003, at 9:42:47
In reply to Re: bridgey, posted by bridgey1128 on December 27, 2003, at 17:44:09
I've been on 50 mg of topomax for a year now and have never experienced any vision problems. I would call my doctor. I think in the information that I received, it said if you had any vision problems to contact your doctor.
> This isn't just run of the mill blurred vision..This is I can't hardly see the TV in front of my face blurred vision. I laid down to take a nap and now there are these rainbow halos all over! If this is temporary I can live through it. But so far it's just getting worse! HELP!
Posted by Sooshi on December 28, 2003, at 10:51:17
In reply to Re: bridgey, posted by bridgey1128 on December 27, 2003, at 17:44:09
When I first started Topa, I had terrible eye pain, went to the eye doc, and everything turned out to be fine (it was due to dryness) but I have had blurriness ever since starting Topa, and have had to use 1.25 reading glasses to read. I'm 40 years old, and have 20/20 vision, (even now with the blurry vision), so it is definately the Topa causing it. The eye doc checked my eyes thoroughly, and said to just use the reading glasses if the blurriness got bad. Since my vision is so good to begin with, my blurriness isn't that bad...maybe one's blurriness has something to do with how bad one's vision is to begin with?
Posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 10, 2004, at 16:41:09
In reply to starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by audrey on February 14, 2003, at 18:04:25
Hey-
I started the birth control patch a month ago, and i found out on my own that topamax interferes with it. I take 100mg of topamax 2x a day, and i asked my psychiatrist if she knew anything about topamax effecting it-she said that they havent really proved anything, and that the reason it becomes less effective is because the birth control and topamax are both digested in the liver, and they are both looking for the same enzymes. I am now switching off the patch and going on the pill, due to the side effects of the patch. It made me really hungry, and gave me acne. But what i wanted to know is if anyone knows if maybe the patch would be safer than the pill while taking topamax? It just makes me curious because the patch isnt really digested, it just goes through your blood stream. So if anyone knows anything, could you let me know, thanks!
Posted by sarita0001 on January 10, 2004, at 20:57:44
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 10, 2004, at 16:41:09
Hi,
I just wanted to reply about the acne. It's possible the Topamax is causing the acne too- that happened to me and a few others here. I was on the pill while on Tmax for about a month and was fine. The acne I had started before I started the pill.
Sara
Posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 21:18:28
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 10, 2004, at 16:41:09
The regular dose BC pill makes me crazy. I take Loestrin Fe 1/20. It's about the lowest dose you can take that has both hormones in it. I am on Topomax 50mg (my eyes are MUCH BETTER NOW THANKS!) and it hasn't interfered with my pills at all. If you switch to a lower dosage BC pill it probably will clear up. I was worried about it interfering with my BC too until I read that only over 1200mg a day does it do so and I don't know anyone that would take that much! The patch also doesn't work in women over 200lbs (I'm not sure how much you weigh), so if you weigh more than that, weight might be an issue too. Hope this helps!
Posted by Karen_kay on January 10, 2004, at 22:05:07
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 21:18:28
Wait, can you say this one more time please? I'm taking demulen 1/50 and now have acne like crazy due to the demulen. I had it mildly due to topamax (oh, yes the joys of meds!) and also the high dose of estrogen has caused me to get a nasty yeast infection (OH, the horror!), but I'm just not satisfied with this particular brand of BC. What were you saying again about 1200 mgs??? 1200 mgs of what?? Topamax? I really don't want to get pregnant, but I really don't want another yeast infection and I really don't want to deal with this acne anymore. And I really think that the dermatologist is just going to tell me it's the BC, I know for a fact that's what it is!!! HELP me..... (oh, I'm not over 200 lbs, so at this point anything is an option, short of the pull-out-and pray-method...My sister tried that and now I have a beautiful niece, who I wouldn't trade for anythign in the world, but still I don't want a child right now!!)
Posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 22:15:41
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills?? » bridgey1128, posted by Karen_kay on January 10, 2004, at 22:05:07
I read that taking 1200mg of Topomax or GREATER MIGHT affect your BC pills effectiveness. The Loestrin Fe 1/20 is a low dose BC pill. I take it because the normal dose ones make me nuts. I don't know about your other meds. The Topomax hasn't broken out my face but then again I use my Jafra stuff so it keeps bad skin at bay. Ask a dermatologist about the other meds, I don't know anything about them. Hope this helps!
Posted by Sooshi on January 10, 2004, at 22:27:06
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 22:15:41
I don't take birth control pills, but I do take Topamax, and it has REALLY made my skin break out, even up on my scalp! I had pretty bad acne as a teen, so that may be why I'm more prone to it now, but I just thought I'd mention it...
Posted by sarita0001 on January 11, 2004, at 9:31:32
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 22:15:41
Hi,
There's more specific information about Topamax and bc pills on the package insert that you can find on the website- www.topamax.com.
Other than that, I felt a lot better using condoms too along with the bc.
Sara
Posted by headachequeen on January 11, 2004, at 11:07:24
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 21:18:28
> The regular dose BC pill makes me crazy. I take Loestrin Fe 1/20. It's about the lowest dose you can take that has both hormones in it. I am on Topomax 50mg (my eyes are MUCH BETTER NOW THANKS!)
oh Bridgey I am so glad that your eyes are better... the increments were too fast... hang in there !!!
btw had my first eye surgery... and found out it is a temporary thing to find out if it works... if it does then he will do a permanent one ... oh joy, twice around the block... then they will work on the problem with the right eye... but that is under full anaesthetic he tells me LOL
kat
Posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 11, 2004, at 18:42:13
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 21:18:28
I just checked out topamax.com, and all i sort of understood it, but im still a little confused. I asked my psychiatrist a couple weeks about it and all she said was that they havent really proved anything yet, and she really didnt seem to know much. So is there a better birth control to be taking with it, beacuse im gonna be switching from the birth control patch, to ortho tri cyclen lo. What a pain meds can be huh?! :)
Posted by sarita0001 on January 11, 2004, at 19:03:47
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 11, 2004, at 18:42:13
Hi,
I don't know if you saw the part on the topamax.com website "Full US prescribing information". It is about 4 pages and has more detailed information about bc interaction and other stuff. I think it is on page 2 but can't remember.
Good luck
Sara
Posted by Ladee52 on January 14, 2004, at 9:24:38
In reply to topomax, posted by Ellen Brodie on April 19, 1999, at 15:58:40
Hi! I'm new to this website and am new to Topomax which my neurologist has me on for severe acute migraine syndrome. I have had a migraine headache since the middle of October...some days are better than others. I have had migraine headaches occasionally since I was in my middle 20's and now I am 51 so they aren't totally new to me. The doctor has had me slowly increase my dosage of Topomax to help prevent the side effects. I am currently at 75 mg's a day building to 100 mg's a day which is where I think he wants me to top out; however, I still have a headache at all times although the pain intensity has decreased though I still have some severe headaches at times. The side effects I have noticed are my face breaking out, I feel very tired and listless at all times, have severe insomnia, my tastes have changed, and I am either very hot or very cold. I have noticed a slight decrease in my appetite, but nothing major and I haven't lost any weight which I'd really like to do. Am just looking for more info and insight into this drug. Thanks!
Posted by bridgey1128 on January 14, 2004, at 9:49:01
In reply to Re: topomax, posted by Ladee52 on January 14, 2004, at 9:24:38
I am up to 50mg so far and I am probably going to have to be bumped up eventually. I am not sure how high my Dr wants to go yet. My face hasn't broken out anymore than normal but I have noticed the tingling thing going on. It stopped at the 25mg and I knew it was ok to move on up to the 50mg. WHOO WEE!! DON'T move up to the next dose too soon...lost my eyesight for a couple days...scary stuff. Kat helped me though! THANKS!!! The tingling thing is back so I am assuming that will go away. My dr told me that weight loss is usual around 150mg and higher. I haven't experienced too much weight loss but I have noticed a decrease in my appetite. I guess everyone is different and responds differently to drugs. I also take it for bipolar and not migraines. Maybe that affects the side effects too. If your face is breaking out, make sure you have a good skin care regiment. That can help with the acne also. Hope this helps some!
Posted by headachequeen on January 14, 2004, at 15:58:30
In reply to Re: topomax, posted by bridgey1128 on January 14, 2004, at 9:49:01
> It stopped at the 25mg and I knew it was ok to >move on up to the 50mg. WHOO WEE!! DON'T move up >to the next dose too soon...lost my eyesight for >a couple days...scary stuff. Kat helped me >though! THANKS!!! The tingling thing is back so I >am assuming that will go away. My dr told me that >weight loss is usual around 150mg and higher. I >haven't experienced too much weight loss but I >have noticed a decrease in my appetite. I guess >everyone is different and responds differently to >drugs. I also take it for bipolar and not >migraines. Maybe that affects the side effects >too... Hope this helps some!
My neurosurgeon gave me a schedule to follow with a copy for the pharmacy...
I started at 25 mg each evening for two weeks, then increased in 25 mg increments at two week intervals... when I had reached the 200 mg level, I began to take 25 mg in the mornings, increasing the same way until I reached the 220 mg...
I did make a mistake and didn't read the schedule properly and started taking it in the am which led to upset stomach so I was not impressed at first...
the neuro told me not to increase the dosage until I was ready and the schedule repeated that recommendation, to increase at my own level of comfort but no faster than at two week increments...when I got the timing right, the upset stomach disappeared and we began to get along the topomax and I...
I do have the tingling extremities but then I already suffered from that to an extreme thanks to Tegretol so I cannot tell if Topomax has increased it... there was hair loss at one point, but I already had a problem with that BIG TIME from Tegretol and Murph on this list mentioned Biotin and vitamins... no more hair loss and the dry straw hair is no more so Tegretol is weeping in its little plastic bottle although my hands always feel numb and cold and asleep as do my feet and sometimes my forearms... classic Tegretol symptoms I am told by my orthopaedist...
I take the Topomax to control migraine as a side effect to its seizure control and it is has worked in controlling the migraine almost since day one.. I have not had a migraine since January of last year... and have been taking Topomax since January of last year...
From the early days of taking the stuff I lost my appetite... and began to lose weight.. have said this over and over again I know but someone just asked again...
lost three pounds or so the first week...
I have just taken a load of clothing into the consignment store... and all of it really great stuff I might add... size 16, 14, and so on... today I was buying size 9 slacks and jeans...
sweaters in size small... I had to take in my favourite London Fog coat... a wonderful rust tweed with fur around hem and collar size 18 and bought a suede jacket that can't begin to compare in a small.. there was a coat I have long wanted to own... the style that is, a full-length Inuit embroidered coat in rust, with wolf-fur around the hood and at half-price and in a 1-x re-Topomax and I would have been able to wear it... today I could have worn it three or four times...
I have no head-aches, and am back on the yoghurt, eggs and protein craze... no diet to follow, this is just what I want... when I feel like eating...
and some days it is late in the day before I feel at all hungry...
even coffee doesn't appeal to me...
on that note, I suggest someone call in the medics.. there must be something drastically wrong.. I used to drink it by the gallon...
but I pour a cup and then look at it.. and wonder why I bother...
Scary stuff LOL
kat
Posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 14, 2004, at 16:46:57
In reply to Re: topomax, posted by Ladee52 on January 14, 2004, at 9:24:38
Hey
I started out taking 2 25mg tablets daily, then eventually i took 2 in the morning and 1 a night-and after that i worked my way up to 100 mg a day. My side effects started out with just tingly fingers and toes, didnt bother me though it made me laugh :) Then my taste buds got all messed up, soda tasted really bad and some other foods also. Then i started to feel confused and i also had blurry eye sight, which got annoying but it wore off. I also craved healthy foods, which was a plus! Now im at 2 100mg tablets daily, and it takes away my appetite and occasionaly i get those side effects. But i havent been taking it lately because of it interfering with the birth control, im just paranoid that ill get pregnant. Overall, i think its a great medication with many uses!
Posted by bridgey1128 on January 14, 2004, at 16:57:17
In reply to Re: topomax, posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 14, 2004, at 16:46:57
The info I had read on it was that it didn't interfere with BC until you had to take 1200mg and up.
Posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 14, 2004, at 17:06:08
In reply to Re: topomax, posted by bridgey1128 on January 14, 2004, at 16:57:17
I hope your right, i just cant help but worry about it. I dont want to be that one person it happened to, you know? Thanks for the info! :)
Posted by headachequeen on January 14, 2004, at 22:05:40
In reply to Re: topomax, posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 14, 2004, at 17:06:08
> I hope your right, i just cant help but worry about it. I dont want to be that one person it happened to, you know? Thanks for the info! :)
anything I can find says that only the extreme doses (1200 mg a day or more) will interfere with birth control... and as it is a secondary anti-seizure med I doubt if there is anyone out there with a dose any higher than that surely...
kat
Posted by headachequeen on January 14, 2004, at 22:13:55
In reply to Re: topomax, posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 14, 2004, at 16:46:57
> Hey
> I started out taking 2 25mg tablets daily, then eventually i took 2 in the morning and 1 a night-and after that i worked my way up to 100 mg a day. My side effects started out with just tingly fingers and toes, didnt bother me though it made me laugh :) Then my taste buds got all messed up, soda tasted really bad and some other foods also. Then i started to feel confused and i also had blurry eye sight, which got annoying but it wore off. I also craved healthy foods, which was a plus!
I find it amazing that there is such a random timing with the dosage or is it just the neurosurgeons who set the definite schedules? or is it a Canadian thing? and I do remember how upsetting it was to start taking it in the mornings... to the point that I dreaded taking it in the mornings when I came to the time to add the morning doses...and I am really interested in your comment about craving healthy foods... I am still on my protein craving kick... forget the sweet foods and the sandwiches and the not particularly good for one foods... and that is really not normal for me...
and it is almost as if someone innoculated me with an anti-chocolate substance...
as for this recent anti-caffeine kick that I have been on... that is beginning to raise comment among people who know me... even among people who know me only slightly...
the waitresses at the restaurant I frequent now bring me water without ice cubes as soon as I walk in... and wait to see if I want a coffee or not... I can not stand ice cubes in water or soft drinks and have taken to craving orange juice, something I would not have considered as mildly potable a few months ago...
my whole lifestyle is changing...
Cheese!!! oh, I liked brie and camembert and gorgonzolla and other veined cheeses but now I even like and want cheddar and oka and heaven knows what other kinds of cheese...
I am beginning to sound like a health nut and before long will be eating tofu...
kat
Posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 14, 2004, at 22:33:39
In reply to Re: topomax » TropicalGirl12, posted by headachequeen on January 14, 2004, at 22:13:55
Hey
I completely understand what you mean. It seems like the topamax makes me walk right by the things i would normally want, and makes me eat the things my body should have. I used to love ramen noodles, chips, peanut butter and fluff sandwiches, and anything sweet. Those foods were not my normal meals, but they were the things i would think about when i was hungry. But when i started topamax all i would want was salad, a veggie sub, fruit, toast, or vegetables. Its great though, i never thought i would be naturally going for those foods. I dont think ill be going for tofu anytime soon though! :)
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