I have tried just about all there is out there with either no luck or two many side effects to bother with. Now I was given Topamax yesterday.... I am to start on 25 mgs at night for a week, then add 25 mgs in the morning and finally work my way up to 50mgs in the morning and 50 at night.

Has anyone had any luck with this????? I am so sick of migraines, headaches and meds I could PUKE!!!!!!!!!

I tried 2 times and both times after only a few days of taking it I had to stop because it change my taste so much that even water tasted bad, I was unable to eat or drink anything.

I have had headaches EVERY DAY for years and migraines on a weekly bases and haven't been able to find a med that works fully.

The best I can do it take Midrin when it's so bad that that's all I can think about or than take Imatrax if it's more migraine like.

I have had tons of testing and Dr.'s can't find a reason for them.

After the neurologist started me with the occipital neural blocks, he immediately put me on Topamax. Go very slowly and take about one month slowly building up to the full dose otherwise you risk a seizure. It is very strong medication. The Topamax has been successful and I take 50 mg. of it at night at bedtime and it really helped to stop most of those 2:00 AM - 3:00 AM migraines that I would wake up with. I take 25 mg. in the morning and that is to keep me going through the day. DO NOT SKIP A DOSE as, again, this medication can put you into seizures if you don't take it like you are supposed to do. I understand the dosage can be so much higher but that they start you out and see how you do. I was started out on the 50 at bedtime then after a few months, the neurologist increased it to 25 in the morning.

I'm someone that usually gets some side effects from meds, but I got no side effects from Topamax and I am grateful that it has worked so well for me. It doesn't stop them completely, but has made a huge drop in the frequency and how extensive the migraine can be. Note: None of my migraines ever came with an aura. I see how people with auras can react differently than people who do not get auras and a new technique for a migraine machine to help, seems to help most for people who get migraines with auras.

Well..... I was told that the Topamax is also VERY sedating and that they needed to be very careful in how much to give me.....LET ME TELL YOU!!!!! I did NOT sleep for 2 nights.......I laid there tossing and turning till the crows flew by.....Plus I take Trazadone for sleep and it didn't work either... So I am off of the Topamax also.....

I am very med sensitive.....Benadryl makes me so hyper I could climb walls for about 18 hours....Yet 7 1/2 mgs of Amatriptaline (sp) will make me sleep for 24 hours......

I am about to bang my head against a wall.... I have tried so far...

Midrin
Inderal
Topamax
Fieroicet
Flexeril
Soma
Vicodin


And the only thing that has worked is Zomig...But my insurance Co will only pay for 8 a month.....Gee maybe they should tell my migraines that they can only happen 8 times a month......JERKS!!!!!

Can you tell I am frustrated?????

It is ridiculous to expect migraine patients to manage off of 8 or 9 pills a month for migraine relief. Sometimes I can get a migraine that starts early morning and I take the med and I get it to go away, but it can come back at 4:00 in the afternoon so I have to treat again. It is the tight fist of the insurance carriers holding control of the migraine meds and I haven't met a doctor (regular or neurologist) yet that can break that tight fist. It's needless suffering and I think it is inhumane.

Hey, I see that you're off topamax now, so maybe this response won't help!

I had been on Inderal and a few other meds before being referred to a neurologist. She put me on Topamax and started me at 25mg at night, then 25mg in the morning, 50mg at night, 50 in the morning etc. etc. to my current dose of 150mg (75mg morning and 75mg night).

Initially I couldn't sleep, had some cramps... the biggest thing for my initially was that I had this strange tingling sensation in my feet and hands. When it spread to my face I got really freaked. It would happen after I took my dose and last for about an hour. It was the weirdest sensation ever. My neurologist slowed down the rate I was increasing my meds as a result.

The headaches did not decrease until I was at 75mg... by the time I was at 125 they had reduced substantially. I am also prescribed Zomig for the headaches when they come. Now that I'm at 150mg I use maybe 2 a month, compared to something ludicrous like 10 before... it's unbelieveable the difference.

There are no side effects now and I am headache free for most of the time. When I feel a potential migraine coming I take the Zomig. REcently I've developed a muscle spasm in my shoulder which is linked to the migraine and the topamax doesn't help with that, so it's back to the neuro to see what happens next...

I;m sorry that it didn't work out for you... I know exactly how frustrated you feel because that was me...

You're right about the tingling in the extremities and I have been on Topamax so long I completely forgot about it. I do get it in the hands, but sometimes in the feet too. It is not like the carpel tunnel pain, but to me feel like a slight electrical current instead of a tingling. But I'll take it any day over the constant migraines with the killer head pain that had me vomiting all the time over the toilet. To me, when you have a migraine with killer head pain and then vomit too, it pushes the pain to the level like you're at the doorstep of death.

By the way, the Imitrex is supposedly made out of a synthetic chemical that occurs naturally in the brains of dogs. I wonder if that means that dogs never get migraines, or if I'm on on the Imitrex long enough that if you scratch my head one of my legs will start thumping on the floor!!

I use to take Topamax for a few years had really great success with it. the doctors took me off of it as I was losing weight- (which is one of the side effects --I lost a few pounds when I was first put on it but after awhile I stabilized.) Anyway, sometime last year I lost almost 20lbs for no apparent reason. I am now using Lamictal and Elavil.

I also use to take Zomig the disolving tablets since most of the time I thru up my medications. It worked awesome but I also could only get 8 pills a month which was a joke.

Have you ever asked your neurologist about Tordol (aka Ketorlac). If I can catch the migraine fast enough with an injection it works fabulous. But my most current dr. will no longer give me the medication for at home.

Like TwoCatDr.'s I also get occipital nerve blocks for the migraines and it usually works wonderful. Then I follow up with a 5 day script of Prednisone. The last block I had worked great but the migraine has started again this morning even being on the prednisone.

Have you tried Maxalt for your migraines? I personally cannot take it but I do know a few people that swear by it. Also, I always ask for samples from the dr. That way if you need a little extra medication you are covered.

Isn't Tordol the pain shot they give you in the Emergency Room when you come in with a migraine? If so, it lessens the migraine for me, but won't get rid of it. One time, they gave me Tordol shots over a 5 hour period and it just didn't work. They eventually gave me an Imitrex Injection and it worked beautifully. That migraine was so bad I couldn't remember my mother's name, her phone number, my address and other info. Sometimes my migraines get crazy like that.

I have been taking Topamax for 4-5 years. It has been amazingly helpful to me.

It is important to titrate up very s-l-o-w-l-y! Start at 25 mg a week, then add 25 a week. If it's difficult, you can titrate up every other week. If you experience mental fogginess, give it a little time, you might just need to adjust to that dose, if you are on a low dose. If you are on a higher dose, you may need to drop down.

I did take a 2 month break from Topamax when I was seeing a different neurologist. Now I am (finally) back to one that specializes in headache management. Yippee! My dosage is 100mg in am and 100mg in pm.

I may have to increase my dose as my migraines have increased dramatically recently. I think it has to do with menopause - ugh.

Please talk to your neuro about Topamax. You will not know if it works for you until you try. Many times it is used along with another med, like an antidepressant. Good luck with it.

Well, once again my Neurologist tried another med to see if it would work at preventing migraines......He put me on Verapamil, daily. He started me on 240 mgs of the long lasting. After 3 weeks on that , I called him and said that the constipation was killing me. He lowered it to 8o mgs daily.

I was on it for about 2 1/2 months, and I had noticed an increase in drinking and urinating, so I called my reg Dr and said I thought I might have a UTI. Long story short.......I did have a UTI, but I had also developed Polyuria (increased urination) and my liver enzymes have elevated up over normal.

So, I no longer take the Verapamil and have to go back to my Dr in a few weeks for another blood test to see if my liver functions are back to normal......Oh, and my insurance co....NOW will only pay for 4 Zomig a month........

Will your neurologist help you appeal that so you can get more? As I recall I believe Zomig is the migraine med and 4 a month isn't much at all. I think the insurance company gets ridicious with their treatment of people with migraines. They have neurologist records that the person is a person who has had many migraines for many years, but still the insurance companies skimp on medication for when we have migraines.