Topiramate

[ithinkthisisstupid]

My doctor has prescribed this for my ocular migraines (three this week) but I can't bring myself to take it because of the side effects. I am mainly worried it might cause memory problems. I am 75 and am also on predisolone for polymyalgia and blood pressure tablets. I also have ibs. Has anybody else tried topiramate?Many thanks.

[tomworm]

All medicines have side effects. I have been on it for 4 years and then 2 years and I am due to go back on it.

It can give you brain fog. However most of the medicines I have tried do. For me it was worth it. As it’s one of the treatments you need to try it, then if after 3 - 6 months you can ask to change.

Just give it a try, oh and don’t drink. It works so much better without alcohol.

For

Me the best drug they offer. For others it’s not.

Best of luck finding something that works

[ithinkthisisstupid in reply to tomworm]

Thankyou for replying and your good advice.I am tea total anyway so that's not a problem. Guess I should try it.

[Cat00]

Topirimate didn't harm my memory but it didn't help my migraines either.

[ithinkthisisstupid in reply to Cat00]

Yes I don't think it stops them anyway - but may decrease them.

[Cat00 in reply to ithinkthisisstupid]

Yes that is true for every migraine intervention I've ever had. But any reduction is better than nothing usually I find.

[Looby63]

I'm taking it. It gave me brain fog at first until I got used to the dose. I didn't think it was working until I stopped taking it and the migraines got worse again, so it reduced them but didn't stop them. It's a trade off brain fog or migraine but I had to at least try them to qualify for the next step of trying nerve block or Botox. Everyone is different.

[ithinkthisisstupid in reply to Looby63]

Thankyou. As you saybit is a trade off.

[Miss-Sakura]

Hi, yes I had the same worry as you. I decided to try it but woke up the first morning and my hand was completely numb. I couldn’t even reach to pick up my phone due to the numbness. I stopped taking it immediately so perhaps it might have settled down eventually but at least I was able to tell my doctor I had tried it and had side effects! I didn’t say that I only took it for one day! Good luck and hope you find something that works for you.

[ithinkthisisstupid in reply to Miss-Sakura]

Yes I told my gp I wouldn't be popular with him as I hadn't taken it yet but he said it was just his job to advise me and not to tell me what to do. Another doctor said there are even side effects with paracetamol but I think thatsc very different. Thankyou

[Cb1963]

Yes,I was on this medication for several months, mine was being used to try to control cluster headaches, these are worse than any migraine headaches, I previously was free from headaches but they returned a couple of years later, unfortunately they didn't work the second time around, and I was under the neurologist trying to get something that would work, I used sumpritaypn injections to help stop an attack, and finally I was prescribed verapamil tablets, these worked and I'm free from headaches, topiramate caused my appetite to be quite poor, and haven't really noticed to many problems with my memory, but as we get older we're bound to forget things I think it's worth a sacrifice taking these tablets if you don't have any problems, if you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask , best of luck 😀

[ithinkthisisstupid in reply to Cb1963]

Thankyou for your reply. Fundamentally its down to me isn't it? So glad you are free from headaches now. My son says sumatriptan has changed his life but his migraines used to put him out of action for two days as mine did in my teens to 40s. My daughter's are more like mine - holes on vision flashing lights and headache but bearable. However hers aren't very frequent.

[Cb1963 in reply to ithinkthisisstupid]

I suppose if you are more worried about the side effects from taking medication than a cure, I took the chance of getting medication as I couldn't continue with the headaches, they were classed as suicide headaches as the pains are unbearable, I didn't care about the side effects, most tablets cause some problems, even taking the new tablets carry a risk, even drinking grapefruit juice could incur a heart attack for me, I needed these headaches gone, I had enough of them, so try not to read the small print in detail, only what the doctor recommends or otherwise we'd never take a tablet again 🤕

[Tree20862]

I have been on it for 3 years. The first few days it helped my migraines so much I felt good for the first time in months!

I also know people who it made their brains feel foggy and they could not tolerate it.

You won't know which person you are until you try. For me, it was 4 days to a better life... Until it stopped working a couple of years later😥.

[ithinkthisisstupid in reply to Tree20862]

Thankyou for answering.

[Onthemove1971]

Please do not take it! I was on it and the started to forget things like passwords and phone numbers, once I was off the medication it got better but not like it was before. Have you tried magnesium? There are 4-5 different types. I take magnesium glycaniate. It has helped so much.

[ithinkthisisstupid in reply to Onthemove1971]

Thankyou. My short term memory is getting worse and I don't want ti exacerbate it particularly as my late husband had dementia so I keep wondering if I am going to get it. Think I will try the magnesium. Does it upset your stomach?(I have ibs)

[Onthemove1971 in reply to ithinkthisisstupid]

No I have not had any issues, but my migraines have gotten less painful and gone away.

[Brychni]

Did absolutely nothing for my migraines and made me feel half dead. Been on Ajovy injections for two years now and it has changed my life.

[Louisepenygraig]

I've recently started it. Been on it not quite 2 weeks yet. I was taking propanolol but I didn't think that it was having any effect but as I weaned myself off my headaches got worse. Right now I'm feeling sick and thinking I might need to take zomig so switching phone off and will continue in morning!

[Louisepenygraig in reply to Louisepenygraig]

Awake again now. BTW I am also on 7mg steroids for Polymyalgia and am 77. As I said above since I weaned myself off propanolol I have had continuous headaches. I am trying to keep of the Zolmitriptan as much as possible and at least dampen down the pain if need be with paracetamol which can take the edge off slightly. When I started the Topiramate the side effects were awful, mainly dizziness but also a shaky feeling which seemed to extend to my vision and didn't feel very different to the blurred vision I get with a migraine. I'd only just finished dealing with the dizziness that resulted from reducing from 7.5 mg to 7 mg pred so I wasn't at all happy about that. It got so bad after a few days that I seriously thought about stopping it especially after I'd read that headaches were a possible side effect and it could take up to 3 months for it to work as a prophylactic. I know I woke up one morning feeling scared to take it but I did and that day the dizziness lessened and it has gone completely now. I may still feel a little shakey but I have so much other stuff going on in my life healthwise that it's difficult to tell. Anyway I'm going to stick with it until I see my GP again on the 15th and take it from there. I've never seen a neurologist and he said they would be unlikely to accept a referral until I'd tried 3 different prophylactics

[ithinkthisisstupid in reply to Louisepenygraig]

Am sorry you have so many problems . I have just reduced (very slowly) to 9 mg predisolone so am very achey. Have been on atenolol for high blood pressure for years but dosage has been increased. It's such a pain when you have more than one condition.