Topamax? Elavil?
 

I suffer from chronic migraines and my neurologist put me on Topamax last August. I am now up to 100 mg a day and I cannot take it anymore. The side effects are too much for me. I feel like an out of control manic. I go from being completely depressed to angry, I cant forcus, I cant remember, it slurs my speech and I sometimes cant form coherent sentences. I have no motivation/drive, I don't want to get out of bed most days and my schooling has suffered immensly. I cry at the drop of a dime. I am down to 110lbs and I look sickly..there are so many other side effects, but these are the ones that are taking the hardest hit on my well-being. At first I was so impressed, but everything started to get worse. I had an appointment this morning and he perscribed Elavil for me. Is anyone taking either of these two medications? And if so, what is your experience with them? Thanks so much..it means a lot to me.. :)

Bumpity bump..anyone?

Sorry, I am not taking either of these medications, nor do I know anything about them, so I am no help to you. Just thought I'd at least reply to your question, even if I can't give you any advice. Except that it seems to me most of the new drugs that are being advertised on TV have side effects that are worse than the original symptoms. To me this is very sad. Maybe someone with nursing experience can help you out.

Oh that's so hard for you.. can they give you something else for the Migrains ? Elavil is an antidepressant I think....I have never used either ... but I would check into something else if you feel this bad.

You sure need a hug - feel it ?

I hope you find some answers....

Elavil is an older antidepressent with more side effects than the newer ones like Paxil and Prozac. Have you tried going to a headache clinic? Just a word of hope my husband use to suffer from horrible migranes and they stopped when he was 38 and they lessened by age 30. Maybe yours will go away one day as well.

I take a small dose of elavil everyday (20 mg) to help with symptoms I was getting from what I guess is stress. I would wake up in the morning and feel like I was going to throw up and I couldn't really eat. Took like 2 years to figure out that I was just too stressed and that I didn't have anything physically wrong w/ me, so to speak. It has helped a ton, and I actually haven't noticed any side effects. I know that doesn't really have much to do with what you have, but just tryin to help you out somehow. Hope it works out for you. Our bodies have such weird ways of manifesting problems sometimes.

The Topamax does have the side effect of weight loss, good for some...but I have never heard of it having such ill effects toward mood/depression. All medicines affect individuals differently. I have had nasty side effects from meds that were no where listed on their warning lists, so I can relate. The Elavil is a tricyclic antidepressant that has also been used off-label to treat chronic pain and migraines. I would definately give it a shot, it has been around a long time and is a safe drug if used appropriately. That alone may help with the migraines. What else have they tried? I know there is another drug on the market, similar to Imitrex I think, call Relpax that a lot of my coworkers have used successfully. I will ask aorund at work and see what else we can come up with (I am a nurse, so it will be a few days, but can get some MD advice for you.) Good luck.

ever try immitrex??? (misspell) it's made for migranes. works for my mom. i get accupuncure for my bad headaches. topomax causes memory loss too.

Thanks yall..
The Elavil and Topamax were perscribed as preventative medicines to lessen to amounts of migraines I was having..I also have a perscription for Imitrex ( and for Relpax, but I like Imitrex better) that I take when I do actually get a migraine. He said to wait a week before starting the new medication but I think Im going to give it a little more than that and see if they come back and if I actually DO need to be on another.
I have thought about going to a hollistic dr. and instead of putting all of these chemicals into my body, getting something herbal instead, but we'll see..
RomeosMommy-I hav thought about acupuncture as well..how does it work for you? (I also went through the memory loss..and at 22 it SUUUCKED haha :))
V-Thanks for the hug..I felt it ;)

i get accupuncture @ least once a week. my insurance covers it too. i was in a bad car accident and started accupuncture for herniated discs. it really works!!!! now, i get it for everything. migranes, period cramps, tooth aches, stress and anything that ails me. it's worth a try. you will have relief within minutes. it is truely amazing. good luck. i hope you get well with your migranes soon. feel free to pm me with any questions or concerns.

Hmmmm..... I'm dealing with a herniated disc and pinched nerve right now and have been getting the steroid epidurals. I have one more to go...

Wonder if accupuncture would help me??? I went to Accupuncture Talk and asked but it's really slow over there.

dude..they have have a "____ talk" for everything! haha

i just checked out acupuncturetalk too. so funny to see yt people over there! the site is really slow. maybe we can start an acupuncture link over here. lol....

Hey Larissa!!

I take 200mg a day of Topamax.... And I take Wellbutrin to combat the depression that the Tmax causes.... And yes... Its a @itch!

I love the fact that I am headache free though! It works like a charm!! I call it Dope-a-Max! cause it turned me into a total Ding Bat! But I cope! Its better than the blinding Episodes I had before... I was treating a migraine twice a week... it was awful!!!

Your welcome to call me if you EVER NEED ANYTHING! I have been on this combo for the last 6 months.... and then off for 6 months, I was on it for a year and a half before that.... the 6 month break was all I needed to realize that It was so much better than life without it!

The key is finding the companion antidepressant that works for you... Everyone I have talked to has been on the Tmax and WB Combo... it works... Thats not to say that I don't get raging crazy and pissy around my period... I do! but I always have... I am a little sensitive... but not like before...

(760) 770-3515 Call me anytime! Its a hard drug to be on.... and friends who know what your talking about really do help!!

Try this one on for size... I'm on the freeway... All of a sudden I have no clue where I am going... I had to pull over and call my husband in tears... and ask him where I was headed.... Turns out it was a Dr's apt... then I had to ask him what Exit it was off of... And what time the apt was at... I was totally lost! It was so scary! And I was only 7 miles away from my house! lol Know that feeling...

Or the one where you are trying to come up with a very simple word and you look like a total idiot? Every day!

I feel ya!! it sucks... But its so worth it!!! I swear! I stopped... and I was so sorry I did!

I used to have horrible migraines. This was before they really had any good medications for them. One Dr. told me that women usually quit having them or at least don't have them as bad after they go through menopause. That was what happened with me. I still have headaches. Some of them start with the "lights" thing in the eyes, but they aren't anything like they used to be. THey are mild compared to what they were and I can control them.

I take Elavil at night. I have never been a good sleeper. I only get a few hours of sleep at night. It started when I was a child and has always been that way. My daughter prescribed the Elavil for me to help me sleep. I have a lot of stress from my job and my husbands health, etc. She said this would take the edge off of my worry at night and help me get to sleep. It does seem to work. I still don't get enough sleep, but I sleep better than I did before I started taking it. I have no side effects. It's cheap and not habit forming like a lot of the sleeping pills.

I get headaches for a multitude of reasons, allergies, sinus infections, weather changes, dry air, period, & stress. I talked to my doctor and he put me on topamax I was supposed to take 1 before bed everynight. I took one and the next day I had the worst headache of my life, I was nauseous, dizzy, and in a great amount of pain. I called the doctor 3 times to get relieve, I had to go home from work because I couldn't concentrate and felt like I was gonna throw up. The doctor told me to stop taking it, which was a no brainer and drink lots of water. I finally got the okay to take some advil and that really helped. I haven't taken any prescription medicine for my headache since.

Something I have found that works for me is I get a weekly half-hour massage. It helps take the tension out of my shoulders and gives me a half-hour to myself to relax. She also does accupressure on my sinuses which seems to help. I think the main thing is you have to figure out your headache triggers and work from there.

What MG did your DR start you on??? Topa max has to be started out in Super small doses.... It took me 6 months to get up to the dose I am at now... you have to increase it very slowly! If I took a larger dose right of or suddenly increased mine... I'd see stars too! Its a very powerful drug! Its really an anticonvulsant, and meant for long term Prophylactic use. Its also $400 per month for me! Move to Palm Springs Meant leaving my benefits behind.... :( Bummer! The companion drug I take with it runs me about $130

It's not cheep! But if you are a real chronic migraine sufferer you will trade your first born for a cure! Cause you certianly cant care for your child while dealing with such pain and sensitivity!

Funny story!! My two were 7 and 5... I was having an awful time of it and locked myself in the bedroom with the blackout curtian, I asked My daughter to play movies, not to answer the door and to look after her brother until daddy came home... which would be any minute now! (in 6 hours :eek: ) Katie knew mommy was hurting and she agreed... I took my cocktail of reactive medications and drank enough water to drown a fish! Then I half passed out / was half delirious in my bedroom for the next 4 hours.... I drempt that I was trapped in "South Park" I could not get out!! It was awful! They were singing and swearing and Brian Boitano was trying to help me excape! But it was no use... The Canadians ratted us out! And as I came to I swore I could hear a chorus of "Uncle Fu@#er" coming from my living room! :eek:

Sure enough... My darling little angles had found Daddy's South Park The Movie DVD and popped it in! They were on their 3rd round of watching it! I was mortified!

And explaining to his Kindergarten teacher why he was singing Uncle fu#@er on the playground was no picnic! :eek:

Thanks to Terrance and Phillip! I had three such meetings at my sons school! Turns out he learned alot from that movie!

I have been taking Topamax for almost a year now. 100mg. I was very weary about taking it cause of all of the side effects. I had a bit of issues getting starting with tingling sensation and bowel movements. But since haven't had any problems with the exceptions of minor tingling sensations. So I guess I have been VERY lucky compared to what I had read before I started taking the medication.

I was started out verrrry low..I think 15 mg for a week or two and then gradually went up..I was up to 100 mg but I started in August..so that's about..7 months ago? I was at 75mg until Feb when I started getting headaches again and he said the birth control I started to take was making it not work so well..he phrased it better, but Ive still got the "Dope-a-max" in my system so of course its not coming to me right now. So I went to 25mg and 75mg at night..thats when I started to notice everything more and things that I didnt even think could be associated with it I now realize were because of the topamax. I went to this website (askapatient.com) where people review medications and tell their experiences with them and some of the bad reviews of it were horrifying! I know there are some people out there who have been blessed with this medicine and it is still pretty new..but I guess my body just reacted to it differently..
Im an english major and Im trying to finish up my degree..1 year to go..so writing, speaking, and making it sound pretty is pretty much what I have to do..and Topamax wont let me do that.. :(