I haven't been on in a few days. I went to the doctor as planned on the 12th. It was a good visit all and all, but did not go as I had planned at all. My medications have changed yet again. He decided that he would drop me from Seroquel XR 300mg tablets to 2 50mg tablets of the same drug. Then he shocked me by adding a drig called Topamax. As soon as he said the word, I nearly had a pnic attack. I have researched bipolar medications and I have read extensively on this medication. Although it has been shown to help with weight lose, the side effects are horrible. When I expressed my concerns, he kinda just brushed them aside like I was over reacting. He claims he uses the drug alot and has seen great success. I hope this is true. I really, really do. Now I'm going to post some of the side effects, so that you can decide if I'm wrong to be concerned about taking this medication.
First, here are the Cautions: Keep all lab appointments while you are using this medication. Lab/medical test may be done while using this medication. Before having any surgery, medical procedure, or dentistry inform them you are taking this medication. This medication may reduce sweating which could raise your body temperature. The risk of this serious side effect is greater in hot weather. (Hello I live in Oklahoma. Temp for today 112) This medication may cause high blood acid levels called metabolic acidosis. This medicine may cause serious eye problems that could lead to permanent loss of vision. Those are just the cautions. Now lets get to the side-effects.
Side effects of Topamax include diarrhea, drowsiness, constipation, loss of appetite, nausea, numbness and tingling, decreased sweating, tiredness, trouble sleeping, chest pain, loss of concentration, severe abdominal pain, significant weight loss, loss of coordination, memory problems, vision changes, unusual eye movement, fast, deep breathing, unusual bruising or bleeding, irregular heartbeat, tremor, and change in speech.
Isn't this the greatest drug you have ever read about???? I wonder how confident my doctor would feel about this medication if he were told that he needed to take it? Just bugs me that he can shrug off my concerns so easilly. It's like Im spending a fortune between his fee and the fees at the pharmacy and in the end it may not matter because half of these drugs may kill me before they ever fix me. I'm bipolar....That doesn't mean I am suicidal or have a death wish. As a matter of fact with me, its quite the opposite: I want to live. Thats why I'm taking all these damn medications. I take them because I want to live my life, not sleep it away or walk around in a fog. Either way I'm not living life. Hopefully the worst of these side-effects miss me altogether and i just get better.
I took Topamax for about a year when I was pregnant with Sam because I couldn't take my regular migraine or seizure medications during pregnancy. The only problems I had with it was that it totally threw off my tastebuds. I couldn't taste carbonated beverages at all so that meant no coke, mountain dew, Ale-8...I didn't know that was a side effect at first so the first few times it happened I kept sending my coke back at a restaurant, convinced that there was something wrong with their machines. :-) I think that's why you lose wight, though-because everything tastes bad.
ReplyDeleteToo funny. So far the only problems I have had with it is that I sometimes get lightheaded and sometimes it feels as if there is this pressure right in the center of my chest. Kinda hurts but never lasts long. So far the benefits outweigh the cons and the upside is that it takes care of my migraines as well.
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