A team of researchers led by Dr. Francesca Coppola from the University of Perugia (Universiti degli Studi di Perugia), Italy, recently investigated some side effects of the drug topiramate, sold as Topamax. Specifically, they were looking at patients taking the drug for migraine, as compared to patients taking other medications. They wanted to see if Topamax was more likely to cause "language disturbances".
By language disturbances we mean things like not being able to think of the right word, mixing words up, difficulty coming up with the words you want to use. This is actually a symptom of migraine, so we shouldn’t be surprised to see language problems in migraineurs.
But the research did show a clear difference. Patients on other drugs had no language problems, but over a quarter of those on topiramate did.
The good news is that the symptoms were mild, and usually disappeared after a month without any change in dosage. In other words, it’s something to be aware of, but probably nothing to worry about.
Topamax has helped many migraineurs, but it is a powerful drug and should not be among the first you try. Read more about Topamax and migraine here.
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I’ve taken Topamax for 3 years for migraine and I believe I have a real problem with language disturbance. My friends and family say they don’t notice but I am frustrated with my inability to come up with the word I want to use at a time when I am migraine-free. It’s like what I experience when I have a migraine.
I’ve quit writing because of this problem, it takes me forever just to leave a comment on a blog….like this.
That’s in addition to the other side-effects that I have experienced with this powerful drug.
And why have I taken it for 3 years?
I no long have a daily migraine. So I was having language problems anyway…what a quandary. (Is that the word I was searching for?)
Thanks for the comment, Suzie. Yes, I think “quandary” is exactly the word you were searching for! And an appropriate word it is!
I’m curious – did you have any language problems before – due to the migraine attacks? I have that problem sometimes.
Hopefully you will someday be able to change treatments to something that has less side effects – or maybe go off it all together!
I have just discovered this site tonight. I am doing personal research to find out what alternatives I might personally have due to the very problem you reference regarding language disturbances while taking the Topamax. It is quite upsetting to me personally and professionally. I might add that it also makes feel in recent months like I am in fog of sorts during the work day.
I have taken Topamax for 4-5 years now. My specialist is working with me to start to lower the dosage to see if that will help. This has been a problem for the last couple of years just continues to worsen.
I have found relief from regular migraine pain but must say is not certain – I do still experience headaches that are difficult to control.
Thanks again, Lori and Suzie both! I see we’ll have to keep looking at Topamax, and alternatives to it. It must be such a big challenge living with side effects like these. But it also demonstrates how debilitating migraine is, that so many people are willing to put up with the side effects!
Took Topamax for only a wk and felt like I’d had a stroke; blurred vision, tinnitus (which continues 1 1/2 yrs later by the way), inability to find or remember the right word, so disconcerting I stopped the medication. I now take Butterbur (Petadolex) twice daily with definite reduction in headaches.
Glad to hear it’s working for you, Connie! Here’s more about butterbur here.
I was taking Topamax for 2 months, and during those two months my migranes were unbearable, and i had the hardest time concetrating and talking. It was like my brain would keep going, even when i wanted it to stop. Since then, the doctor has switched me over to an anti-depressant, and during this time i have felt depressed and the migranes are still unbearable. is there any sugestions of what i should take?
Genevieve, you certainly have a bad problem here. In some people when they first start taking antidepressants they actually feel more depressed before they begin to feel better. Some anti-depressants, the SSRI type, may make migraines worse in a small subset of the population, while the TCA anti-depressants usually help migraines.
There are lots of preventative meds that you could try, but they all have some potential side effect, although I think that topamax is the worst.
First try magnesium, at least 200 mg/day as many migraneurs are deficient in magnesium. Aslo try a B-Complex vitamin at 100mg per day. Theses have been shown to help a lot of people with NO side effects as they are just vitamins. Flax seed oil and Omega 3 supplements have been shown to help as well. None of these supplements will make you depressed.
If that doesn’t work then you need to try other prescription medications. I would recommend Epival especially if you still feel depressed and if you still feel like your brain is constantly going.
Hi Genevieve,
Brian makes some good points (thanks Brian!). I would like to think that most people that are on Topamax have already tried many of the other natural treatments and less “powerful” medications, but that’s not always the case.
You can read more about magnesium here. MigreLief is one of the best researched combinations of magnesium, vitamin B2 and feverfew. There are a lot of links to other options here.
Do be sure to give the medication time, though, now that you’re on it. Most often these are not instant fixes, but take from a few weeks to a few months to really kick in. You’re doctor can guide you in that area.
I must admit I’m thrilled to read this. Could Lamictal be causing the same side effects as Topamax? I’ve been complaining about this language/recall stuff for a while, but if it is the meds, I’m scared to go off of them. I did have problems before, but not as bad I don’t believe. I am finally feeling good after being diagnosed and only occasionally have a migraine now. Any thoughts? Thanks
This is interesting. Topamax has helped my uncontrollable migraines tremendously. In the past, during a migraine phase my speech would slur like I was drunk and I would use incorrect words. I do notice that since taking Topamax for the last couple of years that I have to concentrate on my speech more than usual and will, on occasion, have trouble finding a word or will use an incorrect word out of now where. This will usually occur with fatigue and headache, however, the extreme benefit of migraine control with Topamax outweighs any side effect.
I was on Topamax 2 years ago for Basilar Migraines. After taking the drug for 2 months and many side effects, I awoke one morning studdering.
I went to my GP doctor, he looked at me as if I was crazy! He told me he had not heard of anyone or any medical white papers telling of this side effect. At first my family thought I had a stroke after a bad migraine. After stopping the medication my language returned to normal.
It’s great to know that the side effect was not just my imagination!
Hi All:
I took Topomax for three years and was in a constant fog, couldn’t concentrate, could not find words and was just overall depressed and often suicidal. I still suffered migraines a couple to times a month.
I decided to stop taking the Topomax, antidepressants and all other medications. It took about 4 months to get off of everything. It’s been about 4 1/2 months and I feel incredible (good). I can think again, my migraines have been very few (about one or less a month). I feel like I have my life back.
I can’t tell everyone that not taking any medications will be better for them, but after 30 years of migraine medications (too numerous to remember) and living in an altered world/fog, I finally feel like a real human being again.
I took topomax for six months for my migraines. Although the side effects out weighed the out come. I became severely depressed and would cry uncontrolably. My speech was much slower and trying to find the right words that I wanted to say was so frustrating and embarrasing. I was on 100mg a day. I had many comments from friends and family. Such as: Are you ok?? You seem to be different and like you are in outer space. Not the girl that you used to be. I became distant from people and going out. My husband just did not know what to do. I would recommend that if you are thinking of trying Topomax, do some research and heavy thinking about this drug. It is very powerful and could change you all together. I have been off of Topomax now for nine months and will never take Topomax again. My life is so much better with out it. I would rather have a headache!!
Donna
I’ve been on topamax for almost a year now. My migraines became unbearable and topamax has been a blessing and a curse. When I first started taking it, I felt I was “drugged” and at times almost scary; very forgetful, confused, not only did words escape me but often times I couldn’t concentrate on what was being said to me. One day I got into my car before I started driving, I had to remind myself what side of the road I was supposed to be driving in! I told my md. who dialed my dosage down and migraines returned. Slowly I returned to 100mg per day and the weird “mind game” symptoms did not return but YES, I have trouble w/ speech and loss of the “right” word (like now), especially when I feel stressed or in social situations. I forget how to spell words etc., it’s frustrating. However, blinding migraines that lasted 3-5 days 2 to 3 times a month were terrible.
My main concern now is that I had the flu 3x’s this winter and just heard that topamax has been known to cause repiratory infections, which I had. That really concerns me. I’ve also had some nausea lately and stomach upsets; which I feel may be related to topamax as well. I’m between a rock and a hard place. I can’t live with those migraines, yet the side effects are no small matter. I wish it were “merely” a loss of words; a much as I mourn them.
After years of worsening migraines that became more frequent and trying every new product as it came on the market, I started taking 200 mg.Topamax daily about 5 years ago. I experience language disturbances off and on along with other symptoms, but I don’t have migraines on a daily basis any more and for me that’s worth it. I see my neurologist annually and we discuss the frequency of my headaches and my symptoms and decide whether or not to continue the Topamax. So far he hasn’t suggested anything that will replace Topamax with less severe side effects so I’ve stuck with it despite the many times I’ve done or said something really stupid at work!
By the way, what’s all this talk of weight loss being a side effect? The one side effect I would welcome and I haven’t experienced it!
Great discussion here – it’s interesting to hear about various experiences with this drug. Sounds like not too many people have had “minimal” problems with side effects – it’s more a matter of “is it worth it?”
Yeah, Lonna, weight loss – not happening with a lot of people. Not one of the most common “side effects”, and with the other issues the drug has it’s never taken off as a “weight loss drug”.
I took Topamax for over 2 years and, while it started out working well for me, my migraines returned with a vengeance. I take (and continue to take) two types of migraine treatments as well: Tramadol and Relpax, because I experience several types of migraine and have done so since my first (remembered) migraine at 10 yrs old. Mine are not hormone, stress, sleep, or food related, but the change in the barometer can drastically affect me. Topamax was the last resort for me, besides herbal remedies, and it was probably the one with the worst side effects. I experienced the most commonly discussed side effect – what I call “tip of the tongue” syndrome – where you know the word you need to use, and you know that you know it, but it will just not come out of your mouth. Even this effect on the linguistic center of my brain did not stop me though, as it worked. It stopped working several months ago, despite the increased dosage (200 mg/day) and finally led me into a depression so black, I was practically begging my doctor to help me get off of it. As soon as I started the weaning process, I felt better and now am completely off of it. One effect I noticed just the other day – my hair feels thicker than it has in the past year. I didn’t notice until it felt thicker again that anything had changed. My migraines are right back to where they were when I first started – more than 1 per week on average – but I can finally speak my mind!
Hi there
I have been having migraines 1-3 times/month and daily headaches for approx 2 years.This started just prior to our 2nd child being born. I am reluctant to try the topamax due to side effects. Magnesium does not seem to help and I just don’t know where to turn to next. The neurologist feels that they are hormonal but how can I change that! I have started some herbal supplements as well but the headaches and migraines just don’t seem to subside. I am at my witts end and not sure what to try next.
Susan,
I have been battling migraines for a few years now, recently they have changed and hae become more severe, I tried Topamax and I had major side effects, keep trying to find treatment, it doesn’t seem like there is a lot Doctors can do right now. My latest migraine came with paralysis, scared everyone. Apparently this is also a symptom. CRAZy. Keep searching.
After taking Topamax for about four years, I am coming off it this summer, 25mg a week from the full dosage of 100mg that I’ve been taking. While the migraines I’ve had all my adult life – I’m 64 – have almost completely disappeared, so has my facility with words. As an English and history teacher, it’s been rather disturbing to struggle for vocabulary that was well known to me as a ten year old. Seeing family and friends slightly older than I am being plagued with normal ’senior moments’, I’ve decided I need all the brain power I can muster for the coming years. Other side effects have been difficult too; loss of appetite resulting in no enjoyment of food though I weigh the same as I always have, tinnitus, and most of all, enormous hair loss. Though the last two are common with aging, the hair loss especially has been very linked by many to Topamax and I had massive amounts of hair when I started taking it. I’m nervous about migraines becoming more frequent, but enough is enough and Maxalt works great for me when I do get a headache. It’s going to have to be my plan B.
I started taking topamax a month ago and have had lots of side effects. Numbness in my hands and feet and problem with my brain processing. Like I go to thread my sewing machine which I have done a thousand times and I know step 1 and 3 and 4 but I just cant remember step 2. or I just can’t think of what I’m trying to say but I know it;s on the tip of my tounge. My Dr. said I was having a nervous breakdown and that I dont want to get better. But I dont feel Like i’m having a nervous breakdown I feel like everyone else on this web site. It’s a relief to know I’m not crazy.
I really appreciate all your comments! Although everyone doesn’t have major side effects with Topamax, it’s helpful to hear what many of you have experienced. Thanks!
Hi All
I stumbled onto this website looking for sites about language disturbances. I have a 31 yr old son who suffered a traumatic head injury 8 years ago. Since the injury he has suffered from a seizure disorder. His neurologist prescribes Topomax 200 mg twice a day for the last 5 years. All his doctors told me that the aphasia is from his head injury. Now after reading what others have written about this medication, I am very very concerned. Thank you so much everyone ! By the way he has no appetite, goes all day without eating. Over time he’s lost about 60 lbs and kept it off.
Hi Everyone,
I have been on Topamax for five months now. I do experience some side effects. Tingling in the hands (goes away if you drink enough water) Loss for the right words (just laugh that off). Have had depression all my life no worse. Loss of appetite. Have lost 20 pounds. Don’t crave sweets or fattening foods any more. eating heathier. My migraines have almost completely dissapeared. I am on 150mg and I take it at night. I am finding alot of people who are having the zone out feeling are takeing the meds in the morning. Since it makes you drowsy taking it at bedtime is the best option for me. I will continue on Topamax as long as I need to. It works and the side effects I can live with. None are that bothersome. I wish you all well on all of your choices you will have to make for your migraine releif. I would wish that it would work for you as well as it has worked for me.
I have been taking topiramate sprinkle capsules for 2 years now to control my automatism epilepsy and night time grand mal seizures. I am also a migraine sufferer since age 11 am 45 now but haven’t had one migraine since taking the drug and I used to lose my vision and my speech so I am very happy with my medication as i have had 4 others and none before have worked aswell for migraine although I didn’t know it was a migraine drug until I was diagnosed it for my epilepsy!.
My language problems were very disturbing. Word finding problems never ended and increased with dosage (I was on it for several months). Finally, as the dose was upped, I started talking like a robot. Then my hair started falling out and I became extremely depressed and had rages, and finally decided it was the drug. I tapered off and the real me is back. Luckily, being on it for a while whacked my chronic migraine out of the ballbark and I am much better. Not sure I would ever go back on it; I talk for a living.
I took Topamax 300 mg for three years before my word-finding ability became so impaired that I couldn’t function well at work. I was unable to recall terms directly related to my line of work, couldn’t think of words quickly enough to speak in public anymore (part of my job) and finally, the straw that broke the camel’s back was my blowing a job interview to replace my supervisor when he left. If I’d been able to communicate effectively, I should’ve been a shoe-in for the job…however, the interviewers had to feed me information about my accomplishments. I was mortified at how badly it had gone because I simply couldn’t put the word together to describe why I deserved the promotion. I called my neurologist the next day and told him I wanted to wean off of it because I simply couldn’t function as an intelligent human being on that level – even though it reduced the frequency of my migraines better than anything else ever has. If it had gone away within 6 months, I probably would still be on it – but the symptom lasted longer and became intolerable.
It’s a real disappointment, because nothing else has worked as well…but I’m a professional with a career to maintain…and I need to be able to think and communicate clearly.
I took Topamax for a summer, and the only noticeable effect was severe anomia. I could even see a picture in my head of all the letters in a word, but could not for the life of me put them in order and say the word.I really felt like a part of my brain that I cherished was just shut off.
I took Topamax for a little over a year. I was having severe daily migraines – I honestly thought I had a brain tumor. I took so much Alleve I was throwing up blood. The neurologist started me on Topamax and I couldn’t think straight or speak coherently, but my head stopped hurting. I felt loopy and and frustrated at times, but it didn’t matter becasue my head didn’t hurt anymore! I had forgotten what it was like to be pain free. The side effects got better with a little time, and I was eventually able to stop taking the drug. I still have an occasional migraine, but I don’t have the super-severe ones like I did before the Topamax. The side effects shouldn’t be taken lightly, but the medicine saved my life amd I’d take it again without a second thought if I needed to.
I have been on Topamax for 9 months, 100 mg a day. It has helped my chronic daily migraines somewhat, but the side effects are not tolerable. The cognitive side effects make me feel like I am losing my mind. I can’t remember what I did yesterday, struggling to find the right word all the time, etc. Also my hair is falling out. Mu neuro is switching me to Keppra.. he said it does not usually cause these side effects.
I have taken Topamax for nearly a year now having suffered from hemiplegic migraines for 18 years. I consider this a miracle drug that has given me my life back. But, working through the side effects was a nightmare. Speech difficulties left me describing basic items – plates were those “round white flat things to put dinner on”; pens “skinny things to put words on paper”. Weird thing was I knew the exact word in another language (i’m bi-lingual)but I lost my mother tongue.
I also lost 21kg(from 77kg). Another problem was driving, which fortunately only lasted 4 days. I forgot whether green or red traffic lights meant stop or go; and I couldn’t remember where my parents lived!! Now, without migraines, I can walk normally, shop, carry things, and best of all, I have a full time job again. Life’s great. Anyone who is having doubts about this medication, try it and work through the side effects but don’t do it alone. There may be times you feel you are going crazy and a good support network is essential. Topamax worked for me and now the only side effect is pins and needles for a while after I take each pill. That’s nothing.
I wish I had discovered this discussion earlier. I was put on Topamax along with Imatrex in Se[tember of 2007 when I suffered a migraine-like headache that lasted over 7 weeks. Rather than somnolence, I didn’t sleep for the next 9 days, and this was at the start of the school year. Compounded the exhaustion and anxiety from sleeplessness, I suffered the anomia, which greatly impaired my teaching ability. I thank God that that my classes were so understanding and helpful. I had the pepper tongue and the numbness that cycled around my limbs, but the worst part was that the anomia wasn’t limited to speech. I lost the ability to encode and decode language … that is, read and write. I was a natural speed-reader, comfortably reading over 1200 words a minute; however, I was so badly impaired I couldn’t finish reading a short paragraph of 100 words in a minute, and when I did finish it, I hadn’t understood what it said. It took me sixteen hours to write my lesson plans each week.
I was taken off Topamax after ten weeks, when the headaches returned. However, while the anomia eased up, I had to reteach myself to read and write. It was as if my brain had been completely rewired, and I have to train myself from scratch.
The heartbreak for me is that I’m a writer. I had just had my first professional breakthrough. Now I’m a one-hit wonder. I have no idea when I’ll be able to compose a complete story again. I’m also a musician responsible for transcribing music, and I wasn’t able to do that either! I had to count lines to figure out what the note was, and then, I couldn’t get it onto the computer to transpose it.
It made me think that maybe using the computer wasn’t the best way to compose, either text or music. I find that using a pencil helps, as does cursive over printing. If anyone else has had this problem, you might try it.
Hi All
I thought I was all alone crying in a ball . I have been on Topamax since the end of April and I have lost 20 pounds and the ability to spell and come up with names and words. I actually thought I was loosing my mind . I also keep getting told not to be so negative and not to be so sensitive.When I was on 50 mg things seemed great now up to 100mg twice per day and I think perhaps its too much.. It sounds like from what everybody has been saying that by now there should be way more of a balance??It seems my migraines are turning into cluster head aches or now I have both ? Can I have a holiday? I fell like I have tried every thing else and there are some many things I am allergic too…part of the reason for the increase … allergy season. what do you guys do?
I took Topamax (25mg daily in the morning) for a few years to prevent migraines that were lasting 3-4 days. I also experienced many of the side effects: inability to find the right word (maddening!); losing my train of thought while speaking in public; tinnitus (which also persists to this day); slight weight loss; hair loss. My doctor said he did not know of a connection between Topamax and tinnitus, but at my request, he switched me to 250mg Keppra daily, along with 250mg Depakote ER (which I had been taking in conjunction with Topamax). I agree that the side effects have been disheartening, because I still think that the Topamax/Depakote combination was the best preventative. I still had migraines, but they weren’t as debilitating or as long-lasting as before. I haven’t noticed that Keppra has helped much.
I take 2.5mg of Amerge when I do get a migraine, and, if taken soon after the attack begins, it is extremely helpful in eliminating the pain.
Magnesium supplements didn’t seem to help much.
Good luck to all my fellow migraine sufferers, and please post any new info about new meds!
These comments are so helpful – thanks everyone. I hope to write more on this topic when I’ve had a chance to do more research.
Say what you want about Topamax. I have been taking 300mg for 8 years now. I also take Verapamil, Imitrex, ibuprofen, Fioricet, Tylenol #4, Phenergan, Flexeril, and at times Valium. I suffer from migraines with aura, cluster headaches, and tension headaches. I have 3 to 4 migraines every two weeks. If it wasn’t for my Topamax it would be 3 per week. Before Topamax, I was barely surviving. I had migaines before 2000, but they were not as often, they became more intense after a sever head injury. I would rather give up my pain med back up and my Imitrex before I give up my Topamax. Oh, by the way, migraines do interfere with speech, you look at an object go to say it and say something totally off the wall. My children find it funny. I have learned to live with it.
Hi, I have been on Topamax for over a year now for Basilar’s Migraine. I was doing well with it. I have to decrease it when I feel well and increase it when I start with the dizzy spells and headaches and I, too, have the inability to speak right after taking the meds. It seems to last for a couple of hours right after taking the pills. I also seem to hear people talking and look at them and just don’t catch the conversation. It’s like I am in my own world. Very strange. Everyone laughs it off saying I am having a blonde moment, but I know it has to be the medication. Reading all the stories confirms I am not going nuts. Thanks for the info.
Thanks for your comment, Jennifer. Yes, that’s a tricky thing – migraine itself can interfere with speech. I have that problem myself, and can relate.
Thanks, Judy, for your comment. It may be that Topamax makes a problem worse that migraineurs are already prone to.
I was put on topamax because my body does not do well with the medications that mess with the heart/breathing/bloodpressure/electrolyte medications the doctors try and bully ya with at first. Them kind landed me in the hospital. SInce I flat refused to try them kind again, it was suggested that I try ..stuff that would mess with the “nervous system”..topamax…
I took mine at bedtime, lots of water ..and cranberry juice..I exercise, and work out too…very active and outgoing..UNTIL topamax..
With topamax..I was in a fog, didnt want to be around anyone..didnt want to drive or go anywhere..didnt want to eat. IF I tried riding bike, I sweated alot, and felt ill..even though I normally drink tons of water anyway.
I do my wii fit exercises, same thing..
I couldnt concentrate..couldnt speak right, couldnt finish sentences..forgetful..
(more than usual), ..and I was bawling off and on..(down in the dumps)
Still had a vague headache. I felt like I had a large tennis ball stuck in my stomach that didnt want to pass down…….though there was nothing there..and I was felt like I wanted to vomit all the time. DIzziness worse than I normallly had..PINS and needles? not in hands/feet..around my ankles area…
MY joint pains came out in full force too…both hips, my right wrist…I can barely walk now the longer I took that pill…
IT is a good thing, that I am a traditional housewife..meaning..Im at home..(but I still have much to do..I dont just lay around/sit on my buns)…
IF I had to work..I couldnt do it on this medication…Id be applying for disability..
I called my neurologist..and told her..that Im off that danged pill..BUT..Ill keep the Maxalt…THAT works just fine!
Heh heh – I wonder if you’ll get a response on the “housewife” comment?
But I do know what you mean – it’s different if you have to constantly interact with people. Thinking of what to say under pressure – trying to be “sociable” when you’re feeling like that – not easy.
Much like many of you, i only recently stumbled across this website, and my only regret is that i did not find it sooner. A few weeks ago, i mentioned to my parents that i should probably find a support group. I was diagnosed with pseudotumor cerebri in 2003, at the time i was treated with a lumbar puncture (to immediately relieve pressure), acetazolamide, and topamax. I took the topamax for 6 months, and lost about 35lbs within the first 3 months. I was a Grad student; however, i quickly fell prey to the drug’s awful side effects (memory loss, difficulty concentrating, loss of appetite,restless, and mildly depressed), which eventually lead to my withdrawal from the program. I discontiued all medication in 2004. Over the years, i have had moderate setbacks (once a month.) In 2007, I decided to give Grad school a try once again, unfortunately, i have suffered from yet another relapse (just 7 weeks from graduation.) Three weeks ago i was put back on acetazolamide, and just yesterday my doctor prescribed Topamax (I am also scheduled for a lumbar puncture next week, which will require an overnight stay.) I am really reluctant to take the Topamax as this is my last semester and i have some very big projects and presentations (I just don’t want to embarass myself or my team)
Hi Tenecka – thanks for the comments. Sorry to hear about all you’ve gone through with pseudotumor cerebri. From what I know it can be a challenge to treat. Topamax is a common prescription.
Talk to your doctor about your concerns and see what other options you may have.
After finding this information, I am crying with relief. I’ve been on Topamax for 6 month now, and reported my memory loss, vision problems, loss of appetite, and difficulty in speech to my neurologist just last week. His response was that I had not ever mentioned these symptoms to him before and simply dismissed my concerns until I went into detail of how these problems have affected my life. I found myself sitting there tying to convince him that I was not crazy, that I sincerely felt that my memory loss and speech problems were very real and very disturbing to me. He finally decided to schedule me for a 4-hour Neurophychological Test. I now plan to call him to discuss an alternative to the Topamax and to expensive testing. Thanks for the info.
Janis, I’m so glad to hear that we could be a help! And I hope that a change in medication does make a difference.
Symptoms like these are often hard to explain, especially because we (the patient) are often confused ourselves about what’s going on. It’s so helpful to hear other people’s experiences – it clarifies what’s going on and helps us to articulate our own symptoms!
Hi everyone,
I write to you from the UAE.
I’ve suffered from migraines and vertigo on and off for the past 8 years. I’ve just had my first longest continuous migraine attack – 13 days. I’m just starting to feel better. I am an ESL teacher and have had to stay home on sick leave for the duration.
The new neurologist I’m seeing now (for the second time) prescribed Inderal and Topamax. I started on 25 mg of Topamax 5 days ago and just started on 50 mg this morning when I felt the tingling in the fingers and figured out it was a side effect and decided to check out the side effects. Boy am I glad I stumbled upon this website.
I have you all to thank for helping me decide to stay off Topamax. I don’t think I can risk the side effects of this drug. I don’t think I have exhausted the other possibilities yet.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Thanks, Lara – and thanks to all of you who have left very helpful comments here! This is your website.
Reading through all the comments, I am not sure if my husband’s side effect was brought out. He has a lot of them on Topomax. The most disturbing for him is the random inability to move his jaw and perform proper speech. He said its like his jaw clenches down and he is forced to speak without moving his mouth or jaw very much. It can happen all of a sudden and last for a while or a minute. He also does not socialize as much as before, trouble concentrating and processing things, quick tempered and others. He is finally deciding that he has to go off this drug. I will be so relieved.
I’m on my third run with Topamax and had my dose increase 3 months ago to 75 mg twice a day. Word memory deficit is horrible; I can’t put together sentences; appetite is poor, so I’ve lost some weight; my “word bank” is overdrawn, as I like to say. . . and I’m in seminary–bad place for that one. I failed my first test this semester (of course, an essay test!) and thought it was just me. Now I’m convinced the med has something to do with it. I’m also experiencing a depth of depression that kicked in after the dosage increase. My migraines frequency has decreased dramatically, which has been the best, but the rest of the package(emotional and cognitive symptoms) is rough. My neurologist looked at me sideways when I told him about the memory stuff; I wonder if some of our docs really ‘get it”. I really have to weigh whether I can continue with this much longer. Being “relatively” headache-free is great, but if I can’t put together a coherent thought for a paper– and that’s my “work” for now– what good is that? Good to know I’m not the only one with these side effects. thanks!
I just recently started taking Topamax for my headaches and noticed within just a few days that I was having trouble forming sentences. I thought this was possibly because of the hussle and bustle of the holidays btu the more I read about this the more I am believing that it is indeed the medication. I am only taking the medication as a trial right now as my doctor thinks I may actually have TMJ….wish me luck.