I am currently taking 600mg of tegretol and it seems to keep it under control for the most part. But I am trying to lose 35lbs since I now have high blood pressure also. I have heard that topomax can help with weightloss. I am wondering if the side effects would be worse or if it will be as effective on the pain?
I do not know, as I have only been treated with tegretol. What I CAN tell you is that 1200mgs of this crap a day makes a girl not want to do SQUAT and really helps expand the waistline and rearend, LOL! It's all I can do to work all day. I have a hard time staying awake at my desk. I actually DID fall asleep in here one day and the boss came in a busted out laughing at me! If I had a job that I could move around more, I would probably be more alert, because I have noticed that when I AM more active, I feel fine. But I have lost all motivation to get off my arse and exercise! So even though I sit all day at work, I STILL don't want to do anything when I get home either.
Shew I know the feeling. I work 4 ten hour days a week and it is all I can do to drag myself to and from work. I don't know how I am going to lose weight without exercising. I think I will talk to my neurologist about it.
Topomax does take away your appetite, or rather make everything taste horrible. For me, however, it was not as bad as Tegretol, which caused vomiting and diarrhea and very rapid weight loss (luckily I started off heavy). The screwy Neuro told me that Tegretol was the only treatment for TN. I got rid of both the Tegretol AND the Neurologist.
When I first saw a neurologist for my face pain, even though I suggested it could be TN, he disagreed as he thought it was related to my Chiari Maldormation, and put me on Topomax. Over the next few months, he had me increase the dosage regularly, since it was not helping my pain. It was not until I was taking 400 mg a day that I began to lose weight ( 10 lbs in a month, and I started out at 132 lbs) . The weight loss was the ONLY benefit of Topomax. I was a zombie. When I changed neurologists, I was diagnosed with TN, and told not only was Topomax the wrong drug, my dosage was VERY high. Unfortunately, I am allergic to Tegretol, so I am on neurontin. I take 2400 mg a day, and while it does not completely take away the pain, it does make it tolerable. Please bear in mind that we all have different reactions to medication, and while I did enjoy the effortless weight loss from being on Topomax, the brain fog and exhaustion was worse than the benefit.
I hope you get some relief soon.
Christine
Hi,
I have been on Topamax for over three years and while it does help, the mental dullness is bad. I causes you to have a really hard time memorizing and you feel like you cannot remember the simplest things. I am a college student and this medication makes it so frustrating trying to memorize things. Although, it does work for weight loss as within a month of stating in I lost 10 pounds.
Happy Easter,
Bethany