Topamax Vs Neurontin – differences, similarities

[Chilly8817]

Hello there everyone, as you can see, I would really like to discuss about these 2 medications and I would like to talk about them with someone who has more knowledge than me about them, so I would appreciate any shared information here. I believe that both of them are being used as anti seizure medications and have a slew of off label uses. From as much as I have heard, the Neurontin is causing weight gain but the Topamax is causing weight loss. Wanted to talk with you, more experienced people, is that true? is there someone who has been on both of them? Can you confirm this? I do know that Neurontin/ Gabapentin is helping me to sleep, even though not very quickly. In addition to that, it does seem to have an anti anxiety effect on me as well. What can you say about Topamax and anti anxiety? Generally, what can you say about one in comparison to the other one? As I have said earlier, to your opinion, what are the similarities between the 2? And what are the differences? would really like to talk with someone who has been on both and can give us a honest comparison. Generally, what it is your knowledge/ experience with them? Anything is going to be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance for everything.

 

[anaesa]

Very well… gabapentin it is a pretty old drug that has been created pretty much in order to mimic the effects of the neurotransmitter GABA (I can assume that this is the reason they put the name GABApentin… it is being used as a gaba analog, and pretty much like the Topamax, it has been originally designed and manufactured in order to fight off the epileptic seizures.  Today, when people of science have noticed that it helps with other conditions, both of these medications are being used in a variety of other uses as well, like for example in order to combat the neuropathic pain (as it is a newer drug out there named Lyrica) and, also, in the case of Topamax, as you said that it can help you lose weight – for weight loss reasons (the FDA has approved this medication for this specific use when it is being combined with another weight loss drug called phentermine, which is more well known weight loss drug [since it is specifically designed and originally created for losing weight]).

 

To be honest, I am not quite sure if any of them are still on patent… but although I am not very sure, I just think that Lyrica is (from as much as I heard), but I think that gabapentin it is not, and well as Topamax it is not either. In addition to that, I must say that all 3 of them are also being scripted and used as migraine preventatives for some people out there, like for example, for people like me… I one have been prescribed all 3 of them. I’ve used all 3 for the exact same purpose (anti migraines) and not so long ago I just have re started to use Topamax once again in the hopes that it is going to work well in controlling my migraines this time. I have big hopes. What I can say with certitude is that I did have experienced the weight loss effect that last time when I have been taking it so your statement about Topamax having the weight loss effect is definitely true since as I said, it is being approved by FDA for this purpose and plus I have got this effect myself while being on it. however, in regards to the Gabapentin making you to gain weight… well, I have been on it, as I said, but I do not actually remember to have any weight gain in the time I was on gabapentin… I guess I should do a little bit of more research on this as I do not try to tell that this is wrong. I guess we all realize that each one of us is different meaning that if I haven’t had an effect it doesn’t mean that another person won’t have it. and vice versa as well, I if did had an effect from a medication (whatever effect and whatever medication we are talking about) this doesn’t mean that another person is going to have that effect (same dose, of course same medication etc.) it is just the fact that our body constitution, statistics, chemistry etc. are all different. Hope this is going to be at least a little bit helpful for you.

 

And yeah… just remembered and wanted to add… since you are on Gabapentin and since you are asking about Topamax… this means that you don’t actually like Gabapentin how it works for you? Isn’t that true? if that’s so then I don’t actually see why your doctor wouldn’t want to change your medication from Gabapentin to Topamax for you to at least try it and see which one works better for you.

 

[anaesa]

Oh yeah… something else that I forgot to add (I felt that I forgot something to say when I posted that and when I wrote my last paragraph I felt that it is not that lol) – the Topamax medication has actually started to be used in the mood disorders as well… if that’s gonna be helpful for you in anyway. The side effects that has been noted were that it changed moods in some of those people who were taking Topamax and more specifically it have made it useful in suffers of the bipolar disorder and I am not very sure here but I am thinking that maybe possibly in borderline personality disorder as well. Anyhow I must say that although I think and I imagine that this thing could be good in such kind of cases, my personal experience with it in the migraine prevention the first time around has been that I have been constantly been feeling stupid. I am sure that this is an side effect of Topamax because of 2 reasons. First is that I had that feeling/ side effect only while being on Topamax and secondly because I saw a lot of other people reporting same feeling/ side effect of feeling stupid while on Topamax. Either is this going to be any helpful for you or not.. but I was really feeling as if it has been slowly my brain down pretty big time, at the worst I have been feeling as if it stops it down to the speed of a dying turtle, lol, and plus to that it has also made me pretty dull either. And that is why, I am actually thinking that all of it is making sense. Again, not sure if that’s going to be for any help but I hope so. Good luck. In the end, if you decide to go with Topamax, I hope you won’t get this annoying effect.

 

[Awkwast]

Exactly as the previous poster, I also have used both these medications and exactly as the previous poster, I have also used both of them for migraine prevention. Either what I was feeling was pretty similar to what has been said up there or he was talking about something else I am not sure, but Topamax made me be completely lethargic and ‘spacey’ so I think that either he was talking about ‘spacey’ by feeling stupid or maybe something else. Another thing that I absolutely didn’t liked about it is that the food and carbonated drinks were tasting awfully bad for me. because of this, and also the effect of Topamax itself – I absolutely had absolutely no appetite at all, ever. Therefore, of course, I have lost weight and in fact, I can tell you guys that I have had to STOP using it because of the weight loss that I had because of it. I remember that I have started with it when I have been 115 and after just a few months I have been down to 100 lbs. with Gabapentin haven’t had weight loss but as it has been said up there… also haven’t had weight gain.

 

[kilian]

Hello there everyone, I must say that I did indeed find the Topamax to be very helpful for depression, however I am also being told that I am an exception to this effect so I am not very sure how many of you would get this effect from using Topamax. I one don’t actually know of anyone else who has found it to be helpful as well and I did have discussed and asked other people who have been on it, none of them could say that they had such an effect. That’s how I realized that the doctor was most likely telling the truth when told that I am an exception. However I must mention that not everyone taking Topamax would experience even the weight loss. Whilst I do agree that many and maybe majority would experience this effect, there are still people who would not and as an example I can give you my friend who is also taking Topamax (she is using it for seizures given by her doctor) and she says that it definitely has not affected her weight or her appetite at all as she cannot see any changes at all, however the medication does work very well because it is working with her seizures. I also must mention that I am using Neurontin for sleep and this one it is only mildly effective, however I am not going to use those benzos anymore, that’s for sure! I do think that the Neurontin would work fine, however my doctor has given me another that does seem to cause insomnia really really bad and it is making the Neurontin not to work as well.

 

Anyway, this is only the information that I share with you of what I have noticed over the period of the last 10 days or so since my last meeting with this current doctor so I hope that this is going to be in anyway helpful to you. However, thankfully… I am dumping her now and I am going to go see another one and I really hope that the other doctor is going to help me to get all of this mess straightened out really fast as I can’t live like this anymore now… I am now on both the Topamax and Neurontin together by the way… I found online people mentioning that Topamax it is sedating, however I don’t find it like that at all… I mean, 0 sedative effect, such that I could even use it in the morning if I really wanted to do so… however I just don’t. I am not driving and so it is making no difference for me at all. I am not all sure but I do think that the Neurontin has been a doing pretty good job at making my thinking a bit more clearer and to generally be more organized as well and that’s very important for me. not sure though but I do think that I have became more even tempered and I have made some better decisions since on it. I also should say that I have still flown off the handle either, however I am thinking before flying off right now, and I am also taking a suitcase with me. anyway, sorry if that’s off topic or if anything is wrong. In the end, I just tried to help by sharing a bit of information as you asked and I really hope that I did helped. If you find some more questions in case I was not clear in something, please feel free to write me privately or write here as I am always ready to respond!

 

[Melina]

To be honest, I am not very sure how I personally am thinking about that medication Topamax… I have mixed… strange… feelings about it. I used to be taking Topamax, however I am currently on the Topiramate, the generic form, and I honestly can say that there is a very big difference in that the generic does not work as well as the brand does… I have been using Topamax for migraine prevention and I have been told that the generic is working exactly the same way as the brand does so I believed, but now I see that this is a lie and no wonders why generics are less costly. The generics surely are not doing such a good job in migraine prevention! In regards to the ‘it makes me feel stupid’ I can totally relate. It 100% slows down your thinking process and I won’t be surprised if you would take an IQ test with whatever the score and then take Topamax and take an IQ test with an lower score. Not sure how others are feeling on it but it does slow down my thought process, for sure! I mean, I forget what word I was just about to say from time to time (in a conversation) and I could not think fast, make connections between my thoughts etc. As for the weight loss effect – I also haven’t actually got this effect, not for me at least as I haven’t seen any changes in weight, appetite, food/ drinks taste etc. So for weight loss worries you might give a try to the generics and you could see how that one is going to work for you. At least personally for me, it has been pretty much like a different medication.

 

Anyhow, I am still using it due to the fact that so far, it is by far the best option than those other preventative medications that the doctors have tried to put me on before they put me on this one. And not to take anything is also not a good idea for me because it is still better than nothing for me… that’s since I am still having fewer and a bit less severe migraines… however it is just not quite that success that I once have been having. There’s the big problem as everyone has: money too… my insurance is not going to cover the Topamax brand, unfortunately, so I tried of course to pay out of pocket, however when they have told me what’s the price for it I nearly lost my consciousness…

 

[anaesa]

So well, not so long ago I have been put back on the topamax, and I have to say that I have even got it for free (I am getting J&J meds free of charge, and that really is very good for me). gotta mention that gladly, I have not noticed the same mental impairment that I have been having when I have been younger and was taking it, I mean, not at the same level because I still did noticed a little bit, but that’s still better. I have stopped to use it in the past I could see if it helped with the weight loss for me, however it has been approved for that in a lot of places if you ask me… from as much as I know, they have even made a pill out of it (unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of it, but a little bit of google research would make you find it out, for sure) that is mixing the topiramate with the phentermine in order to get some better results in weight loss, and also being that it is from as much as it seems approved by the FDA – like agencies as well (unfortunately, I don’t actually know about the FDA itself), presumably it is working for that purpose in some people.

 

Anyhow, more on this I have to say that I one have not experienced any kind of sedation or insomnia like effects, however I did have felt like this is a ‘luck of the draw’ type of thing. If that’s going to be helpful for anyone for understanding the Topamax better.

 

[Fultank55]

As some people here, I also have been on both of them Gabapentin and Topamax as well, and I can say that I have had all of the ‘normal’ and ‘usual’ side effects. both of these meds have been scripted to me for my MS pain, however I can say that I did reacted differently to them both as well. Seemingly nobody experienced the weight gain on Neurontin, however I do agree with OP saying that it can make you gain weight as it indeed made me gain 20 lbs while I was on it, and I am quite sure that there are other people who gained weight on it as well. This side effect must be among the Neurontin side effects list profile. Also the weight loss effect on the Topamax is also true and that’s also because I lost some on it – like 30 lbs on Topamax. Which means that since I’ve been put on these things, I have experienced a total of – (minus) 10 lbs. also difference between the 2, not sure how to explain but I did felt that I have been using Neurontin in the time I was using it, however I didn’t even know that I have been on Topamax while using it. not sure how other people are thinking about this but I personally couldn’t actually stand the Neurontin, it really felt like a gross dirty high, but then again, I am not very sure how I should explain it. I would have kept aking the generic Topamax, however I saw that without having an insurance even that one has been more than $ 200 per month… I understand very well what the previous member tried to say up there, Topamax is indeed a very pricey medication.

 

[nichola]

Hello there everyone, I have to say that I am currently using the generic Topamax (which is also known as Topiramate) for my migraines issues, and from all the experience I have with it, how it works for me etc. I am considering it to be a god sent drug for me! it is truly amazing and I have nothing else than good words to say about it! I am not very sure how about others, but I personally have found out that you have to start off with it very slowly which means at a very low dose (but then again, at least for me, maybe for someone else this is different) in order to avoid the side effects like those that have been explained earlier by someone else of when your brain is slowed down and you just keep on forgetting your words and generally feeling like you are in a fog constantly. This is what I have been  told. I have started off with 25 mg 2 times a day (50 mg in total) and I am currently up to 100 mg 2 times a day (200 mg in total, which is 4 times as much compared to my initial dose), however it has taken me 5 months in order to finally get there and that’s quite a bit of time. that’s why I said that I had to start off very slowly. It was definitely worth the try as in the past I have been used to have migraines like 2 or 3 times (sometimes, rarely, but still – 4 times) per week and now, since on the Topiramate, they are pretty much all gone now. in addition to that, I always was a bit overweight and since I am on this medicine, as a bonus or something, I have also lost 25 pounds. So in the end I have no more migraines and I have lost weight – definitely a miracle med for me! with no side effects. in terms of how I lost weight – Topiramate is making the soda to taste flat, it is making the sugar cravings I used to have to disappear and it generally makes me to not have very much of an appetite, or at least definitely curbs that big appetite I used to have in the past while wasn’t taking it. again for me, that’s a double win.

 

I also have noticed that here are a lot of people complaining on its price, well for you I have to say.. in case you are having a Costco anywhere near you, you are able to get like 180 of the 100 mg tablets for as low as $ 41 only and in addition to that, they are also do mail order to you if you are being interested. Now, that’s not such a big money loss if you ask me (since I take 2 of them a day, that means 90 days worth of a supply which means I have to pay roughly 40 bucks for 3 months, that’s less than $ 15 a month….)

 

I must also mention the fact that I have also tried the Gabapentin in the past for my migraines and I have to say that I did have had some decent success with that one… it has not worked exactly as good as the Topamax does for me, however I did not have had the brain fog that I had in the beginning of my treatment with the Topamax… but instead of that I had another problem because I had a pretty bad swelling in my fingers… and it actually was so bad that it got to the point where it has been already uncomfortable for me to either write or to type (I mention this because this is my job, that’s how I am working – typing and writing) so maybe for someone else that won’t be a big problem, but for me that didn’t actually work out very well for me. hopefully this would be helpful to OP to make a decision or to understand it all better.

 

[Elizabeth Dangar]

Hello nichola and I really appreciate a lot that you have taken your time writing that. Even though Gabapentin is being primarily prescribed for the neuropathic pain, it is also very often being used as an off label treatment in order to treat the migraines and it often has mixed results.

As for the Topamax, this one is having a lot of off label uses and it has been originally designed for weight loss, for epilepsy as well as other ailments too.

 

It is nothing more than just my opinion here, however I think that you must use caution and to try what it is the best for your condition. As I assume that you already know… both of them are having precarious side effect profiles. I have to say that I have also taken Gabapentin and then again, nothing more than just my honest opinion based on the experience I have had on it – but I have became highly depressed while being on it. I have started to take it for nerve pain btw. Maybe some other people won’t have this effect, I hope so, but I did. What I am trying to say with this is that I recommend you to make sure that you are consulting yourself with a mental health professional instead of a GP which I think that is going to be much more helpful/ worthwhile.

 

One sure thing that I know and I have learned is that these type of medications surely requires some very close observation and please, you should have it too. Just my 2 cents worth opinions…

 

[nichola]

Hello Elizabeth and thank you for showing concern. However I am sorry if I have not made it clear but I am not using the gabapentin anymore now… it has been approximately one year since I do not, however it has been prescribed to me by my GP and not a mental health care professional as you recommended. In regards to the Topamax that I am currently using, it has also been prescribed to me by my GP too, but I must say that he is a very and very good doctor, he’s truly a very good professional, I have been seeing him for some years now. my Topamax intake is controlled by my GP who, as I said, is a very good doctor and professional so I don’t have any worries. Especially since I have already went through a lot of failures. For me this Topamax has been truly a godsend after I have been trying a lot of various migraine medications with very little or with no help at all… then later I finally have found about the Topamax and I found it to be that something that is actually working (and plus to that, as I said in my previous post, - it has an added bonus for me). well, my next step has been to get an IUD (which would only help my hormonal migraines, and not the others) which I surely was not thrilled about it!

 

I’ve got to also mention here that initially, I have been using the gabapentin for the nerve pain in my toe (which, btw, has since resolved itself, somehow), and we have found out that it has been also helpful for my migraines, and therefore I have started to continue on using it for that condition which was all in all very good, but then later I have found about the side effect that I explained earlier of the swelling of my hands and fingers and this side effect has been too much to stand (I mean, it really interfered with my ability to do my job properly) and that’s why I have stopped from using it.

 

[Elizabeth Dangar]

Hi nichola again, I just wanted to say that this is awesome and that’s good for you. Congrats. Finding a medication that is curing your issues, is not giving you any side effects (from as much as I could understand, you HAD the brain fog but you don’t anymore, right?) and in addition to that it gives you an bonus pleasant effect of weight loss – that sound to be amazing. also really glad that you have a doctor who can control it all and keep an professional eye on your situation. I am very glad to hear that you have found that something that is actually working for you very well. I know that migraines can be very disabling so I truly wish everyone who is suffering from them to find a cure. Wish you all the best!

 

[MissKate]

hi there everyone… I also want to share my opinion here, maybe it would be a bit helpful. Gotta start by saying that I am a 40 years sufferer of migraines so I absolutely understand what’s that ‘living with migraines’ thing. Most recently (to be more exact, in the last 3 months or so) don’t know what happened, either my age or IDK, but my migraines went completely crazy! I mean… I did have had chronic one but nothing like this because this one have been every single day for 3 months straight! I did have been through such things as beta blockers, calcium channel stuffs and I have also been on Topamax which I personally am calling it dopomax for several years on 200 mg a day. I did have had those horrible side effects and since I have been on a pretty high dose plus I was on that dose for a very good while it was so bad for me that I could not remember what I have had for lunch on some days or how to spell some simplest words which is truly very and very scary (I’m programming EMR records for a living).

 

Whichever the case, here is my final point in case there’s someone interested:
The generic Topiramate definitely did not work as well for me. I do ask my doctor to please give me something so I could think well enough in order to keep my job and so later he has put me on something that’s not as famous as Topamax – Zonegran and I found it to be helpful! I recommend you op to take a look at it in case you won’t like none of them (I mean neither Topamax and Neurontin). I really think that it is much better than Topamax, or at least for me, because it is working for me and it is not giving me the fog anymore. In addition to that, I have also started PT to begin relaxing the spasms from the chronic migraines. Chronic migraine sufferers might find it helpful as well!

 

[Publeausing]

I’ve gotta say that I did have had a very quick, but unfortunately not a very helpful, runaround with the gabapentin back in the days when it just came out on market. That was quite some years ago. It is one of those kind of stuff that they start their lives for some kind of one specific condition and as they learn it can be used off label due to the very few side effects for most people, doctors are going to start to throw it at anything on the wall and to check if it is going to stick there. originally being designed to treat the epilepsy the big pharma reps would send a doctor on some kind of a world tour if they agreed to push it on some patients. Due to the fact that this medication is ‘blocking the transmission of nerve agents in the brain’ without very much chance of causing any disastrous bodily harm for most of the people out there, I have been considered to be a good candidate for it in treating the chronic pain I have been suffering from. However I read a phrase up there written by someone else in this topic which sounded as ‘gross dirty high’ and I think that it has been so eloquently described it as I also felt something very similar to that. I am not actually very sure what has been the beginning dose, however there’s something that tells me that I have been given twice of the normal dose amount only to get me out of the office ASAP. To be honest, I don’t actually think that I have ever seen anyone to be prescribed anything in such ‘generous so to say’ amounts as I have been given then. And surely, it has been the largest bottle that I have ever been given back after filling a script of it. I remember very well that it has been before the turn of the century and after approximately a week or so, I just started to give it away to absolutely anyone who was simply opening their hands to get some. I’ve gotta say that I am quite sure that everybody involved in the time it has been patented got some very sweet money from selling that stuff, I am darn sure about this! And not on the street level, as I have said I just did the same as the doctors were doing except that I could not even give it all away like that… just a bit of history here…

 

[Whetter50]

I remember that while I have been on Topamax that was has made me be really sleepy at night. However I have not been on this medication for that long. However, on the other hand there is Gabapentin that you guys are talking here and to me that medication has been something like this: when the devil was thinking how he can make someone suffer he invented this pill. I do realize that it is only me and many people might have found it be very helpful, but for me, on at least half of the normal dose and I was already stumbling down halls, slurring, having intense disassociative thinking processes – like for example I was thinking about how a thing is actually working (I was working as an engineer) and instead of giving the right answer, I would speak out some kind of an completely adled delusion and initially that has been seemed to be fine but then I realized that it is not. I had to think about things like 3 times before I have been realizing that this deluded memory had been wrong… and I mean, completely wrong! Something that definitely cannot be true, or that it is not in the right place in there… 

 

This has happened constantly all day long, I was barely able to do my work and that’s since I have been questioning absolutely everything. And as if this has not been already bad enough, I would also spontaneously wake up right in the middle of some conversations that I would be having with my colleagues, that’s extremely annoying and I felt very embarrassed. There’s that just one minute when I just don’t know anything of what has been happening and then later, I am getting that feeling as if I just woke up from a very strange dream, suddenly, one that has fuzzed headed feeling you are getting when you are getting up too fast after you’ve been laying down for a while, and when you woke up so quickly you are almost passing out, and after that your head is clearing up and them, all of a sudden, I would be standing in front of somebody with absolutely no idea of what we have been talking about. As I said, this is extremely annoying and I am feeling extremely embarrassed as I have no idea what we were talking about and I just can’t flat out ask them what we were just saying? I did though, asked a few friends of mine, the closest friends that I really trusted, what has been going on and if I have been asleep there, maybe I fell down or something while been talking to them or maybe something in that matter. they said that I was clearly fully awake etc… so I had to ask them what we were talking about. But again, I could do that with only few people, best friends that I trusted, I just couldn’t do that with everyone else. That is why IMO gabapentin it is horribly insidious, I have almost lost all the respect of a lot of people at my work in the time that I have been on it because of all these ‘sleeps while being awake’. Because of such an experience I have had with it and because of all the negatives that it brought into my life, I have immediately dropped my psychiatrist, but not only because of that experience alone, also the fact that he has had me on several different stuff at the same time, and I have been falling apart, of course. During at that time I have been a research fellow art a fortune 500 company. The fact that this guy has been experimenting his stuff on me has been out of any doubts, that was as clear as a sunny day sky. When I finally realized this I got so angry that I would kill him if I ever met him again for everything that he has done. He was doing all of that consciously when he knew in what miserable life I was living in and knowing that he could change something. But no, instead of actually helping me out to live a good life, he was experimenting.

 

And there’s my brother in law that it is also using the GABA right now, the guy it is so think that you cannot tell the difference. And that is why I can guess are applications. Generally I should say that I personally am having a pretty bad reaction to nearly all the SSRIs out there, SNRIs, GABA analogs, to the anti epileptic medications and to anti seizure ones as well, and plus to all of those off brand pain treatments too.. in case there ever would have been some kind of an alternative reality to escape too… now would be the perfect time…

 

[brigittekey]

Well… I one used to think that it has been just a garbage stuff, however the doctor swore by its amazing effects that it should have on the pain and especially on the migraines…. But that’s my doctor.

 

[Prow]

I know what other people were saying about these things making you not feel fine and the fact that they make your brain slowed down because I one have discovered that I have these effects as well. I have found that my mental processes were really slowed down by both these things. Also, for me, gabapentin has caused me to have a bit of weight gain and in addition to that, I have also felt as if I’m in a dopey stupor all of the time. and this has been happening only from a dose of 300 mg of it, my doctor has recommended me to try to go way up to 1200 and somewhat which, I guess it is obvious, I did not believe in just quit after a week like that. That’s the unpleasant experience I have had with gabapentin but on the other hand we are having the Topamax which has caused me to forget a lot of things, and I mean a lot of basic things, such as for example to forget where my mother lives (her address) and generally I was finding it hard to remember the absolutely basic things and although I perfectly realized that this is not normal and I knew that something is wrong – I wanted to panic, however my brain still stayed that way. needless to mention that I just couldn’t continue this way so I went back to the neurologist and he has told me that if I went off it then it would get better what you have done. In addition, I knew that Topamax can make you experience weight loss and that is why, I have been really hoping that it is going to make me lose back all that weight that I gained in the time that I have been using the gabapentin, however this has not happened, unfortunately, now I still have that weight on me that I put on…. To be honest, I am frustrated that I did managed to put on the weight that I was supposed to put because of using a drug, but I did not managed to get it down in the time that I have been using a drug that was supposed to help me lose weight…

 

[brout]

Hello there, I see that this thread appeared quite some days ago, however I just found it so i decided to post something as I have been using Topiramate and that’s why I have a bit of experience with it. I have been using it at 150 mg 2 times a day, 300 mg a day per total. The cartilage has been worn out at the base of my right thumb and has left me with a really really bad pain, stabbing and really sharp, and that is the reason that I am using it for and so, this has been the reason why I have been using it. to be honest, I personally do consider this thing to be some kind of a miracle drug due to the fact that it has done a really good job in keeping under the control those sharp stabbing pains I was getting, of course I still can feel it so I hasn’t taken away all of them, however definitely most of them. I am hoping that I could somehow deal with it myself as I am putting off surgery for as long as it is possible due to the fact that I really really need all of the functionality of my right hand since I am right hander. Plus to that, I am simply being scared of any type of surgeries so as I said, I am going to try my best to deal without any type of surgery. In addition to that, I have not had all those strange effects that other people have posted here that they suffered from. I mean, I have had absolutely no changes in the way I am feeling or thinking, I have not had any problems of ‘blacking out’, loss of memory or loss of appetite, no weight gain or loss, no tiredness and I was always fully aware of what I am doing, never slowed down my brain or thinking processes etc. generally I had no other side effects and I am overall feeling pretty much the same as I did before I have started to use it, only except for the pain which is greatly diminished. I can guess that I am quite a lucky person that I have not got any side effects and I did got the pain relief, so I am very and very thankful for both these things: no side effects with pain relief, best I could get out of it! if I could wish something I would wish everyone else to get same experience as I did.

 

[Pilpel]

Hi Prow, I am just curious about one thing… I have noticed that you were talking about those medications and everything that has happened in the past tense which means, to my understanding, that all of that happened but it doesn’t happen anymore? I mean, you have taken those drugs back then and you have got all those effects back then? Well I am just really curious, after reading your post, how, generally, you are doing right now? the reason I ask is that I am working as a nurse and I have got punched pretty badly in the side of my head by a dementia patient, this has happened approximately 4 or so months ago. So well… the bad thing is that since then, I have had a concussion, I started having some vision issues, some very bad severe migraines as well as sever photophobia as well… it is obvious that I have addressed these problems and so, I am currently visiting an opthamologist as well as a neurologist who are having me on the amitriptyline (I guess you know what’s this) as well as on generic topomax – topiramate. So well, the topiramate it is currently up to 50 mg taken 2 times a day (100 mg a day, in the past I have been only on 50 mg a day, once a day, but then he has said that I need some extra 50 mg in the morning, as a morning dose, this happened 3 weeks ago when I had my last appointment with him), and my neurologist has flat out said it that he is not going to increase my dose that I take any more higher than this. I can say that since I am on it, my migraines did have decreased in both the frequency I used to get them and in intensity as well, but the problem that I am now having is that since I have been added with the morning dose, I am feeling somewhat sedated after that dose in the morning and my memory it is just disappearing. So, as a conclusion what I can say? Here I am now, using a medication that it is finally starting to help to deal with the migraines in making them appear less often and making them less severe, but for that I have to pay with my brain which is making my brain be dead…. And now, after I have read your post I got really curious, I really want to find out what are you doing right now, how are you deal with those migraines when you are not taking Topamax anymore (or as I said, that’s what I understood from reading your post). In a week I am going to go back visiting my neurologist and I am really really intrigued in finding out a solution to this problem of mine. I am having a workman’s comp case manager coming to my doctor’s appointments either, wanting me to go back to work, however I just can’t because I am really down right now as I am not even able to drive in the bright sunlight right now which is why, since it’s summer, I start being like a night crawler as I mostly get out from my house at night now. to be honest, I really want to be able to go back to work now as these last 4 months after that accident they were absolutely awful and I am generally in a very miserable life right now. in fact, I am not asking for help only Prow… if anybody is reading this and is having any alternatives or suggestions to the Topamax, then I beg you to help me. thanks in advance for everything and wishing you all the best.

 

[novos80]

Hey there everyone, I did have tried those medications you are talking here, I have been on both of them Neurontin/Gabapentin and on Topomax for my Essential Tremor. However, it is not only that none of them has worked, but both of them has given me some really bad side effects that I could barely live with and in addition to that, they have also made my essential tremor even worse than it was before I have taken them. Gabapentin also can be used for the pain from as much as I know. But ultimately, yes, everyone is different making us all respond completely differently to medications and that is why, if I would be you, a person who has not ever used any of them but the doc is recommending to try them, then I would, and that’s even if I would see such a post as mine or other people who said that had side effects and made my essential tremor worse. That’s because this is my own experience with them, this surely does not mean that everyone is going to have such experience. It might very well work for you. So regardless of what you read online, just remember, try it yourself first, or at least, as I said, that’s what I personally would do. I would try a medication just in case it did work for me. it could NOT work for your mother, father, sister, brother and best friend, but it could work for you. And vice versa. What works for one doesn’t mean it would work for another. As for someone like me with essential tremor, there are not very much of medication options, which I personally have tried all of them, however I have found that the side effects were just way too bad for me to resist them and again, both of those things, at least for me, made my tremor be even worse. Hope for some that’s gonna be different.