Hi,
I am NOT asking for medical advice, but I would like to hear people's opinions and experiences with the medicine, Topamax.
I have been taking this medicine for a few years, I was on it for some time, then for some reason I was taken off of it. I went back on it when I was inpatient for psychiatric reasons and it gives me a feeling of being happy but it doesn't make me manic. My concern with it though is that when I saw the neurologist who I was seeing, I mentioned that I have been having short term memory loss issues, he immediately said that Topamax could be causing this. He suggested I switch to Zonegran because he thought it would work similarly but my psychiatrist does not think that it would help my moods nearly as much as Topamax.
I don't know what to do at this point.
The Topamax is great in that it does not make me gain weight and it gives a happier feeling, yet the cognition and memory side effects are a bit upsetting, even disturbing. I forget people's names, I will say things such as "the dog black" instead of correctly saying "the black dog" or combine two words, also I will be thinking of something and then just a few minutes later, I will forget it. I also am a bit shocked at this, today when I was staring at my dial watch, I had a hard time telling what time it was!! When I talked to my psychiatrist, he gave me the option of going off of this medicine, but I am afraid that I would go into a downward spiral if I were off of it because of the "up feeling" that I get from it. I am nervous about other psych meds because they can cause weight gain and that has been my experience with other drugs, but that is the opposite with Topamax, I have had no weight gain with Topamax yet I have these other mental side effects.
I don't know if I should get yet another opinion from another doctor? The neurologist I was seeing, I will no longer be able to see because his new office does not accept my insurance so I am going to see a new neurologist. Maybe I should see him sooner.
What suggestions, advice, feedback do all of you have with issues like these?
Thanks!