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Misc topiramate

kanyeknievel

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 12, 2010
Messages
535
I just got prescribed topiramate once a night because I have this pressure in my head that doesnt stop. Its not that bad in the morning but gets worse as the day goes on. The pressure is very annoying and bothersome, it doesnt hurt but it is as if its painful.
Its just a constant pressure... anyone know if this is a good medicine?

I take benzos and suboxone currently, wondering if this will have any side effects. Will this have any bad side effects or is it usually fine?
 
I'm trying to figure out if you just expect people on BL to do the research for you or you're trying to slyly ask if this medication you were just prescribed will fuck you up.
 
Topiramate Information Mega Resource

Seriously though, just google topiramate and you'll find all there is to know about it. If you're curious about a drug interaction (although your doctor would likely take this into account) use a Drug Interaction Checker.

Im not just asking drug interactions or I wouldn't have posted. Just wondering what peoples results were using this and if there are any bad side effects that happen OFTEN that they know.
I really hope this medication works, or some sort of medication because this presure in my head really effects my day to day life and I was hoping SOMETHING would show up on the MRI.
Only options are 1. Go get a second opinion 2. take medication 3. keep trying medication till one suites me
 
I get where you are coming from kanyeknievel. It always feels good just to talk about your meds and your own personal situation and get feedback whether advice, opinions, or support. It's just we can't afford to have a thread in OD for every single person and especially not for multiple issues for every person. Therefore we have to try and limit the ones which don't have any clear harm reduction potential, address specific issues (more general common issues better in BDD), or are about more complex and in depth issues. A vague thread like this is pretty much the subject matter of a wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topiramate

As I haven't heard much about topiramate before perhaps you could do take the opportunity to do some research and use this thread as a place to mention any interesting facts you come up and then you could ask for related experiences, or if you find anything that you think people on Bluelight need to hear. If not though I think this might best belong as a continuation of your previous thread on pressure in your head (I think there is one right?) or it will likely be closed.
 
As I haven't heard much about topiramate before perhaps you could do take the opportunity to do some research and use this thread as a place to mention any interesting facts you come up and then you could ask for related experiences, or if you find anything that you think people on Bluelight need to hear. If not though I think this might best belong as a continuation of your previous thread on pressure in your head (I think there is one right?) or it will likely be closed.

The only reason I think this can stay open for now is because topiramate is used to help alcoholics manage craving so I'd think it'd be useful to have more information and experiences around... if this were just some random medication, it'd be closed. We can't have 40,000 threads for every drug any member is prescribed for any condition.
 
suboxone used to give me the pressure/headache thing too. Or have you had this before you got on the suboxone?
 
Topiramate is commonly used to treat high intracranial pressure, see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17922725

Abstract
OBJECTIVES - To assess the efficacy of topiramate in the treatment of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) and to compare it with acetazolamide.

METHODS - Fourty patients diagnosed as IIH and randomly assigned to treatment with either acetazolamide or topiramate were assessed prospectively. Improvement in the visual fields at the end of third, sixth and twelfth months were taken into consideration.

RESULTS - The demographic, clinical features and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure of the two treatment groups were similar at the beginning of the study. When the follow-up visual field grades were compared with the visual field grades at the beginning of the study in each group a statistically significant improvement was detected with both drugs. When the results of the two treatment groups were compared with each other no statistically significant difference was present. Prominent weight loss was recorded in the topiramate group.

CONCLUSIONS - Topiramate seems to be effective in the treatment of IIH. Weight reduction as well as the reduction of the CSF formation is the possible mechanism of action.

Of course the fact that you subjectively feel a pressure in your head doesn't necessarily mean that you physically have a high pressure in your skull. I'm not sure what your doctor is thinking, but the feeling of pressure can also be a kind of a headache or a symptom of a panic attack. Topiramate is also used to treat cluster headache, see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12890134
OBJECTIVE: The role of topiramate in the prophylactic treatment of cluster headache is still unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of topiramate in a group of patients with refractory episodic or chronic cluster headache.

BACKGROUND: Proof of efficacy of preventive treatment of cluster headache is limited, especially for the chronic form of the disorder. There are very few randomized clinical trials on this condition with topiramate or other new anticonvulsant agents. Recent case reports and series involving topiramate have shown good results. The mechanism of action of topiramate is unknown, but is presumably mediated by gamma-aminobutyric acid.

METHODS: Twenty-six patients with episodic (n = 12) or chronic (n = 14) cluster headache were studied prospectively. All patients had been treated with some preventive treatment, with poor or no response. Treatment with topiramate was initiated with 25 mg once a day, and the dose was titrated every 3 to 7 days to a maximum of 200 mg, according to clinical response and tolerability.

RESULTS: Topiramate rapidly induced cluster remission in 15 patients, reduced the number of attacks more than 50% in 6 patients, and reduced the cluster period duration in 12. The mean time to remission was 14 days (range, 1 to 27), but in 7 patients remission was obtained within the first days of treatment with very low doses (25 to 75 mg a day). Tolerability was good within the lower range of doses used. Six patients discontinued treatment due to side effects (all with daily doses over 100 mg) or lack of efficacy.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm that topiramate can be an effective option for the preventive treatment of episodic and chronic cluster headache

I think the OP was a good question, but I'm not sure what your doctor is thinking if he's medicating you for a high intracranial pressure just because you have a subjective feeling of pressure in your head... However if the topiramate helps you get rid of that feeling, then it's OK.

I'm sorry if this was too advanced for OD, with research report quotes and all...
 
^ not at all! We love having a little more intellectual and research-based discourse here. Inclusion of this type of information is always appreciated.
 
Topiramate is commonly used to treat high intracranial pressure, see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17922725



Of course the fact that you subjectively feel a pressure in your head doesn't necessarily mean that you physically have a high pressure in your skull. I'm not sure what your doctor is thinking, but the feeling of pressure can also be a kind of a headache or a symptom of a panic attack. Topiramate is also used to treat cluster headache, see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12890134


I think the OP was a good question, but I'm not sure what your doctor is thinking if he's medicating you for a high intracranial pressure just because you have a subjective feeling of pressure in your head... However if the topiramate helps you get rid of that feeling, then it's OK.

I'm sorry if this was too advanced for OD, with research report quotes and all...

Sorry I dont remember Names.

Guy with pop-eye. Yes continutation of craninal pressure. Going to get a second opinion from a reference from columbia doctors in nyc. Therapist told me they are THE BEST. SO MUCH better than the ones around here.

Poster about this quote. No I had this for a while before suboxone, suboxone eases it.

And really? That makes me feel a lot better knowing it helps cranial pressure :)
 
btw anyone know the usual amount of time the pills usually take to see if they work or not?
Or is is suppose to be instant
 
My girlfriend takes topiramate (100 mg's a day, 50mg's in the morning and 50mg's at night) for her migraine headaches. It's more a preventative than an instant action thing, I believe, so I don't know if it would be considered an 'instant cure' for headaches, pain, pressure, and any of the above :P The doctor said it had to build up in her system for it to effectively treat her symptoms, but I don't know how long she said it would take exactly.

she also takes imitrex (sumatriptan) when she gets a reeeaalllly bad migraine that doesn't go away. It helps with the pain and nausea, but kinda makes her 'out of it'.

I don't know if that helps, maybe other people feel differently, but that is just what I've seen personally.
 
Please don't bump your own thread... especially because people hadn't answered questions you could easily ask your doctor who prescribed them or your pharmacist who filled them.
 
Topiramate (brand name TopAMAX) is an anticonvulsants used to treat epilepsy, it's used off label as an antagonist medication for migraine & cluster headraches (usually prescribed when with Verapamil & Depakote aren't options). It greatly increase CYP3A4 activity in the body, from 3x to as much as 20x depending on dose. I take 200mg of topiramate twice per day for my Cluster Headaches (it's just one of many Rx's I take for them). So no, it won't get you buzzed, infact the increased CYP3A4 activity is the exact opposite thing you want for opioid/opiate potentiation. It takes 2-4 weeks to build up in the system. It's most popular side effect is weight loss, which takes place while the body adjusts to the med (first 6 months)...I lost 25lbs :-)

...she also takes imitrex (sumatriptan) when she gets a reeeaalllly bad migraine that doesn't go away. It helps with the pain and nausea, but kinda makes her 'out of it'.
She should try switching to Maxalt ODT (Rizatriptan benzoate). They are orally disingrating tablets (hence the ODT in the name). They've showed a higher succes rate of aborting migraines & clusters then either Immitrex or Treximet, and it has shown fewer side effects.
 
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