I was diagnosed with epilepsy after having one grand mal seizure, there is no family history of seizures, and that was the first one I had ever had. The neurologist prescribed Topamax and I've been on it ever since, I have a hard time remembering to drink a lot, and have had pain in both the left and right groin area as well as blurred vision w/ what feels like pins being stuck in my eyes (that happens occasionally) . After reading the side affects and knowing I only had one seizure, I'm wondering whether I should have been put on the drug at all? Has anyone had a similar experience and successfuly gone off Topamax without going to an alternative medication?
2006-11-20 06:04:08 · 4 answers · asked by Fun2010 4 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Other - Diseases
normally once someone has a grand mal seizure they are treated anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. if seizure free during that time the doctor may taper you off the medication. abruptly stoping the medication can cause another seizure. talk with your doctor, tell him the side effects you think you are having due to the medication. depending on how long you have been on it he may change medicines, taper you off the medication, or try another alternative. most importantly don't stop taking the medication without talking with your doctor.
2006-11-20 06:13:18 · answer #1 · answered by trytohelp 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to stay on some medication as epiliepsy is very serious. If the Topomax is causing side effects then mention this to your doc so he can decide the best thing to do. You only had one siezure so far but that does not mean that the epilepsy mysteriously went away. You still have it but so far it is under control. Without the medication you put yourself at a very big risk of lots more seizures as well as possible injuries related to having a seizure.
2006-11-20 06:08:40 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have had a total of six Grand Mal seizures now in the past 5 years. I also have a history of migraine headaches. I have been on Topomax for about three years now. My doctor slowly increased my dosage to decrease my headaches, but when I started losing too much weight, I had him decrease my dosage in half. This was about three months ago. I just had a Grand Mal seizure while I was driving home from work about 5 days ago. The EMT told me that a change in your seizure medication can take up to six months for your body to adapt to the change and that could have been what triggered my seizure. The cannot find any cause as to why I have the seizures, but I know that one of the main triggers of them have to do with lights. For example, fireworks caused the one before this one and they said that the repetitive headlights of the traffic passing by me could have triggered this most recent one. If you are wanting to get off of the Topomax, I would suggest talking to your doctor about slowly decreasing your dosage over a period of time until you are gradually off of it altogether.
2006-11-23 13:59:58 · answer #3 · answered by turner1077@sbcglobal.net 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
epilepsy is not something that can be cured right away. technically they don't have a cure for it at all. meds keep the seizures spread apart. you won't have as many, but they will still be there. i think you need to talk to the doctor that gave you the medication. explain the side effects that you are having. there is more than one pill out there that can help with epilepsy. if you don't take medication..you risk injuring yourself with another seizure, or even worse you could end up brain dead. if you are really concerned about the medication, then schedule an appointment to talk about it with you doc...they can help you...they are there to help you...hope this helps...
2006-11-20 06:16:48 · answer #4 · answered by Sarah 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋