migraines, topamax?

Question

i get a lot of migraines, and the neurologist put me on topamax today. has anyone actually lost weight while on it? the dr told me a side effect is weight loss, so that's good but should i expect something massive or gradual or just a little bit? i need to lose abouto 40lb lol. also, this might sound stupid, but what is aura? is it just a halo you see with a migraine? anyway i am pretty happy to have this med, weight loss or no. my migraines are coming a lot, even spent a few hours in the hospital crying because it hurt so bad. serious answers only please.

i use fioricet for the migraines but i have to use it too often so had to use preventative measures. elavil makes me sick when i go off it. imitrex makes my neck muscles burn really bad.

Answer 1

I did take Topamax and did lose weight. It was very slow, over about a year. What it did for me was made me stop thinking about food. Honestly, I would go all day and not have had a thought of eating. That was all I needed to lose the weight.
However, when I stopped taking Topamax, I gained the weight back.
Good luck.

Answer 2

I am a fellow migraine sufferer. I have been on topamax for almost five years, but i have had no experience of weight loss with topamax (I have almost 80 to lose). i have found however that it is excellent at preventing migraines. weight loss could simply be a personal thing where it is a side effect for some but not all. as far as the aura goes it's different for every one, usual it is when you see random lights that aren't really there. they don't have to be over peoples heads. personally when i have a bad migraine i start to see fuzzy lights in my right eye.
when your migraines are really bad or have gone on for more than two days there is some thing they can do for you at the hospital. ask your doctor about having maxoran with a saline drip. maxoran is a powerful anti-nausea medication and they have found that it does work on relieving severe migraines, the saline helps as well because most times when we experience a migraine we are very dehydrated. i have had this done several times and when you are caught in a migraine cycle and regular meds aren't working this helps. also ask your doctor about different methods of taking fast acting meds, there are other forms out there aside from a tablet. imitrex has both a nasel spray and ingectable. and many other brands offer waffer forms where it melts fast on the toung for fast delevery of the meds.
i wish you the best of luck, there is nothing worse than a migrain you can't get rid of.

Answer 3

I haven't taken Topamax (I use Imitrex), so I can't speak to the weight loss, but I suspect it is small, or you'd have heard about it in the press. An aura is a visual, aural, or other-sense "phantom" that many people experience as they are about to have a migraine (my own is smelling things that couldn't possible be there). The presence of an aura in migraines, and the presence of an aura in epilepsy have led researchers to speculate that the two conditions may be related.

Good luck with the medication!

Answer 4

I was on Topamax a few years ago for my migraines. I did lose a little bit of weight. Also if you take topamax with Relpax it helps out alot with migraines. I know it helped me out when i was on them.

Answer 5

I was on Topamax for severe silent migraines (migraines without the pain). I lost weight on Topamax. It was gradual though. Topamax made me not hungry and when I was hungry if I ate to much I got sick to my stomach.
Auras are different for every person. I get different Auras-My major one is in my vision-A lightning bolt. I also get odor Auras. I smell bad things...Bad BO, Sulfur, Dog Crap etc...
Some people get Auras that effect their hearing.
I hope your migraines get better. I know how painful they can be.

Answer 6

There's a new development in migraine therapy:
http://www.neurologyreviews.com/feb04/nr_feb04_foramen.html

Answer 7

If you have weight loss it will be gradual. However if you are trying to lose weight you will be able more easily to lose the weight. Good luck, the medication works great for many people.