It has been way too long since I've been on here. I need to get on here more often. :-/ Anyways, my headaches have actually been doing really well. I haven't had one in quite a long time. So I'm really excited! I have a doctor's appointment in the morning to see if I can possibly get off of the topamax or onto a lower dosage of it. I tried going off of it a few months ago and it didn't work very well. I didn't sleep at all and my headaches came back. But I think I'm willing to give it another shot. Now that I've been on Topamax for a year, I've definately noticed some of the side affects from it. Like the insomnia. I'm a night owl anyways, but there are nights were I just can't sleep at all. People I work with and my family have noticed some definate major mood swings while I've been on it. And sometimes I have trouble focusing and remembering things. I don't know if I should let the side affects bother me. Should I mention it to my doctor? Should I try going off of topamax all together again or try going onto another medication for my headaches? Currently I'm taking 75 mg in the morning and 75 at night. I know it's a very high dosage, but still. I've talked with my mom about this and she's not sure it's a good idea for me to go off the medication this close to the holidays. She wants me to keep feeling great for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love my family and that they're so understanding with my headaches and migraines! So I don't know.... I know I'm rambling. So I'm gonna shut up now. :-) Any suggestions would be wonderful.
All meds have side effects, so it's always a trade off between how much a drug helps you and how much it hurts you, so to speak. Since the side effects seem to be disrupting your life, you might want to try a lower dosage, but since the Topamax seems to be helping, going off it probably isn't the best idea.
You should absolutely mention your side effects to your doctor though. Always mention drug side effects, and be honest about how they are impacting your life. Your doctor needs to know these things.
I'd wait until after the holidays, but for a different reason than your mom suggested. Holidays = Stress. No matter what, holidays are stressful, and increased stress makes us more suceptible to our other migraine triggers. In the new year when things are calm again might be a better time to experiment with dose changes. Just a thought!
I talked to him about it and he doesn't want me to go off the medication. He thinks that I've finally gotten to a point where I'm feeling alot better. He said if I felt like I wanted to go off the med in a few months or go on a lower dosage of it in a few months to come back in and talk to him then. I was a little annoyed because I didn't realize that there where other headache or migraine medication options out there and he didn't mention it. Oh well. The side affects aren't a huge problem yet.