On December 12, 2012, I woke up with a pretty good headache. We had a trip planned to Disney World the next day so we went on to Disney and the headache continued. It would get worse or better at times but it lingered. It was worse when I woke up and then at times got better during the day but most of the times got worse. It literally felt like someone was squeezing my whole face. When I got home from Disney I went to my family doctor. She said it she thought I had a sinus infection. She put me on a serious regimen of antibiotics and steroids. It didn't help. I still woke up with a headache every day. I went back. She put me on a beta blocker called Propranolol. That didn't help. She prescribed Fluoxetine but the daily headaches continued. It was a really hard time. I could barely function. Months later she sent me to a neurologist saying she had done everything she could. I had a head MRI and CT scan but it showed nothing. I literally cried the day they told me they were normal because that meant they didn't have an answer to why I continued to have these horrible headaches. The neuro diagnosed me as having Migraine and put me on Topiramate. This medicine has horrible side effects. Your sense of taste is changed, you forget the simplest words, your mind is all groggy, your face, hands and feet had the sensation of pins and needles....essentially you brain turns to mush. I couldn't remember anything. They started me out at 25mg before bed. Then you are raised to 50mg and so on. I went all the way to 150mg and the headaches persisted. I went back to the neuro and he backed down the dosage of Topiramate added Nortriptyline to it. After about two months of that combination I started feeling human again. It has been almost a year and a half and my headaches are still around but not nearly as intense as they used to be. Now I even have some totally-headache-free days!
When my headaches started I searched and searched trying to find info on them and why I may have them. Now that I have been dealing with them for so long along with the side effects of the medications I thought I would share it with those of you who may be struggling with the same thing.
If you are trying to make a decision about Topiramate, I would suggest you give it a go. I won't lie, it isn't for the faint of heart. It is hard core and makes you feel pretty awful, but if it works for you (even a little bit) it definitely takes the edge off a migraine.
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