I am about to come off topamax. Not because I dont like it but I dont think its working very well any more, and I'm on top dose for pain relief. I'm withdrawing, starting tomorrow. If I get a lot worse, then I'll go back on them. I hate drugs. I tried cymbalta much against my doctors wishes. It made me quite ill. Then I did quite a lot of reading up about it. The clinical trials were short, as far as I could see. As well as treating depression it seemed in some cases to cause it, and there were some cases of suicide. One was a girl who killed herself while taking part in the clinical trials, and had never suffered from depression before. It made me feel very sick, and really upset my insides. It also treats urinary incontinence, but as I was suffereing from retention of urine at the time, and had to self catheterise for six months following an operation, I didnt need to exacerbate that situation!! I take dosulepine, which seems to help me to sleep, and is very similar to Amytryptalline. Neurontin was dreadful. I put on about 28 pounds, very quickly indeed, and I wouldnt consider even trying Lyrica, although my pain management doc wanted me to, as I understand its chemical composition is very similar. The other reason I'm trying to come off Topa. is to see if any of my symptons are actually caused by the drug itself, as my GP has often hinted darkly that they might be. My neuropathy kicks in every day a couple of hours after I get up. Some days are worse than others. When I start I'm going to keep a diary. I believe that you couldnt take both Cymbalta and Topamax because your body could go into a kind of shock which could be fatal. There is a name for it, but I cant remember what it is!
PS. One of the other side effects I got was Thrombocytopenia, which was little pin pricky bruises underneath the skin, but I didnt even mention it to my doc because I got so so sick of going to her, and I began to feel like I was a malingerer. I dont really feel like that any more. But I still feel like there is nothing she can do. except listen to me, and also that my problem is going to go on and on and on, and I am going to live a very long time with it!!