Hi Laureen,

I hope it is going OK for you. I didn't take any Topamax yesterday (YAY) and so far I don't feel any more dizzy. I have noticed parts of my face that are sore now, as I've decreased my meds. The eye that hurt after the balloon procedure is more sensitive now and around the far left side of my teeth there are places that hurt a little, particularly if I've been using my mouth a lot. But it isn't like TN pain, not in the same place, either. I think it's just from surgery. Since it was already noticeably with 25 mg Topamax, it might get worse with no Topamax. If it's too bad, I might need to increase the Tegretol for awhile or wait to decrease. But I hope not. I'm still very tired and still have a lot of dizziness yet I am getting stronger. The ear thumping went away last night, now it's back this morning.

You've come a long way reducing meds. If the pain comes back at all, I don't think you'll end up back where you were after all this time. If you get some pain, you'll increase your meds just a bit till the pain's gone. Then maybe try reducing in a week or so (depending on what your doctor says, of course).

When going off meds, as far as tiredness and short term memory problems, I start to feel pretty good around 300 mg of Tegretol, but it takes a few weeks after I stop taking any till it really gets out of my system.

I figure I'm about halfway through reducing my meds, maybe a little more. But I haven't felt the full effect of that yet--it will take a week or so.