Dear H4TB,

I currently take Topamax along with my other meds. I no longer use opiods for my pain, but I did for a long time. Before I was on Topamax I tried both Lyrica and Neurontin. Both of them I started and stopped within a few weeks - they made my dizzy and stupid. I also gained weight (YUK!!) while taking them. Topamax does not have that side effect. It does make things taste funny, and has turned me off to certain foods and drinks.

Topamax helps with head pain/migraines, that is the primary reason I switched to it. When my RSD was raging, I could tell if I missed a dose - the back of my neck and my head and right shoulder would start to burn, especially in bad weather. I take 200 mg a day. My doc told me to increase it to 300 mg, but I hated how I felt on such a high dose, so I went back down to 200.

The ketamine infusions have been reasonably succesful for me, but I am still receiving boosters quite frequently (2x a week for the rest of this month, and then once a week for the month of June). At some point perhaps I will be able to drop the Topamax and rest of my meds, just like I was able to eliminate my opiods, and try living a drug free life...I will have to check with my doc on that one.

Good luck to you, XOXOX Sandy