Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho
It sounds like your neuro is doing the "Try this and tell me if it helps." method of treatment. There is no consensus about using Topamax for Post Concussion Syndrome symptoms. Treating the migraines should be done with the concussion being serious consideration.
It is not uncommon for doctors to treat concussion symptoms as if they are not related to a concussion. Since very few doctors understand concussion, they tend to treat the PCS patient as a head ache patient only.
It is what makes PCS such a struggle.
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I couldn't agree with the last statement more. I tried to make it clear on my latest visit to the neuro that my biggest problems recently have been with fog and ringing and spinning sensations, not with migraines. She didn't miss a beat and suggested that these symptoms were all related to my migraines. I tried to tell her again that migraines aren't a big problem for me right now as they were in the past, but these secondary symptoms are actually worse in my mind.
To that, I took the Topamax for two weeks and I started forgetting little things that I shouldn't. I missed a dentist appointment which I would never do. I kept missing the turn home from work. I'd leave something out all night that I wouldn't normally do. Spelling became more difficult. The dizziness may have gotten worse.
Maybe all of these symptoms were in my head, but after researching the drug and the condition more, it seems that a migraine drug isn't appropriate for somebody having my symptoms. In many people, like what I experienced, the other symptoms actually seemed to worsen a bit if not stay the same. The killer, however, was the forgetfulness. I've had shaky memory days since the injuries occurred, but in just two weeks on this drug, I felt like an Alzheimer's patient. Needless to say, the tradeoff, if there was one, just wasn't worth it.