Topamax Hell

I started taking the Topamax, titrating as prescribed.  I was never able to get up to the therapeutic dosage.  I almost immediately starting having every side effect there was to have with this medication.  Up until that point, I had rarely put any drug into my body other than the occasional antibiotic or OTC medication.  I hated to feel out control.  I am a total "Type A" personality.  I called Dr. S. to tell him I didn't like the way the medication was making me feel.  I was told to give it time.  So like a good little patient, I did.  However, the dizziness, confusion, and lack of coordination and concentration was more than I could bear.  I felt worse cognitively than when I had a migraine!  I was a stay-at-home mother of an infant and a 4 year old, so I needed to be able to function.  I made an appointment and told Dr. S. I weaned myself off of the topamax because I just couldn't handle the side effects.   He offered to give me Depakote, however, it has many of the same side effects, plus weight gain.  I was definately not up for that!  I ended up leaving, feeling defeated and given no other treatment options.  It was my impression, he did not take migraine to be a serious ailment.  That was my last appointment at that office.  When a migraine would hit, I took a Relpax (which did nothing) and slept.  Luckily at that time I could go anywhere from 1 month to 3 months without having one.  The turning point in my quality of life and my migraines did not really occur until 2006.