| QUESTION:
Dear Dr.:
I have had migraines 31 years the first occurring while
I was on a sugar-restricted diet. Later on I began experiencing hemiplegia
affecting my right side, my speech and my ability to think clearly. After
a particularly bad period I was left with partial loss of feeling in my
leg and my arm and was sent to a neurologist who found irregular seizure
(left frontal lobe) activity during a four EEG's. He has also told me that
there may be some slight brain damage causing the loss of feeling.
I am a 42 year old woman. My question is about
medication. I was on Topamax for 2 years and experienced rapid weight
loss, fatigue, end of menses and a gradual return of symptoms. The dose
started at 150mg twice a day and was raised progressively to 425mg daily.
The neurologist now wants to try Depakote which I will not take.
Are there any medications that can successfully treat
someone like me without causing fatigue and weight gain? I am now not
taking anything, but I am concerned that my risk of stroke or brain damage
may be significantly increased.
Thank you in advance for your advice.
Sincerely,
Ann Marie
REPLY: Dear Ann Marie:
I don't blame you for not taking Depakote, with those symptoms! There are,
however a number of other newer so-called anticonvulsants, all of which
have been tried for migraines and other headaches successfully. Your best
bet is to see a headache specialist, who might be familiar with some of
these (Zonegran, Keppra, Trileptal, Gabitril, Lamictal, Neurontin). They
are all weight-neutral, so weight gain is not an issue. Your EEG results
might dictate which of these to choose.
John Claude Krusz
We have a directory of specialists on our
site at:
http://headaches.about.com/cs/headacheclinics/
Teri Robert
|
|
To submit your question,
click
HERE.
Please be aware that, due to the
volume of questions being submitted, we cannot predict how quickly
questions will be answered. Please do not ask emergency questions here. For
the archives of previous weeks' questions,
click
HERE. |
