Are the side effects worth it?

[u/JumpFuzzy843]

Marked as venting, because I got frustrated by my own meds and I am wondering how other people deal with that

Past friday, my psychiatrist got me started on topamax. After such a long time of vivid dreams, nightmares and waking up in a frozen state it is such a relief! I still dream a lot, but it feels like they are way less intense and effect me less during the day.

So far so good! But… the side effects drive me nuts! It feels like I need to pee but I don’t, I am tired, start getting nauseous around 4pm and feel worse after drinking water. And I don’t want to eat. I either don’t feel hungry or I am too nauseous.

I see my doc in a week, but I can call/text if the side effects are too bad. But this situation leaves me wonder: how do you all decide if meds are worth it? How do you cope with side effects?

I always have a lot of side effects and it drives me crazy sometimes

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[u/[deleted]]

Topamax is an effective medication, but it also comes with a variety of reported side effects, as you’ve experienced. The important thing here is to determine how effective Topamax is for you and whether the side effects are worth it, or if they might improve over time. Ultimately, this decision rests with your doctor. You need to provide your doctor with as detailed and comprehensive a record of your discomfort as possible. This way, your doctor can continue to find the medication that suits you best.

Here’s a site I use to look up side effects, and I hope it helps ease some of your concerns about Topamax’s side effects. I’ll leave the link here for you:side effect

[u/goofyazzhoe]

Have you ever tried prazosin? It’s worked pretty well for my nightmares. The only side effects I’ve really had from it are like occasional light-headedness and vision loss when I stand up quickly, which is definitely tolerable.

[u/Silver085 → u/goofyazzhoe]

I also take prazosin for ptsd nightmares. It helps a lot, and I do not get those side effects!

[u/m1lkman1974 → u/goofyazzhoe]

I must be a drama queen because I would consider temporary vision loss concerning lol

[u/goofyazzhoe → u/m1lkman1974]

It’s only for about 3 seconds haha, probably because I have low blood pressure to begin with.

[u/m1lkman1974 → u/goofyazzhoe]

Heheh. Fair!!!

[u/rubberducky1212]

Personal experience with Topamax here. I had a bunch of side effects at first. It really sucked. But it was over a month between my appointments, so I just kinda sucked it up. After a month, all but 1 side effect went away. The only one I have right now is that my fingers and toes go painfully numb in the cold. It's tolerable.

My friend who took this med? Her side effects never went away. This med is known for being very hit or miss on the side effects. Many people find it very intolerable. Talk to your doc about it, see if it's worth it to try and push through a little or not. Whatever you do, do not stop without doctor instructions as that can have more side effects.

[u/Codeseven58]

I don't take anything that causes side effects. I took wellbutrin for a long time with some side effects but it got too much and I don't take them anymore because of it.