Success Stories
An up-close look at the experiences of people using TOPAMAX to help control their seizures.*
No More Tonic-Clonic Seizures!
"I have been taking TOPAMAX for 8 years now, and my seizures have been completely under control
the entire time. I used to have 4 or 5 tonic-clonic seizures per month before my doctor added TOPAMAX
to my other medication. Once I got used to the drug, my seizures became less frequent—and then
stopped. So far, they haven’t come back. I have a demanding job (which I love) and a full life.
I can relax, knowing that I’m doing all the right things to help control my seizures."
Finally Getting My Seizures Under Control (Simple Partial and Complex Partial Seizures)
"This time last year, I was having complex partial seizures at least once a day—but often
2 times a day, and sometimes even more. And I was taking 2 other antiseizure medicines at the time!
In fact, I’m still taking them. I’m also still having seizures—or I may still
be—but my last seizure was more than a month ago, and my doctor says I’m well on my way
to better seizure control.
That’s a good thing. At their worst, the complex partial seizures I was having scared my
friends and family, and the simple partial seizures (in which I didn’t lose consciousness)
scared me—and I was used to them!
My doctor started me off on TOPAMAX very slowly, and raised the dose a little bit each week. I
did experience some side effects—I got quite sleepy over the first few weeks, and sometimes
couldn’t remember words—but they seem to be wearing off. I could imagine them being hard
for some people to deal with, but for me they were never anywhere near as bad as the feelings I would
get after a seizure.
Time will tell, I guess, but I’m looking at the possibility of life without seizures. And
before things had gotten so bad that I felt lucky when I had only 1 seizure a day!"
*Testimonials are based on the collective experiences of patients taking TOPAMAX for
epilepsy. Epilepsy is a highly individual condition, and your experience may vary.
About TOPAMAX®
TOPAMAX® is approved as initial monotherapy in patients 10 years of age
and older with partial-onset or primary generalized tonic-clonic
seizures.
Effectiveness was demonstrated in a controlled trial in patients with
epilepsy who had no more than 2 seizures in the 3 months prior to
enrollment. Safety and effectiveness in patients who were converted to
monotherapy from a previous regimen of other anticonvulsant drugs have
not been established in controlled trials.
TOPAMAX® is approved as add-on therapy for patients 2 years of age and
older with primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures, partial-onset
seizures, or seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
Important Safety Information
Serious risks associated with TOPAMAX® include lowered bicarbonate
levels in the blood resulting in an increase in the acidity of the
blood (metabolic acidosis). Symptoms could include hyperventilation
(rapid, deep breathing), tiredness, loss of appetite, irregular
heartbeat or changes in the level of alertness. Call your doctor
immediately if you get these symptoms. Your doctor may want to do
simple blood tests. Chronic, untreated metabolic acidosis may increase
the risk for kidney stones or bone disease.
Like other antiepileptic drugs, TOPAMAX® may cause suicidal thoughts
or actions in a very small number of people, about 1 in 500. Pay
attention to any changes and call your doctor right away if you have
any of these symptoms, especially if they are new, worse, or worry
you: thoughts about suicide or dying, attempts to commit suicide, new
or worse depression, new or worse anxiety, feeling agitated or
restless, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, new or worse irritability,
acting aggressive, being angry, or violent, acting on dangerous
impulses, an extreme increase in activity and talking (mania) or other
unusual changes in behavior or mood.
Do not stop taking TOPAMAX® without first talking to your doctor.
Stopping TOPAMAX® suddenly can cause serious problems.
Other serious risks include decreased sweating, increased body
temperature, kidney stones, sleepiness, dizziness, confusion,
difficulty concentrating, and increased eye pressure (glaucoma). Call
your doctor immediately if you have any decrease in vision or eye
pain. These problems can lead to blindness if not treated right away.
More common side effects in adults are nervousness, coordination
problems, fatigue, speech problems, slowed thinking, memory
difficulty, tingling in arms and legs, and double vision; and in
children, fatigue, loss of appetite, nervousness, memory difficulty,
aggressive behavior, and weight loss.
As monotherapy, the most common side effects of TOPAMAX® (in the 400
mg/day group and at a rate higher than the 50 mg/day group) in adults
were tingling in arms and legs, weight decrease, sleepiness, loss of
appetite, dizziness, and difficulty with memory; and in children,
weight decrease, upper respiratory tract infection, tingling in arms
and legs, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and mood problems.
In combination with other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), the most common
side effects of TOPAMAX® in adults (200 to 400 mg/day) were
sleepiness, dizziness, nervousness, loss of muscle coordination,
fatigue, speech disorders and related problems, psychomotor slowing,
abnormal vision, difficulty with memory, tingling in arms and legs,
and double vision; and in children (5 to 9 mg/kg/day), fatigue,
sleepiness, loss of appetite, nervousness, difficulty with
concentration/attention, difficulty with memory, aggressive reaction,
and weight decrease.
Tell your doctor about other medications you take.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription
drugs to the FDA. Visit
www.fda.gov/medwatch,
or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see
full U.S. Prescribing
Information.
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This site was last modified on: Jul 26 2007 at 13:45:30 EDT