Sorry- apparently ran out of room. **I’ve learned with the POTS when everything starts fading to dark red or black, I’ve got about 15 seconds to lay down to blood to my head or I will faint. As long as I do that, I’m fine. My triggers for the POTS (and I hope I don’t get in trouble for straying from the MAV) are locking my knees, not eating & being in extreme heat, getting up too fast, etc. I did have one myoclonic jerk after getting up too fast one time when I was about 21. My legs started marching around the kitchen on their own- I had no control- it was pretty crazy.
Anyway- Lucille- here are the rest of the symptoms:
Neck stiffness, stabbing pain in spine, pressure in head, tingling in hands & arms, poor balance, general dizziness/not vertigo, extreme fatigue, swollen gland in throat, low fever, nausea, ear pressure, ear pain, dry/tough skin, visual disturbances, alice in wonderland aura, tension headaches, ringing in ears, sound sensitivity, clumsiness, frequent urination, thirst, sinus pressure, sinus tingling, sharp ‘zinger’ pains in head 1-2 seconds, tooth pain like cavity- dentist says no cavity, chills, tachycardia, lightheaded, anxiety, insomnia, brain fog, short term memory loss, neck spasms, irregular menstrual cycle, excessive eye watering, became disorientied while driving, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, confusion, facial flushing, sore left wrist, left knee numb, felt water drop running down left- no water though, high BP, felt water soak through pants when leaned on sink- no water though, easy brain overload-if that makes sense! I’m sure I’ve missed a few. Most have come & gone- except the dizziness…
I didn’t have the stomach needle sensation, but I did have pins & needles in my face, hands, & feet that would come & go. Apparently that is very normal for Topamax. When my doctor prescribed it, she said- you will likely be miserable the first 2 weeks, but please please stay on it, it’s a good drug, so unless you are having a severe reaction, struggle through. I didn’t have to struggle but it was a little crazy- nothing too bad, just like my hands were asleep. That has gone away after the drug got well into my body. I do have some cognitive thinking trouble- slow word recall, I don’t form sentences as well as I used to, some forgetfulness as far as short-term, BUT it is better than it was before I started the Topamax (meaning from July 2009 until I started the med), but not like it used to be before all the symptoms started.
----Hope that helps… out of room, again :). Telisa