Is it ok to wait to tirate up my Topamax dosage?

I just took my 4th dose of 25mg of topamax and the first four days have been a little rough. :evil: Today I felt just slightly better for moments at a time but the first few days wreaked havoc on my emotional state of mind because of feeling so crappy. I’m hopeful that these are just the initial side effects and that they will go away but I’m so fearful of going back to where I was when I was at my worst. Feeling bad again has just gotten me so depressed. Going from feeling good to this is a hard pill to swallow and something I thought I prepared myself for.

Anyway, I usually like to just get up to the max dose as quickly as possible and get it over with but wondering if it would be bad to wait a few extra days. Or should I just bite the bullet and get it over with and pray my mental state can endure the depression that the physical crap is bringing on. I really want to give this medicine a fair chance so giving up is not an option. Yet.

Any thoughts?

My doc told me to titrate up after 4 days. I waited until I returned to feeling “normal”, which ended up being after 6 days. Doing it after 4 days would have, IMO, been too compounding of an effect for me, and I tolerate medication pretty well. I didn’t want to get into a situation where I gave up on the medication because I tried to ramp up on it too quickly.

Note that I didn’t ask my doctor if this was ok or not, but it should only be a medical issue if you were to ramp up too quickly, or if your doc wanted you ramped up by a certain date for a particular reason.

Hi,
I started at 25mg, and when I tried to make the jump to 50mg I failed miserably. I completely fell apart - massive anxiety, and overwhelming emotion, with “I just can’t cope” type thoughts - just couldn’t handle it at all. When I spoke to my neuro atthe time, he said (quite matter of factly), “oh yes, lot’s of people struggle with Topamax…go back down to 25mg and stay there for another two weeks”!

I eventually made my way back to 50mg via 25 > 30 > 40 > 45 > 50, using a combination of 25 and 15mg capsules!! I never imagined I would one day reach 100mg! So I would say, don’t be afraid to take it low-and-slow if you have to!

Best wishes,
Tony.

My neurologist, who prescribed the Topamax for me, suggested I wait a week between each 25 mg dosage increase. However, a doctor friend of mine who is familiar with the drug, suggested I go 2 weeks instead. I followed my friend’s advice. It’s a powerful drug and I think it’s better to give your brain plenty of time to adjust.

Hey Mary, I think it’s okay to wait as long as you need to! Let your body be your guide. Some people need longer to adjust ( I know I’m one)! Good luck!!!

Thanks everyone. Tonight is the night I’m supposed to double up but I think I’ll just cut one in half and see how I do.

I appreciate all the responses. :smiley:

Mary