A little history

So this is my first post on my new blog. I have suffered from migraines for the last 11 years since I was sixteen years old. I have experimented with more migraines treatments than I can remember. When I was in high school I saw a neurologist who prescribed me a library of drugs trying to find something that would work. Fiorinal, Fioricet, Elavil , Prozac, Druact (which was pulled off the market later), all kinds of Triptans and amitritalines. I don't even remember them all.

When I went off to college I saw a better neurologist and went on anti-convulsants. First depakote (and along with it the blood tests and the serious weight gain). It worked for a while, but i had to up my dose eventually and change the formulation. Then it just stopped working. Then the summer before my senior year (2003) I switched to a combination of Topamax and imiprimine. It was a blessing and a curse.

I lost 60 pounds from the nausea and inability to eat while starting Topamax, but I felt foggy, and doped up. I was taking summer classes and had serious problems with word grasping. It frustrated me especially as I had always prided myself on being well-spoken in class and in life. Now I was having a hard time remembering names and everyday words.

I've been on Topamax for 5 and 1/2 years and I still have issues with word grasping. I am on 300 mg and I've switched to Verapamil 120 mg twice a day. But I am anxious to get off the Topamax. My HAs have gotten much better in the last year and a half. I attribute this mostly to getting off birth control. In college I had thought that using a monophasic birth control would help in controlling my hormones, but seeing as my HAs would get so severe around my period, my latest neurologist suggested that I try going off birth control to flush the hormones from my body. It has been an overwhelming success. It has been successful in that now instead of having a HA 1-2x per week I only have them during the one week a month of my period and then occasionally.

I still have to avoid all trigger foods (chocolate, chocolate, coffee, citrus, red wine, aged cheeses, the normal things) and live my life like I have migraines. I have a serious aversion to strong smells (esp. cigarette smoke), loud noises and all that. But my goal now is to try and get off of the Topamax. I hate being on it. I hate grasping for my words, and I don't like being on the medication. I eventually want to have kids, and being on Topamax isn't and option. So I've chosen to try Botox. I want to try to use it to help me get off the Topamax. I am hoping and praying it works.