Birth control, topamax, and multiple periods? Help

Okay so I'm not sure where else to go so I'll just pose this question. I'm taking 200mg of topamax a day and I'm also on birth control. This has never really been a problem up until recently. I take my BC at 10:00 every night. If I'm even an hour late I will start my period. Sometimes I will just start without messing up on my BC. This month I've had three periods. Last month I had two, the month before I had two, with almost non-stop spotting between them. What's going on? Is this normal? Do I need to be on high dose BC? What should I do? I should mention that I'm a college student and my gyno is 8 hours away to make matters worse...

Any advice will be greatly appreciated :)

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
There is a possibility that you are having hormonal imbalance or the efficacy of birth control is being effected by Topamax which is causing hormonal disturbances. I suggest you to consult your gynecologist and get both of these possibilities evaluated. You may need a complete hormone profile done.
I hope it helps. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.