Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Neurology Community
This forum is for questions and support regarding neurology issues such as: Alzheimer's Disease, ALS, Autism, Brain Cancer, Cerebral Palsy, Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, MS, Neuralgia, Neuropathy, Parkinson's Disease, RSD, Sleep Disorders, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury
|
Depakote, topomax and Tegretol
by whatsnextfam, May 11, 2008 10:54PM
About tow months ago I suffered a zygomatic fracture and the floor of my orbital rim was fractured. The Doctors said they see this type of fracture frequently. I had sustained a severe blow to the head and also had numerous bleeds on my brain. After reconstructive surgery I wa told I should be feeling pretty good in a couple of weeks. I returned to work from home and then slowly began to deteriotate. The pain in my head and face began to get persistlently worse to the point of being debilitating. I was admitted to the hospital and treated with 500 mg 3 times a day of Depakote, 600 mg of Tegretal and 150 mg of Topomax. I have since been released from the hospital but still taking the same pill regimine. The pain has not completly subsided but is much better. Unfortunatley the side effects from the medication have impaired my cognative skills significantly. I am currently unable to work and find detailed conversations very difficult. What are your thoughts on the side effects of these medications and the length of time someone should take these meds? I am in my forties and have a lot of life and work ahead of me!
Post Comment
I'm sorry to hear what happened. Your injury and the type of surgery that was done would really put you at high risk in developing neuropathic type of pain, whose specific etiology cannot be fully determined. Some nerves would have been permanently damaged during the fracture accident and may also be from the reconstruction process. With these type of pain, medications for the neuropathy is the mainstay of treatment but if you cannot tolerate the side effects, I suggest you discuss with your doctors regarding slowly tapering the dosages of each drug as minimum as possible, just enough to keep the pain away. This would entail a very good physician patient relationship, and a whole lot of patience and understanding. I hope you can be rid of this pain soon. Regards and God bless.