Pain Dr. prscibed Topamax for back pain?

[lostsoul2]

I went to the pain clinic today for 4 bulging discs in my lower back.  3 are not so serious, but the L5-S1 disc could make me a surgery candidate if I were older, according to the pain Dr.  He gave me Celebrex, Topamax?, and Norco, which I am 4 weeks clean from.  I have been researching Topamax and all I can find is info. about seizures and migraines.  Why would he give me this, and is it addictive?  Anyone have any knowledge?

[VicUser]

There are several meds that were originally made for seizures and now are used for pain management. I forget the names of them right now but my wife is on one that works well for her, but didn't help me at all. Try it and see, is all I can say.

[what2donow]

Im not too sure about Topamax, but the celebrex.My pain dortor gave it too me too and I had alot of success with it

[road2recovery]

I agree with vicuser...One is lyrica, and it is for the same thing but used for pain, or withdrawals sometimes.....PLEASE try those 2 first, and throw away the norco!!
Good luck
I have also 2 bad discs,  I take lyrica, and zanaflex now...I will have to crawl before i go back to opiates.....
Plus u will be surprised how much ex strenght tylenol helps when we are off of opiates..
r2r

[lostsoul2]

thanks for all of your input.  

[scared2Bwithout_my_Vees]

I have taken topamax for headaches. I get horrible headaches because of 2 herniated disks and it is commonly prescribed to treat them.  vicuser was right.  The drug was originally developed for seizures.
It may help you but I want to warn you about some of the side effects!  One is that it causes weight loss.  I knew that at the time and thought "great" but it got out of hand.  I am 5 foot 6 and got down to 95 pounds.  I was also on a pretty high dose & going through a lot of stress at the time so that may have contributed.  The more concerning thing is that the hallmark of the drug is forgetfulness.  I was working at the time & it interferred with my ability to do my job.  I also would forget things, get confused easily and was constantly searching for the right word.  You know how you try to say something & forget the word you are looking for?  That happened ALL the time!
My husband & I started fighting ALOT.  We had our own issues but this exacerbated it because I would get so upset.  The drug (to me) took away my ability to handle things like emotion or stress.  I wouldn't get jokes!  My brain just didn't work like it use to.
On a visit my dr asked about my cognition- I told him that i felt confused, forgetful alot but attributed it to stress.  He said that it was the drug.  When I stopped it I was back to normal in a week or so.
I think that the drug basically numbs your brain.  Maybe in the same way it prevents seizures, it just numbs the nerves.  It can keep you numb from your headaches but you'll be numb mentally too.  It wasn't so obvious to others.  They didn't think i turned stupid or anything.  But people close to me saw the difference.  I was on it about 10 months.
There were other side effects that didn't bother me so much.  I couldn't read things unless i put them close (and I normally have perfect vision).  Also, I got some tingling in my fingers.
If your pain is bad- try it.  It may work differently for you.  If you find you can't tolerate these things you can stop.  It's very reversible.  Start at a low dose & work your way up.  That's the way your dr should have prescribed it.  I think 25mg at first.  
I hope this helps!   Good luck to you!

[Kathy1010]

Cymbalta is another one & is sometimes combined with Lyrica.Cymbalta is an antidepressant but also works on peripheral nerve pain.I had experienced some depression as a result of my injury so the cymbalta works well for me.

[scared2Bwithout_my_Vees]

I can 2nd the cymbalta idea.  chronic pain is depressing!  We may not realize it at first but it catches up with us.  It will put you in a good frame of mind & it helps with neuropathic pain.
Can you try the Lyrica first & then if it doesn't help enough or at all, try the topamax?  You can take the celebrex as needed.  It helps prn.  The others- topamax, lyrica, cymbalta have to build up and remain in your system.
If you take the topamax & lyrica together & it helps, you won't know which is helping!  You may be getting side effects from the one that doesn't help & that would stink!
I would start the cymbalta & lyrica & take the celebrex for breakthrough pain.  If the pain control is not enough- add topamax.

[bmc1976]

My herniated disc was at the same level as yours. I tried the epidural steroids and physical therapy for about a year and then ended up having surgery. There are many different back exercises you can do at home to help get the discs back in place. Have you tried any of these? If not I could try and find them and send them to you.
brian

[Kathy1010]

What kind of surgery did you have and did it help? They are thinking about a 1 or 2 level fusion at L4-L5,L5-S1...L5S1 is the worst for me.I don't think I am a candidate for an artificial disc but there is a small possibility.