Migraine overview
A migraine is a headache that can purpose intense throbbing suffering or a pulsing sensation, typically on one facet of the head. It's often accompanied with the aid of nausea, vomiting, and excessive sensitivity to mild and sound. Migraine assaults can closing for hours to days, and the discomfort can be so excessive that it interferes with your each day activities. For some people, a warning symptom viewed as an air of secrecy takes location until now than or with the headache. An air of secrecy can consist of visible disturbances, such as flashes of mild or blind spots, or different disturbances, such as tingling on one thing of the face or in an arm or leg and concern speaking.
My experience-Severe allergic reaction to Topamax
Just wanted to share in case it's useful for others. I had failed Propranolol (didn't touch my migraines and was causing bad dizziness, insomnia, and vivid dreams that were anxiety inducing. Could barely walk without getting dizzy/feeling faint and it was significantly impacting my life and putting a lot of stress on my husband). Neurologist took me off of it and prescribed Topamax yesterday.
I took it before bed last night for the first time around 10:30 pm. About 15 minutes later I feel like my tongue and roof of mouth is itchy, but no other issues. At the 20 minute mark I feel tingling in my bottom lip, and when I looked in the mirror it was swollen to at least double its usual size, if not more. Seriously looked like I had just had a filler in my bottom lip. I have some other medication allergies (amitriptyline is one...hives and facial swelling but no throat/breathing issues). Benadryl usually works at stopping the reaction, so I took 75mg of that (in previous reactions 50 wasn't enough but 75 was).
As I was waiting for that to kick in, my throat started to feel tight and I felt like I was gasping for air a bit, but still able to breathe and even talk mostly normally. I was also feeling chest pain and just a general sense of "something is wrong". I was waffling about whether it was serious enough to go to the ER, but finally woke my husband up and asked him to drive me (we live in a rural area and the ambulance will take just as long getting to us as it takes to get the hospital that's a 10 minute drive). Plus, I could breathe and talk, so I felt it was safe for him to drive me. And I figured worst case maybe the benadryl is taking a little longer to kick in and I will be better by the time we get there and we can just turn around and go home.
As we are on the way I start having more and more trouble breathing, I'm gasping for air, and my feet, hands, legs, and arms all go numb. I can't keep my head up and it's basically drooping against the window. Husband starts speeding to get me there faster and fortunately we get all green lights. He pulls up to the ER and I motion for him to get help and all I manage to squeak out between gasps is "wheelchair". He runs in to get help. Security and a front desk staff member help me onto my feet from the car and I basically collapsed because of how numb my legs and feet were (still conscious though). I'm wheeled right into triage while feeling like I'm going in and out of consciousness a bit here. I'm asked a few questions as to what I am reacting to that I barely am able to get out between gasps but I do manage to tell them "Topamax 25 first time". My husband was parking the car so he couldn't answer for me.
They then wheel me immediately to a room while a bunch of Nurses and ER staff appear with me or running ahead to the room. They get me onto the bed, take my jacket and shirt off and start hooking up electrodes and a blood pressure cuff while getting me into a gown. A nurse is preparing an IV when the doctor immediately walks in and tells me that they are going to give me an allergy cocktail through the IV and an EpiPen. Another nurse looks at me and exclaims that I have already sweat through my gown (and I didn't realize it at the time but that room was freezing cold). It's at this point that I notice my arms are all red and blotchy. Still numb down most of my extremities too. My heart is racing and as I would later find out my blood pressure was extremely high (I think it was high 140's for the top number). Still gasping for air too.
I didn't feel the IV at all, and even though the nurse warned me that the EpiPen would hurt (and I remember that it hurt a lot the last time I needed one for a reaction; I have been fighting with a new doctor to renew the prescription lately). I barely felt the EpiPen. It felt like someone barely dug their fingernail into me, enough to feel the nail but not enough pressure to draw blood...I felt it less than I felt the Covid shots.
Once the EpiPen and the IV cocktail kicked in I got very sleepy, but everything did stabilize. They had to watch me for at least 3 hours after getting the EpiPen. I did fall asleep a few times (but was woken up a lot by the beeping machines and other noises) and even had to ask for a blanket because it was so cold in the room! Husband also tried to get some sleep in a chair in the room but he also kept waking up a lot.
I was released at 4:30 am this morning with a prescription for a new EpiPen and Claritin, which was sent to a nearby 24 hour pharmacy that we stopped at on our way home. Took the day off from work today to rest (and so did my husband). I still feel a little chest pain today and my bottom lip is still tingling a little but it isn't swollen anymore. I did just take a little more Benadryl (as ER doc also recommended today if I still had minor symptoms), and am watching to see if I need to go back. I also have a call into the neurologist for a different med now.
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