I am delighted with my 48 pain free hours now... but looks like I need to start thinking about going back to work soon.

I live in the middle of no where so have to drive and I ride a motorcycle. I feel a dopey from the dopeymax...i.e I forgot when I am talking aboout mid sentance, have forgoten my PIN number a few times, forget where I have put things but I was just wondering what the general opinion is with driving when taking this drug (not that I have much choice if I am going back to work!)

Does it effect your awareness of the road? (Other traffic on lanes, traffic lights etc?)

I have been takin the drug for 5 days now.

Thanks in advance.

Jo x

Ooooh, be careful.. I'll share some Dopamax driving experiences:
- getting lost, even in familiar places
- forgetting where I am, where I am going
- unable to find parking lots (where I've parked before)
- sitting in traffic jam for 40-50 minutes, not moving, not bothered at all, unaware of the long time passing

To answer your question directly, I do not recall problems with lanes, lights, other cars, etc.  Mostly feeling lost.

I only drove short distances, <10 miles.  Still, I was uneasy doing that.

I stopped taking Dopamax after 1 week.  It was the wrong Rx for me.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL.  Topamax is a VERY WEIRD drug.  Personally, I do not trust it.  TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR.

Joanne-

I am always careful with Any new drug and driving.  This is something that I am always a bit skeptical of... but have been especially so since it deals with head pain too in this instance.

I have been taking Topamax for a couple of years.  As I understand it, word-association is the most common cognitive problem experienced by people with 'Dopeymax' or 'Stupamax'.  For me, the rest of the side effects besides word-association went away in a matter of months. I have driven while on Topamax after the first week or two as it didn't make me tired or sleepy, didn't affect my eyes, etc.  I did give it a few to make sure of this though.

I think this is a personal decision.  It will affect you different than it will affect Anyone else.  

Some people forget where they park their car, forget where they live, etc.  This is memory loss, not word-loss.  This is a far more severe problem and worth considering 'is it worth it' in my opinion if the Topamax is helping the headaches after a matter of weeks/ a month.  But ultimately, your decision!  As Fox suggests, this is a question that you can ask your doc from the start when they prescribe the med too!!!


Quote:

Does it effect your awareness of the road? (Other traffic on lanes, traffic lights etc?)

 No - does not affect my awareness - the headaches that come while driving affect me Much worse and I am wary of them!

Val

Hi Thanks for your replies

I asked my doc and she said she didn't know LOL

I treid a short journey yesterday and it was ok, like you say Val, it's mainly word assoc. that gets me. I think driving is so hard wired into me now, it sort of comes as second nature.

And as for getting lost, forgetting where I parked etc, hell, that sounds like any normal trip out for me :)