Topamax/Topiramate & Chronic Pain
I've was put on Topamax about a month ago to try and help with Fibromyalgia and so was a friend of mine just this past week. I've been trying to find "scientific" info about its use for Fibromyalgia and/or chronic pain, other than migraines. This is some of what I found tonight & I thought I'd share it with all of you...
Topiramate Shows Promise for Treatment of Neuropathy and Chronic Pain
The anti-epileptic drug topiramate may be an effective addition to the arsenal of agents used to treat neuropathic and sympathetically maintained pain, researchers in Oklahoma report. Dr. Michael G. Jenson and associates, of the Pain Evaluation and Treatment Center in Tulsa, treated 61 patients with topiramate. Patient conditions included reflex sympathetic dystrophy, migraine and cluster headaches, radiculopathy, discogenic disease, phantom limb pain, and pain resulting from skin graft and third-degree burns, in addition to diabetic and other types of neuropathies. Dosing was initiated at 25 mg at bedtime. As the investigators report in the American Journal of Pain Management for January, they titrated doses upward at weekly intervals until efficacy was demonstrated or to a maximum of 400 mg/day. More than half of the patients had a greater than 50% improvement in symptoms. A greater than 70% reduction in symptoms was experienced by 14.6%. Only 12.2% experienced a poor response. The lowest dose at which patients experienced relief was 50 mg, while seven patients were titrated up to 400 mg. A mean of 131 mg was the average effective dose. Two patients discontinued use of the drug because of nausea, and another 16 because of dizziness and sedation. Dr. Jenson and his colleagues note that the 15- and 25-mg dosage forms make topiramate easy to titrate, which enhances tolerability.
http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/news/Feb2002/ToprimateForNeuropathicPain.html
Topiramate for treating painful neuropathy or acute or chronic pain
Abstract: To evaluate the analgesic effectiveness of topiramate in acute and chronic pain other than headache.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD008314/abstract
Topiramate in treatment of patients with chronic low back pain
Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of topiramate in the treatment of chronic low back pain and changes in anger status and processing, weight, pain-related disability and health-related quality of life over a 10-week period. Investigators conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of topiramate in 96 patients (36 women) that were randomly assigned to topiramate (n=48) or placebo (n=48). Compared to the placebo group, significant changes on the pain rating index of several scales used in this study were observed after 10 weeks in the patients treated with topiramate. Weight loss was also observed and was significantly greater in the group treated with topiramate than in the placebo group. Most patients tolerated topiramate relatively well although 2 patients dropped out of the study because of side effects. The researchers concluded that topiramate appears to be relatively safe and effective in the treatment of chronic low back pain, delivering significantly positive changes in pain sensitivity, anger status and processing, subjective disability, health-related quality of life, and loss of weight.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16788338?dopt=Abstract
http://www.stoppain.org/pain_medicine/content/news/!_06_07_20_Topiramate_and_Chronic_LBP.asp
Topamax for Fibromyalgia Syndrome: Patient Ratings
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/drugs-treatments/rating/topamax-for-fibromyalgia-syndrome-fms
Topiramate Shows Promise for Treatment of Neuropathy and Chronic Pain
The anti-epileptic drug topiramate may be an effective addition to the arsenal of agents used to treat neuropathic and sympathetically maintained pain, researchers in Oklahoma report. Dr. Michael G. Jenson and associates, of the Pain Evaluation and Treatment Center in Tulsa, treated 61 patients with topiramate. Patient conditions included reflex sympathetic dystrophy, migraine and cluster headaches, radiculopathy, discogenic disease, phantom limb pain, and pain resulting from skin graft and third-degree burns, in addition to diabetic and other types of neuropathies. Dosing was initiated at 25 mg at bedtime. As the investigators report in the American Journal of Pain Management for January, they titrated doses upward at weekly intervals until efficacy was demonstrated or to a maximum of 400 mg/day. More than half of the patients had a greater than 50% improvement in symptoms. A greater than 70% reduction in symptoms was experienced by 14.6%. Only 12.2% experienced a poor response. The lowest dose at which patients experienced relief was 50 mg, while seven patients were titrated up to 400 mg. A mean of 131 mg was the average effective dose. Two patients discontinued use of the drug because of nausea, and another 16 because of dizziness and sedation. Dr. Jenson and his colleagues note that the 15- and 25-mg dosage forms make topiramate easy to titrate, which enhances tolerability.
http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/news/Feb2002/ToprimateForNeuropathicPain.html
Topiramate for treating painful neuropathy or acute or chronic pain
Abstract: To evaluate the analgesic effectiveness of topiramate in acute and chronic pain other than headache.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD008314/abstract
Topiramate in treatment of patients with chronic low back pain
Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of topiramate in the treatment of chronic low back pain and changes in anger status and processing, weight, pain-related disability and health-related quality of life over a 10-week period. Investigators conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of topiramate in 96 patients (36 women) that were randomly assigned to topiramate (n=48) or placebo (n=48). Compared to the placebo group, significant changes on the pain rating index of several scales used in this study were observed after 10 weeks in the patients treated with topiramate. Weight loss was also observed and was significantly greater in the group treated with topiramate than in the placebo group. Most patients tolerated topiramate relatively well although 2 patients dropped out of the study because of side effects. The researchers concluded that topiramate appears to be relatively safe and effective in the treatment of chronic low back pain, delivering significantly positive changes in pain sensitivity, anger status and processing, subjective disability, health-related quality of life, and loss of weight.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16788338?dopt=Abstract
http://www.stoppain.org/pain_medicine/content/news/!_06_07_20_Topiramate_and_Chronic_LBP.asp
Topamax for Fibromyalgia Syndrome: Patient Ratings
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/drugs-treatments/rating/topamax-for-fibromyalgia-syndrome-fms