So I’ve been on topiramate for about 8 months now, and everyone asks the same thing: “Is the brain fog real?” Yeah. It’s real. The first week was the worst - I couldn’t find words mid-sentence (teaching is fun when that happens). It got better after month two, but I’m still not back to baseline.
It’s like my processing speed just… slowed down. I forget names I know. Numbers take longer to arrange themselves.
Schoolwork planning takes me longer than it used to. The migraine days dropped from 12-15 a month to about 6-8. So technically it’s working. But I’m trading clarity for fewer attacks, and that’s a choice you have to consciously make.
What I wish someone had told me: the fog might not disappear completely. It might improve, but you’re potentially looking at a permanent 10-15% slower cognitive function. For some people that’s a fine trade. For me, a teacher who’s already exhausted, some days I resent it.
Has anyone else found the side effects worth it long-term? Or did you end up switching to something else?