My husband and I both have major drinking problems and we are both desperate to stop, but honestly, we both enjoy it so much?at least for the first part of the night...that once our hangovers are gone, and we get bored, we drink. I ordered the starter kits for both of us, and I have an apt with my doc on Wed to discuss Topamax. My husband is interest in topa as well, but his doc said he has raised liver enzymes and I'm afraid that topa will only further hurt his liver. Anyone else encountered this problem?
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Topa and liver disease
From everything I have read if you have liver disease you should not take topa. I know he does not have liver disease, but if my liver enzymes were elevated I would not risk it.I'm really easy to get along with once people learn to worship me -
Topa and liver disease
I don't have any info on the meds and whether or not to take them. But still I just want to say hi, and GOOD FOR YOU. Hope you make it to sobriety. This site is a great help to me and for me, I am on day 9 AF. Nothing short of a miracle, believe me.
MattComment
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Topa and liver disease
:welcome: Even if the Topamax should turn out to be a problem for your live, maybe you could give the kudzu and l-glut a try as they are natural herbs that help curb cravings, but I am no Dr. and can't say for sure, but like Matthen, just want to welcome you and hope you stick around and get the answers you need!
Blessings,FROGZ~Comment
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Topa and liver disease
You are so lucky that you and hubby are in this together. It will give you strength in partnership and shows what a commitment to your marriage you both have. When will we hear from Suburbdad?sigpicComment
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Topa and liver disease
Elevated liver enzymes are not a contraindication to taking topamax. Liver impairment is listed is a precaution. In other words, you can take topa with elevated liver enzymes but extra care should be taken. This might mean more frequent trips to the doc/lab to check liver enzymes. They should come down within weeks of quitting drinking although may take much longer to get back to normal levels. On the whole, doctors familiar with topa are not hesitant to prescribe it to help someone stop drinking even if their liver enzymes are elevated (at least moderately elevated anyway). In most cases, it would be better to take topa and not drink than drink and not take topa.
If you are talking about quitting completely, consider Campral. It is actually FDA approved to reduce alcohol cravings and promote sustained abstinence. The only weakness is that you are not supposed to start it until after the acute withdrawal period which generally means a few (4 or 5 would be better) days without drinking. Not that there would be any nasty side effects, it just doesn't work if you are still drinking. But Campral might be a better option for your husband if he can abstain for a few days.
Another option is Baclofen which has been used in patients who already have cirrhosis.
Hope that helps a little. Good luck!Comment
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Topa and liver disease
Hello and Welcome!
Your liver enzymes are probably elevated because of your alcohol consumption. I have the hep C virus (no symptoms) and my Dr. prescribed the Topa after I told her that I ordered it on-line and it helped me to quit drinking (along with the hypno Cd's). I get my blood checked every 6 mos. It was quite amazing that after not drinking for only 2 months (and taking topa) what a difference it made on not just my liver panel tests but my blood pressure went back to a normal level.
What made a big, big difference in my elevated liver enzymes was taking 1,000 mg of milk thistle (silymarin) a day. Even when I was drinking a lot it put my AST and ALT levels in the normal zone. I've been taking it for years. The soft gels or capsules are the best. I think there may be lots of info on this in the holistic section of the site.
Best Wishes!
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