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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Topamax Lower Potassium Level In Blood?

CAN Topamax ever lower your potassium level to approximatly 2.3??; LAST WEAK I HAD ACUTE KIDNEY FAILURE from getting very sick. The main DR blamed all my symptoms on Topamax. In hosp for week - I went because i couldnt keep any food down + kept drinking drunk tons of water. Finally got Potass.. up to 3.1 --- Main diagnosis acute kidney failue due unspecified ALL THEY GET KEPT SAYING WAS TOPOMAX WAS THE BLAME!! i ve CANBEEN ON t for many years -- MIGRAINES for over 30 years {On T for aprox 15 years -but not entire time} Is low P a side effect that I never read about? MY CONCERN THESES HEADACHES. i M ALREADY GETTING ONE A DAY. PLEASE TELL ME IF/IF NOT I CAN T EVER TAKE t AGAIN. THANK YOU - I REALLY NEED AN ANSWER----IN PAIN / CAN t sleep THANK YOU FOR AT LEAST LISTENING ; karen
Thu, 5 Feb 2015
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Internal Medicine Specialist 's  Response
Hello,

I've never read anywhere about acute renal failure caused by topamax! It can cause oliguria sometimes which means a lower urine volume, which under certain circumstances may aggravate renal function and lead to acute renal failure (for example: in dehydrated patients). Topamax increased the rate of renal stone formation, which may lead to obstruction of the urinary tract and cause renal failure. Obstruction causes severe pain, so you should know it if something like that happened in your case.
Topamax may - rarely - cause hypokalemia. Hypokalemia can also be caused by polyuric renal failure. Renal failure may present with either oliguria (less urine) or polyuria (excessive urine) and sometimes oliguria is followed by polyuria. When too much water is excreted, potassium is lost as well. So if you're passing liters of urine every day then a low potassium level can be attributed to polyuria.
So in conclusion, I don't believe Topamax caused renal failure to you because there are not any reports that I know about such a side-effect of this drug. Topamax may indeed cause hypokalemia, although this is a rare event.
Taking topamax requires intact kidney function. Otherwise dose reductions are required. You should consult your doctor for alternatives or for dose adjustment depending on your GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate).

I hope I've helped!
If you'd like further information, please contact me again and I'll be glad to help.

Kind Regards!
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Can Topamax Lower Potassium Level In Blood?

Hello, I ve never read anywhere about acute renal failure caused by topamax! It can cause oliguria sometimes which means a lower urine volume, which under certain circumstances may aggravate renal function and lead to acute renal failure (for example: in dehydrated patients). Topamax increased the rate of renal stone formation, which may lead to obstruction of the urinary tract and cause renal failure. Obstruction causes severe pain, so you should know it if something like that happened in your case. Topamax may - rarely - cause hypokalemia. Hypokalemia can also be caused by polyuric renal failure. Renal failure may present with either oliguria (less urine) or polyuria (excessive urine) and sometimes oliguria is followed by polyuria. When too much water is excreted, potassium is lost as well. So if you re passing liters of urine every day then a low potassium level can be attributed to polyuria. So in conclusion, I don t believe Topamax caused renal failure to you because there are not any reports that I know about such a side-effect of this drug. Topamax may indeed cause hypokalemia, although this is a rare event. Taking topamax requires intact kidney function. Otherwise dose reductions are required. You should consult your doctor for alternatives or for dose adjustment depending on your GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate). I hope I ve helped! If you d like further information, please contact me again and I ll be glad to help. Kind Regards!