TOPAMAX Reviews (TOPIRAMATE)Average Rating: 3.0 (1824 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare TOPAMAX with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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More on TOPAMAX: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR TOPAMAX | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 5 | Near daily headaches | I just started this med one week ago. Doc prescribed for the headaches, I began taking one 10 mg pill at night last Friday, woke up Saturday without a headache, haven't had a headache since. I used to wake up with them and go to bed with them. The side effects are Pepsi tastes horrible, my hands/fingers are tingly/numb and I feel a little foggy, like I cannot find the words to say what I need to say... I am supposed to start taking two pills at bedtime, starting tonight... we'll see, but so far, I am very pleased with this med... :) | F | 41 | 1 weeks 10-20 1X day | 1/15/2011 | 3 | Migranes | weight loss, loss of appetite, tingling in face and hands, loss for words | I started getting really bad migraines in high school and nothing over the counter helped anymore. When I started taking this is was great! My migraines were completely gone within a week and a half of starting with the low dosage but my doctor worked me up to 100 mg a day. After about 7 months I started getting dull headaches that were lasting longer and longer to the point where I had a dull headache for about a week. At that point the side effects were not worth it especially since it interferes with birth control as well. I weened myself off of it and have gotten some headaches here and there but I have not had migraines like before ever since. Advil usually does the trick now. Oh I was on the generic version just fyi. | F | 19 | 1 years 50mg 2X day | 1/11/2011 | 4 | migraine | weight loss | F | 33 | 1 years 50mg 2X day | 1/6/2011 | 3 | Migraines | A range of side effects- very thirsty, slight drop in appetite although no real weight loss, trouble finding words and if someone spells a word to me I can't think quickly enough to spell it down!My husband has called it my Topamax tongue as I will mix things and words around. Some depression and racing thoughts, chest pains (but that could be stress linked-hard to say, pins and needles in hand and feet, increased weakness in hands at times (something I've noticed when doing surgery) | I started on 25mg Sid and worked up to 25mg am and 50mg pm, now currently weaning myself back off the drug to see if my low mood is due to it or not.I had pretty severe mirgaines around 6-10 a month before starting this drug.Having looked though my migraine diary perhaps at lower doses (25mg I dropped to 2-3 migraines a month) helped but at higher doses didn't. My rationale for that is I do a busy job requiring a high IQ input and this drug at high doses slows my thinking and ability to work as normal annoying me= stress= migraines. I plan to maintain on 25mg for a bit as it has reduced the severity of the migraines making me at least able to arrive for work. It's worth a try- just be aware of what you are trying I guess. The first week was very difficult to adjust to- I just made my bosses aware I was going on it and friends as well so they could monitor me for any extreme oddness!! good luck | F | 27 | 4 months up to 75 1X day | 1/6/2011 | 2 | Severe Migraines | Memory loss and lack of focus as well as lack of sex drive. I am also on wellbutrin and birth control so I wonder how these might be working together (or against each other). Anyone out there in the same situation? | Depression has taken over enough to where I recently cut down my dosage to 50 mg per day, It hasn't helped so I intend to keep weaning myself down until I'm off. My headaches seemed to be less frequent in the beginning but now I think they are the same as before I started the topamax so the side effects just aren't worth it any more. | F | 50 | 4 years 75mg 1X day | 1/5/2011 | 4 | Nerve pain | Mild tingling in hands and feet. Some disorientation and difference in my ability to taste. | I am taking the generic form of topamax for nerve pain in the back and it is helping a little and I will keep trying its the only thing besides injections thats helped at all. | F | 43 | 50mg 2X day | 12/31/2010 | 2 | migraines | anxiety, depression, depersonalization, "crazy" thoughts | I have a history of anxiety and depression but it has been controlled for 15 years with Paxil. Until I started this medicine I was absolutely fine. 3 days after I started it I had horrible anxiety and depression, but my migraine was gone. I saw the doctor and they inceased my Paxil and put me on Klonopin. It helped for 2 weeks and then all of a sudden the symptoms were back. I waited 2 days and decided I couldn't deal with it anymore and stopped taking it. I saw my doctor again and he said I didn't have to taper since I was only on 3 weeks. I've been off 3 days and am slowly starting to feel better. I would rather deal with migraines than be in this hell! It worked great for the migraines, but I couldn't live with the side effects. I really don't want to try another drug for my migraines so I'm going to start seeking natural solutions. | F | 34 | 3 weeks 15mg 2X day | 12/30/2010 | 5 | migraine | I've run the gambet of side effects over the course of my three years on Topomax. The ones I still get from time to time are tingling in limbs (when I don't drink enough water), taste changes, phantom smells, random thoughts, thoughts of suicide, loss of memory (trouble concentrating...but this could be old age too), grasping for correct word (again the age thing), weight loss (loss of appetite). All of the side effects are cyclical for me and as long as I am aware that they are related to Topomax I just deal with them. The worst was getting through the first three months on the drug while I cycled down from 75mg to 50mg. I know that I am on a low dose, but getting through the side effects was REALLY difficult. My doctor told me about NONE of them. | I was getting crushing headaches for 2 weeks out of every month and getting them for 2 weeks straight. I get about 2 headaches a year now, and I can kick them with some Advil. Topomax ROCKS!!! Even with all the crazy side effects. I found this website because I'm wondering if you all are taking Topomax or the generic Topiramate. I'm on Topomax and my insurance company is MAKING me switch. I am very worried (unreasonably I'm sure) that I will have a reaction to the generic. | F | 39 | 3 years 50 1X day | 12/27/2010 | 5 | Epilepsy | Cognitive dysfunction. Occasional periods of pain in left side of head and behind left eye. Back and other arthritic pain. Some loss of taste. Extreme mood changes. Stomach and bowel problems. Loss of coordination. | I had seizures for twenty three years on a daily basis for which doctors were unable to find a medicine or surgery to control them. After a year of being on Topamax, I was finally for the first time since diagnosis of Epilepsy seizure free. I eventually became able to drive, attend college classes and even work. I admit the side effects may sometimes be frustrating, but to me they are nothing compared to what I gain!!! | F | 44 | 12 years 100mg 2X day | 12/22/2010 | 5 | Migraine | First 5 days: Very foggy head, slow and dopey, heavy body. Tingly fingers, thick feeling extremities, tingly feet. Basically felt very doped - no euphoria. | I have been shocked reading some of these posts. The recommended starting dose is 25mg and there are several people here who were started on 100mg or more. Is the USA health system messed up or what? Anyway, I'm happy - it has stopped my chronic migraines cold. And that's what I wanted it to do. Also - the side effects are gone! | F | 38 | 9 days 25mg 1X day | 12/21/2010 | 4 | Cluster Headaches | Severe tingling hands, feet, at times up to the knees--feet occassionally blue. Ringing in ears. Difficulty finding words, poor memory, balance. Dry mouth, taste perversion. Absolutely no apetite. Some hair loss. Back and joint pain but do not know whether associated to Topamax. Now have had 2 severe attacks of diarrhea that could be linked to Topomax and now have a rash. Side effects appear to come in waves and cycles; not all at the same time. | Topamax is the only drug that has helped me with my cluster headaches. I was having up to 6 or more attacks in a 24 hour period. Normal analgesics do not relieve the pain of cluster headaches so we are absolutely reliant on preventative treastment. I am getting concerned now about the side effects--they seem to be building up and becoming more debilitating--in intend to start cutting my dosage down on a sliding scale from 200mg twice a day to 150mg twice a day and hope that my headaches remain at bay. They are cyclic in nature. We will see. | F | 63 | 6 months 200mg 2X day | 12/17/2010 | 5 | Migraines | weight Loss(25lbs.), slight memory loss-trouble finding that specific word, numbness/tingling of hands and feet at first but that tapered off. | Topamax has worked miracles for me although I don't think it's the answer for everyone. I was experiencing a constant headache pain of about a 3 on scale of 1-10, with migraines 1-2 times a week. Since starting this drug 6 months ago I've had a total of about 3 migraines and that constant pain is gone. The side effect of weight loss is an added bonus for me but I did not lose any weight the first couple of months that I took it. The numbness/tingling was irritating at first but the benefit of not having a screaming headache was so worth it. I do notice that I cannot come up with the right words sometimes, but there again, I'd rather deal with that than be laying in bed writhing in pain for days! All in all, it's a wonderful drug but it is not one to be messed with, it's a neurological medication and can do a lot of damage if it's not taken properly or for the right reasons. Take it as prescribed and if something doesn't seem right, call your doctor immediately! | M | 40 | 6 months 50mg 2X day | 12/11/2010 | 5 | Eating Disorder | Weight loss. Increased appetite. COMPLETELY GOT RID OF THOUGHTS OF PURGING AND MAKING MYSELF THROWUP. | Wonderful drug. If you have an eating disorder (bulimia) or purging this is a cure. It gets rid of the thoughts of making yourself throw up. | F | 18 | 3 months 50mg 1X day | 12/11/2010 | 4 | Daily Headaches/Migraines | Nasty taste when drinking anything carbonated. Tingling in hands, feet, face. 6-10 lb weight lose in first 3 weeks. Constant ringling in ears. Nausated feeling/loss of appetite. HORRIBLE LOSS OF MEMORY. Can't even remember to take my meds. Total loss of wording. I am constantly forgetting things and its taking a toll on me. | I was first put on Inderal for my headaches but had to many side problems with that drug so doctor put me on Topamax. THIS DRUG WAS A GOD SEND. I haven't had a severe crippling headache in over a month. I actually feel normal again. The side effects have gone away and are bothersome only when I first take my meds. The memory loss is the only side effect I can't shake well and the constant ringing in my ears. I can manage better with those side effects then deal with a migraine or a headache that puts me out of work for days on end. TOPAMAX has help me out a great deal! | F | 32 | 1 months 50 1X day | 12/11/2010 | 2 | Chronic daily headache | Anxiety, nervous, metallic taste and smell, memory loss, I was having trouble at times finding the right word, it was making me stupid. | I had to stop taking Topamax after about 3 months. I know I was only on a relatively low dose (50mg), but reading the other comments about the side effects that I should expect in the future, and the fact that the drug was having no effect on my headache, I felt it just wasn't worth it. | M | 57 | 3 months 50mg 1X day | 12/8/2010 | 1 | Bipolar 1 Disorder | It caused KIDNEY STONES (6 to be exact)! Also, if I didn't eat every couple of hours, I felt like I would collapse; some low-grade fevers as well. For the first couple of weeks I was on it, & every time the dose was increased: I forgot certain words; had headaches; had trouble writing words on paper; forgot to eat, which some ppl think is great, but I am hypoglycemic. I have to eat. I lost weight the entire time I was on it. | Topamax should be taken off the market in my opinion. I had to be hospitalized for kidney stones, which doctors determined were from taking the medication alone. Yes, I lost weight on it. BIG deal, compared to the crap I had to go through. Every time the dosage changed (and when I titrated off of it) it sent me right into rapid cycling. What a nightmare! Please do not take this medication- Kidney stones are awful, and they happen to more people than you realize on this med. | F | 28 | 1 years 100mg 2X day | 12/8/2010 | 1 | nerve pain | I woke the first morning feeling so irritabile, and drugged, as the days passed the depression started, and was in bed 24/7. Do not take this drug if you already have depression. I feel like a zombie all the time. The nerve pain is better, but can't live like this will go back to a low dose of Neurontin, Neurontin also causes these side effects for me | F | 49 | 7 days 25 mg 1X day | 12/8/2010 | 1 | Depression and OCD | Appetite wiped out, rarely left my bed, horrible attitude, irritable, the littlest things set me off, isolation | I was also taking wellbutbrin. TOPAMAX is the worst medicine ever. | F | 16 | 1 weeks 1X day | 12/5/2010 | 5 | migraine headaches | slight hair loss, difficulty finding words, vivid dreams, waking up in the night, and severe tingling in face when I drink caffeine | I was having migraines DAILY, and Topamax completely got rid of them. Any side effects are worth the pain being gone. Being a high school student in all advanced placement classes and millions of extra-curricular activities is hard enough without constant pain. I am extremely grateful to Topamax for helping me. | F | 16 | 6 months 25 MG 2X day | 12/1/2010 | 5 | Migraines | Soda tastes Awful, which is a good thing; very thirsty all the time; more flaky in the mind at times, but more level-headed, if that makes sense; numbness and tingling in hands and feet at times; very tired in the beginning, but not so much anymore; no weight loss for me :o( | Topamax saved me! My migraines were debilitating, causing me to be a lesser person (went from 12-15 per month to 2-3 per month). I think that some side effects are better than having migraines on a regular basis. Yes, I am more forgetful now and even feel somewhat foolish at times, but nothing could ever compare to the constant time I spent lying on the couch, popping pills with no avail. I can now be a great mom and feel alive and pain free 98% of the time! Life is too short to suffer. I can't even imagine my life without Topamax and wish I would've known about it many years sooner! | F | 40 | 6 months 50mg 1X day | 11/29/2010 |