TOPAMAX Reviews (TOPIRAMATE)Average Rating: 3.0 (1824 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare TOPAMAX with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Gender with females listed first (reviews with no gender reported listed before females). Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 |
More on TOPAMAX: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR TOPAMAX | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 4 | Migraines | Numbness, tingling in hands and feet, loss of thought, can not explain simple things,sleepy, sluggish, OCD worse, can not perform simple math, | I have been taking Topamax for probably 5+ years. I know the side effects out weigh the number of migraines I was getting but my thought process is getting real bad. I can't even think of words to write on here even though I know what to write. I misplace things all the time which I NEVER had before, I was the type to have a place for everything and everything in its place. I have problems with my speech also. | F | 37 | 5 years 200 1X day | 5/16/2011 | 4 | Bipolar II / mood stabilizer | Intermittent nausea, decreased appetite, weight loss, sense of taste altered (particularly in carbonated beverages), trouble coming up with correct words, increased effects of alcohol | The intermittent minor nausea for several weeks + decreased appetite = weight loss (50 lbs in 8 months) - more than welcome since getting off antidepressants which had kept me blown up for years; soda tastes flat; drinking liquor is a risk as I totally do not remember what I do or say if I over-indulge; beer is much "safer". Most troublesome: coming up with / delay in coming up with correct words in a conversation; decreased memory, constantly having to correct spelling and fill in missed words when typing; saying the opposite of what I mean or totally jumbling what I am trying to say, more difficulty in absorbing certain reading material. In other words: it has dumbed me down a bit. My psych warned me about this. But - it works great; it allowed me to ditch my weight-gain-causing antidepressants that had kept me so fat for so long (with the exception of one depressive setback to where I started a low dose of Wellbutrin - but it did not cause weight gain). I take it with Lamictal. This is the only cocktail since my diagnosis a dozen years ago that has remained effective for longer than a year. | F | 43 | 2 years 50mg 1X day | 4/2/2011 | 4 | Alcohol cravings & OCD | The cravings and OCD were greatly reduced, almost nil. However, I started getting severe acne & my hair is falling out. I am wondering if anyone else has had this happen. At the same time I was put on this medicatin, I was also put on Trazodone & Cymbalta, so it is difficult to know if the Topiramate is the cause. | This medication does make me feel very strange, rather disconnected and I often times have trouble finding the words to express myself....which was never a problem before. I am encouraged enough by the cessation of the alcohol use AND OCD that I really do want to be able to take this medication. | F | 59 | 4 months 50 MG 2X day | 3/5/2011 | 4 | Migraines | Loss of interest in food, weight loss, carbonated beverages taste horrible, word finding problems | Completely lost interest in food, I can stare at cabinets and fridge full of food and just not want anything even when I'm hungry. I was 129 lbs size 4 now 112lbs size 0. However, I've had almost daily migraines since I was 13 and was taking pain meds 3-4 times a week to function. I haven't had a migraine in 6 months and I don't need pain meds anymore so to me losing weight, not drinking soda and not liking food that much are a small price to pay. | F | 29 | 6 months 50mg 2X day | 3/6/2011 | 4 | Migraine | Tingling in hands and feet, memory loss, "what's the word for...", hair loss, weight loss, taste change | I'm just starting topamax for the 2nd time. I was on it for about 18 months before, everything was going fine, my migraines were down from 12-15 days a month to 2-5 but I suffer from anxiety/depression as well. The doctor decided that adding wellbutrin to the mix would help the migraines as well as the anxiety. It actually spiral downwards - I dropped about 20 lbs in 3 weeks and I was sleeping 20+ hours a day. When I was awake I was like a tiger pacing in its cage. I was a wreck. I saw another doctor and insisted they take me off the wellbutrin and replace it with ... see, forgot the name, anyway something I'd had good results with before. I also decided to go off topamax but after a year I've decided that was a mistake. Not only does topamax help my migraines it helps my cravings for food and alcohol (only drink a martini or two a week but I've only had 1 in 3 weeks of restarting topamax, didn't drink at all last time). I'm sorry to hear of so many bad stories with topamax, I think it must be that our bodies process these meds differently and we each have unique problems. Totally weird. Hope you all find something that helps as well as topamax helps me, I would be in the depths of despair with out it. | F | 43 | 18 months 100 1X day | 2/24/2011 | 4 | Migraines | (Topiramate) drop in blood sugar is adjusting back to normal levels as I’m getting used to the medication, but was really bad the first couple weeks; word loss; easily distracted to the point of getting lost in my head; more aggressive but in a good way since I’m usually very mellow; occasional foot and finger tingling; moody/sensitive, this is getting better as I’m adjusting; lack of interest in food, this would be great except I have to watch my blood sugar; trouble focusing especially if it’s outside of a regular routine and forget about learning anything I’m not interesting in – I can control this to some degree by getting enough sleep and watching my blood sugar; I’m quiet and happily introverted, I joke that this might make me sociable, but I think it might not be such a joke. I might actually become a social butterfly on this stuff. | The first two weeks were hell, but I upped my second dose a couple days too early – don’t do this! It takes time to adjust to this med, even just 25mg makes a huge difference, and a couple extra days to adjust. We also didn’t realize till week 2 that it was making my blood sugar drop. Now, at day 17, I’m starting to feel back to my pre-med self. My blood sugar is mostly back to normal, I have energy, I’m smiling, I can think. I sleep like a baby, but I don’t need to sleep more than 7-8 hours. I still have brain fog and I have trouble processing anything quickly, but I’m seeing my moments of clarity grow as I adjust to the meds. Each person is different and I’ll have to give it time to see how I react and decide whether or not I can live with the side affects. Some, like the 1 second dizzy spells, are a little fun. I can do with out looking like a ditz because I forgot what I was talking about mid-sentence. | F | 41 | 2.5 weeks 75-100mg 1X day | 2/25/2011 | 4 | migraine | weight loss | F | 33 | 1 years 50mg 2X day | 1/6/2011 | 4 | mood stabilizer | hair loss, slight dizziness now and again | This drug was a tremendously effective mood stablizer. And I had none of the bad side effects that I read in so many cases. But as time goes by, I've noticed a gradual hair thinning that has become too much to deal with as a young woman. I have just finished discontinuation. But I want to encourage others to not be scared off by what you read, for me it was great except for this one little thing. | F | 30 | 1 years 50 2X day | 11/29/2010 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 4 | migraine | I have a persistent metallic taste in my mouth that I hope will go away. Anything carbonated tastes pretty much awful. I get tingly hands and feet and around my mouth, but control that with potassium glutonate taken in 4 doses of 200 mg spread throughout the day and that has eliminated that completely. | As someone who never had anything remotely resembling a migraine until 1/20/2010 when I had a full up basilar-type migraine 1,300 miles from home on a business trip complete with blindness, partial paralysis, and a screaming headache and ended up with an incompetent doctor in a small hospital (he told me my normally low blood pressure dropped precipitously and i almost passed out, patted me on the head and sent me back to my hotel room), this drug has been a real relief. I went from that incident to persistent aura without infarction-basically visual aura symptoms that were continuous and so bad my husband had to come get me where I was on my busness trip and bring me home and take me to a neurologist. i have tried every other drug out there to stop the aura and the subsequent headaches, and so far this is the only one that has had an effect at any level or if it worked, did not make me outright sick. We are still dealing with some pretty significant issues, I have been in status migrainosus since 12 September, with the best we have been able to do is knock the headache down to a 2 or 3 on a scale of 10 on a daily basis. but without the Topomax I would be having uncontrollable aura as well and totally unable to function. At least this way, I can function when the pain goes down below a 4-5. FYI Based on clinical studies if you are taking more than 200 mg day of this for migraine you are probabaly not getting much benefit. the clinical studies on migraine patients are p | F | 48 | 4 months 50 2X day | 10/3/2010 | 4 | Migraine | I experienced numbness in my face, hands and feet; slight dizziness; short-term memory issues; concentration problems; word-retrieval issues; saying the wrong word and not even realizing it! Also, mild hair thinning, weight loss (30 pounds over a year), and face twitching. | Topamax has been a godsend to me, even with its many side effects. As a teacher, the short-term memory and word-retrieval issues have been tough. However, it was much tougher trying to live my life with 16-20 migraine days per month! Now I experience perhaps 4 migraine days monthly. My quality of life overall is much better. If I were younger, high school or college age, and had to learn a great deal of new material I could NOT function on topamax, but at my stage of life it is fine. I would also like to note that the side effects have lessened over time. They were more severe the first year and are not very noticeable now. In my situation, the benefits have far outweighed the drawbacks, although I can see how for other people this might not be the case. | F | 37 | 3 years 25 mg 3X day | 11/19/2010 | 4 | bulimia, mood stabilizing | Had taken this before at only 25mg twice a day and it is great for controlling most of my binges (recovering bulimic and binge eater), lost weight the first and second time I was placed on it. Though I had tingling in my extremities. However, second time around I was placed on 50 mg twice a day, and I have horrible memory, concentration problems, stammering, and word recall--so much so that my pdoc has decided to lower my dose (though this could possibly be in combination with Lamictal I am on as well) | Really great and I love it's beneficial effects in terms of controlling my bingeing tendencies, yet the cognitive consequences outweigh the benefits considering the fact that I am a college student. | F | 20 | 12 months 50mg 2X day | 10/28/2010 | 4 | Migraines | Immediate effects that went away after a few weeks: tingly hands and face, and sleepiness Others that persisted through treatment: Loss of appetite, weight loss, memory loss, confusion, a euphoric feeling (I always felt super happy, even when bad things happened), anxiety, and hyperness Effects after stopping: weight gain and continued anxiety and memory loss | My migraines were exercise induced & the neuro put me on Topamax. The migraines stopped! I always read people talking about being depressed on it, but mine was opposite. I was always SUPER chipper. Tragedies like death, heartache, hating my job & other things I would normally be upset about didn’t even phase me. It felt really good! I tolerated the other side effects until I started college. That’s when I noticed that I couldn’t concentrate or remember anything. I used to be a phenomenal speller & a great student, A's & B's. Not anymore... I was so hyper that I couldn't sit to study. If I managed to, then I couldn't remember what I read & had to re-read everything, but still couldn't remember. I failed 2 classes... I weened myself off Topamax & have been off it for 6 months, but still have anxiety & memory issues. I have a terrible time thinking of words & how to spell. Feels like my brain can't process anything. I just want my intelligence back! | F | 25 | 2 years 100 1X day | 11/1/2010 | 4 | Migraine | hand and feet tingle, metallic taste, carbonated drinks taste weird | It was the constant migraines that gave me an inability to think and find words and consult a neurologist in the first place, so I can't say that the Topomax has made that worse. My functionability has improved greatly because my constant head pain is mostly gone. Still working on figuring out the perfect dosage. I have an ocassional migrain sneak through, and my neuro gave me Imitrex as a "rescue" drug for that. The combo seems to work. I was told by a relative who is a pharmicist that Ambien CR may have been the cause of some of the initial "word loss," but I don't know that for sure. As a person who makes a living with words (I'm a reporter) the loss of words and concentration is frightening and decidely inconvenient, to say the least. But it actually seems to be getting better. Drinking pop is no big loss. My appetite seems to be about the same, but I was losing weight with the constant headaches. | F | 43 | 1 months 75 mg 1X day | 11/7/2010 | 4 | migraines | felt rested in the mornings, lost 8 pounds | The first few days I took topamax I felt wierd, I didnt feel comfortable driving and felt a little spaced out. After a few days I felt normal again though. It made me sleep harder and feel more rested when i woke up. I didnt have headaches at all for a few weeks then when they started coming back I went up to 100 mg a day at night. The migraines stayed away for a few months but eventually started coming back so I went off of it and tried other things that didnt help. Im about to go back on it because its does help more than anything else Ive tried. | F | 22 | 5 months 100 mg 1X day | 9/16/2010 | 4 | Migraines | Loss of appetite, itchy scalp, lower libido, dry mouth, some brain fog | Took this for 2 years then took 1.5 years off, now have been back on for 1 year. I have had migraines since I was 10 and have tried every drug, this is the only one that has helped. I lost some weight--about 10 lbs. But started out slim so there wasn't much I could lose. My scalp has been very itchy and I get terrible dry mouth/bad breath. I also have noticed a lower sex drive. This has also significantly helped with my bulimia---have only binged/purged once since I went on it. To me the side effects are worth it. | F | 24 | 1 years 200 mg 1X day | 8/27/2010 | 4 | Migraines | tingling in hands and feet, hair loss, weight loss, loss of appetite | I have been dealing with migraines since I was 16 years old. When the doctor started me on this medicine, we had to keep increasing my dosage because it didn't seem to be helping. I am taking this along with Imitrex. since taking the higher dose, it has minimized the amount of migraines I get a month. Instead of getting the 2 a week I used to, I now get maybe 2 a month. So it definitely works, the only downfall is the side effects, which aren't too bad...I have experienced weight loss, I have lost 30lbs since being on it..people comment all the time and think I don't eat. I am loosing hair, not to the point of baldness, but loosing more than normal. I sweep up hair off my bathroom floor everyday. I get tingling in my hands and feet, not everyday, but every once in a while. But I will take the side effects if it gets rid of or reduces my migraines! | F | 25 | 2 years 100 MG 2X day | 8/23/2010 | 4 | Migraines | Hair loss to the point I am currently wearing wigs to grow my hair out, abdonial/pelvic pain, back pain, bruising, dizziness, fatigue, weight loss (80 pounds in last 3 years), sometimes confusion and at a loss of words | I have had severe migraines since I was 13 years old that resulted in 2-3 ER visits a month. I couldn't function or work. It was unbearable. Topomax has literally saved me! When I first started the medication, my sodas tasted like metal and food tasted horrible and my fingers and toes tingled but those side effects went away. The past six months I have developed new side effects that include abdominal/pelvic pain to the point that I ended up in the ER on several visits that resulted in undiagnosed pain. My hair has also thinned to the point where I have started wearing wigs until it grows out. Over the last three years I have went from a size 16 to a size 3/4. SOme people say I look as if I do drugs or have an eating disorder. Despite these side effects and the pain my body feels, to me it is worth it because I have not had a migraine in three years! This has been the only drug that has worked for me for my severe migraines. | F | 34 | 3 years 100 2X day | 8/17/2010 |