Drug Ratings for TOPAMAXAverage Rating: 3.1 (1517 Ratings)
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Results are sorted by Gender with females listed first (no age 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 |
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR TOPAMAX | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
  | F M | | | | |||
| 3 | migraines | Numbness/tingling that starts in my left pinky and ring finger and then moves to my middle finger, then to right hand then to left foot. Have been numb in all 3 at once. Temporary loss of train of thought, sleepiness and suppressed appetite. | M | 33 | 1 weeks 25mg 2x/d | 2/27/2012 | 3 | Migraine | Sex drive gone. Forgetfulness. Lack of concentration. Eye problem. Legs feel heavy. Feeling drowsy. | Helps to reduce migraine. | M | 55 | 2 years 50 1X D | 6/18/2012 | 3 | mood stabalizer | I noticed right away that I studder, I am always having a hard time getting words out, which is very embarrassing. always have dry mouth. | I have been on lithium before and I would say this is much better as far as weight gain. I also think by taking this I never can feel really happy or excited. | M | 27 | 2 years | 9/10/2006 | 3 | Migrane | Confusion, hard time focusing, slow time processing, dry mouth. I don't know about the appetite yet - I'm fasting with diverticulitus presently. That will make anyone lose weight. | I sleep well, even with naps because I also take Amitriptyline, another migrane prevention drug. I highly recommend it! Started T'max at 25 MG, now 50 MG. Supposed to work up to 100 MG, but I think I'll go back to 25 MG where I had no problems and no migranes. I need to think. I don't like being a vegtable. | M | 48 | 2 weeks | 7/1/2006 | 3 | seizures | Numbness in right leg, trouble speaking, body odor, weigtloss, diaharea. Constant tingling in hands and legs (this went away after my dosage was upped, but the Numbness in my leg grew worse.) | I don't mind the weight loss that much, but I value my speech, I only had a seizure once or twice a year anyway, after going on it, it descreased the chance of having them but I still have them once every about two years. | M | 17 | 4 years | 10/26/2005 | 3 | Migraines | Urination frequency issues, abdominal pain | Just started... Seems to be helping but it's really too early to tell. | M | 30 | 8 days | 4/22/2006 | 3 | Headaches | Sexual Side Effects. No orgasm and PreMature | Experiancing loss of desire in sex and climax and finish premature. Feel nothing "Orgasm" | M | 38 | 30 days | 10/5/2005 | 3 | migraines | tingly fingers and toes like the were having a seizure. NO SODA'S. headaches decreased by 80%. kidney stones, severe kidney infection. | i dont think it hurts to try. but becareful and eat lots of bananas and drink lots of water. hope you like it. that and tea are all that taste good. | M | 24 | 6 months | 10/13/2006 | 3 | migraines | Insomnia, slightly light headed, pins and needles for first couple weeks. | Decreases the length of my migraines slightly by about 25%, not a miracle drug for me by any means but worth a try for migraine sufferers. My "migraines" are really tagged that but are not classic in any sense but are classed that because they have no other classification. I survived an electrical shock when I was 19 from an industrial accident at work, I was instructed to cut through a live 630 Volt DC panel line, might not sound like much and I really only suffered superficial burns cause DC is single charge it throws you away from the charge. So it threw me into a wall about 8 feet away when it exploded. It was a 15 Amp mainline Tech cable feed for a planar mill though and entered through my right hand and exited through my head. I blacked out and woke up in the hospital to a flatline machine. Anyway I've had headaches ever since the muscle aches and back pain went away the head pain didn't. Topamax seems to shorten my headaches a bit in length but not in severity. I was | M | 29 | 2 years | 2/24/2006 | 3 | seizure | Some of the side effects I have expericenced are memory loss ,tingling in feet, can't sleep for more than five hours. I have recentally developed a need to urinate frequently. I have lost some weight but not any great amount. Have lost desire for sex but that could be my age prior to taking topamax. I was expericeing pain in my shoulders but I have started playing pickle ball four or five times a week and the shoulder pain has gone away. I'm a great beleaver in excersise and it's positive effect on your whole body. My appitite is less that before I started the medication. I do seem to get more aggravated over simple things. | I was started on this medication after a seizure but didn't feel I needed an additional medication but the doctor said the measured level at the time of the seizure should have prevented having one. I am not sure i didn't take some dilantin prior to feeling the seizure coming on but aggreeded to take the new prescription. I have been seizure free for two years with the addition. I'm prescribed 100mg but only take 75mg. and it has worked. | M | 69 | 1 years | 3/3/2006 | 3 | Migraines | Weight-loss (first 3 weeks only), stomach cramps, diarreah, sleeplessness, numb fingers, arm and leg cramps | I have been working may way up the dosage scale, and I think it is starting to work...but there are a lot of side effects...I guess it is worth it to not have pain every single day, but now I have all these other problems. There is no end to things. | M | 26 | 6 weeks | 7/25/2005 | 3 | Migraines | weight loss, the loss of words when trying to speak, tingling in my fingers and bad ache | I was informed that this medication decreases the effect of birth control, what are people doing when they are on this medication to prevent pregancy? Please email me to give me some advice. | M | 27 | 4 months | 3/22/2007 | 3 | Eating Disorder & Depression & Pain | At first, (25 mg) only mild taste problems, and what felt like an eternal stomach ache and bloating. Over 6 weeks, up to 150 mg now, stomach ache and bloating have worsened, sleep pattern is irregular, now taking slight doses of trazadone as a sleep aid (not helping, working out alternatives with my doctor currently), as well as irritability has worsened to the point of having to look at medication for management of that as well. Other than that, weight loss (29lbs in less than 2 months), only because I no longer even remember to eat, or when it is mealtime. Thank god that my roommate remembers when it's time to eat! | This drug is not for the light of heart, make sure you understand ALL of the possible effects before deciding to take it. Based on where it works in the brain and what it does, some of the more severe, but acceptable side effects, are to be expected. I have had more than one instance of completely being at a loss for words (and I am a 35 year old college grad that has worked in the PR sector for years!) | M | 35 | 5 months | 9/30/2007 | 3 | Migraines | Very itchy body on 3rd week of treatment (75mg). Doctor tells me the symptoms are temporary, Ya ok, he doesn't have to live with it. | Is there anyone else out there who also experienced an itchy body symptoms? And if so did it pass? I would Love to make this drug work for me, but I cannot live scratching myself 24/7. | M | 38 | 3 weeks | 3/7/2005 | 3 | Hypo-mania, binge eating | While spinning up on Topamax (2nd day) and spinning down on Trileptal I experienced vertigo, significant cognitive blocks, and panic. This occurred for 15-30 minutes and then subsided. I had a few headaches already (possible dehydration?). High glycemic carb cravings dropped slightly. My bank account seems to have money in it. No impact on sex drive. | While I am thrilled about the prospect of losing weight, I am more excited about the prospect of living life without hypo-mania: No more excessive spending. No more pushing down thoughts of screwing every attractive girl. No more hyperactivity and embarrassing myself because of it. No more feeling like I have a million projects to do and none are getting done. | M | 35 | 4 days | 4/25/2005 | 3 | migraine/bipolar (rapid) | Well, I think my dr is a moron. he started me on 400mg split 200 twice a day. no ramp up at all. within 30 min both my arms and legs were pins and needles and for the first 2 days i basically felt like i was in a constant state of drunkenness. he's the professional, right? the biggest problem i had was i was experiencing extreme muscular fatigue. climbing 2 flights of stairs killed me. looked it up and realized it was metabolic acidosis (low blood pH) very dangerous. called and he lowered it to 200 a day. now i get the tingles and the only other side effect which is KILLING me is when i go outside into the heat i get the worst itching all over. feels like poison ivy or something. hope that goes away soon. oh yeah, beer and soda taste awful now. | only been on a week, but haven't had a migraine since. can't really say if it helps with the bipolar yet either. | M | 35 | 1 weeks | 7/18/2007 | 3 | Weight loss | Dry mouth, headaches, urinary burning, dry eyes, | Other meds caused weight gain so this drug was used to counter the effects of the former...it was effective...25 lbs so far lost. | M | 50 | 18 months | 7/9/2007 | 3 | pesudotumo cebri | weight loss, feet numb and tingle | body became imune to it | M | 41 | 9 months | 11/10/2007 | 3 | Weight loss | Headaches | M | 50 | 9 months | 9/8/2007 | 3 | Migraine | Tingling in hands and feet. Some taste change (soda) that went away after a few months. Some brain fogginess and fatigue with dosage changes. | Have taken 75 mg a day (along with 160 mg/day of Propanonol (beta blocker)). Was quite effective for a number of months, then started getting headaches/dizziness/nausea again that would grab a hold of me for 2-3 weeks at a time. Also may have left me vulnerable to anxiety problems during these times of stress -- although I cannot say for sure that Topamax was at the root of this since I had been able to take it for a long time with no anxiety. With the return of headaches recently my neurologist has recommended that I move up to 100 and possibly 150 mg a day. So I have just added the extra 25 mg for the last couple days and am feeling some of the tingling/taste/fog return. Hoping my body adjust. Gosh, I wish a little of the reduced appetite side affect was there for for me :) | M | 44 | 14 months | 5/25/2007 | 3 | migraines | Feeling "out of it", weight loss, tingling, short term memory loss which hasn't gotten better. | I was on Topamax years ago and am needing to go back on...scared to death. I was at a high dose 3 years ago, may try a smaller one now. At what mg. did you all experince weight and memory loss? | M | 39 | 6 months | 9/13/2007 | 3 | Migaines | Tingling in hands and feet, severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss | I started taking Topamax for my migraines at 25 mg and moved up to 50 mg a week later. Right after I started taking 50 mg, I started to have diarrhea and bad stomach cramps, as well as tingling in my hands and feet. I have barely been able to keep food in my body for a week now and am still waiting for my Dr. to return my phone call. I have talked to another Dr. but was told my stomach symptoms have nothing to do with Topamax. Can anyone help me out? Please email me! | M | 25 | 13 days | 5/15/2007 | 3 | Migaines | Tingling in hands and feet, severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss | I started taking Topamax for my migraines at 25 mg and moved up to 50 mg a week later. Right after I started taking 50 mg, I started to have diarrhea and bad stomach cramps, as well as tingling in my hands and feet. I have barely been able to keep food in my body for a week now and am still waiting for my Dr. to return my phone call. I have talked to another Dr. but was told my stomach symptoms have nothing to do with Topamax. Can anyone help me out? | M | 25 | 13 days | 5/15/2007 | 3 | Weight loss & blood pressure | Blurred vision, dry eyes, and worse of all my wife says every single day "you need a shower! " even though I just took a shower. It's the metalic aroma permeating thru my body. I work in a office and have to spray Lysol before someone comes in because I stink so bad from the Topamax, but I am loosing weight and my blood presure is under control. Peeeyooo, what a way to have to do it though!!! My skin stinks metalic. Went to an eye doctor for the blurred vision. He said eyes are ok, no Glaucoma, no Macular degeneration. Advised me to use Liquid Tears. Made no connection to Topamax! Your medical dollar$ at work!! Go figure. | I think this is a good drug. but wow, what side effects. Regular blood pressure medications didn't work very well on me, but this seems to work fine, but oh, the smell. I now have a lot of respect for the East Indians who eat curry and work in the enclosed offices. | M | 68 | 30 days | 12/8/2007 | 3 | Migraine | Blurry vision - near and far, extreme drowziness, difficulty concentrating. | The Topamax seemed to help my migraine. 11 months ago I had lasik surgery and have been enjoying the pleasures of clear, sharp vision for the first time in decades. After one 25mg dose of Topamax, that all went away. I could not read street signs, the numbers on the clock, and barely enough to type this comment. It's affected my vision near and far. I'm hoping it will wear off and I will completely recover my eyesight. I am a chronic insomniac and have been since a small boy. I average 1-3 hours sleep per night and often have several consecutive days of no sleep at all. The Topamax completely knocks me out and gives me 6-8 hours of sleep, but I wake up sluggish, disoriented, and this will last for most of the day. Losing my train of thought and the inability to focus makes my job almost impossible to manage. Having said all this though... it has helped my migraines. I went from the Emergency Room "Please somebody just kill me" headache, to the "There may be a cure after | M | 54 | 5 days | 11/21/2007 | 3 | Bi-polar | Severe acne on face and body-- | Hair Loss | M | 27 | 7 months | 12/29/2007 | 3 | migraine | WORD FINDING DIFFICULTIES, tingling in extremities, excessive thirst, focal seizure (with forgotten dose!!!!!), loss of motivation, no more desire to purge! | When you are on drug cocktails for migraine and anxiety it is hard to say whethere it is the drug alone or the combination that causes the problem. On 50mg per day I was experiencing migraines 2-3x week. SCARY thing- I missed a day or two of DOPaMax and had a focal seizure. That's right folks, missing a dose or weaning too quickly can induce seizures! The answer was to INCREASE MY DOSE. Titrated rather quickly up to 200 mg in 20 days. Still getting migraines, although they are reduced in intensity and duration. Weight loss? not that I can see...I am always thirsty.....I was a bulimic (as an aside) but I must say since starting this drug I have NO desire to purge...so i will stick with it for my health.... | M | 34 | 4 months | 3/5/2008 | 2 | Migraines | Soft drinks taste watered down, loss of words, and weakening of eye site. Not a good drug to take when attempting a summer Calculus class. Topamax makes me feel confused and unable to comprehend. | I have not felt sick in any way nor have I lost my apetite or lost weight. I went from having 3 migraines a week to only about 1. But now I have a Glaucoma scare! | M | 19 | 3 weeks | 7/13/2007 | 2 | Migraines | eliminated about 90% of my migraines, that was nice. started getting rare optical side effects: retina lights (not auras), massive myopia swings (20/800 my normal uncorrected vision, to my guess 20/1400 and back in a few hours due to increased eye pressure), mild hallucinations, and a few more that would lead to glaucoma and blindness if I had not stopped(90%...sigh). | with out my meds my migraines had become daily. I got them on top of my severe 24/7, 27 year muscle tension headache, first E.R trip last week, given shot of morphine, it only took the edge off, told it was a large dose. been recently put on propranolol for anxiety, also completely eliminating my migraines(yessssss) now on to my other headache(sleeves rolled up and grrrrrrr) | M | 50 | 5 weeks | 5/24/2007 | 2 | migrains | p.s. ANY VISION PROBLEMS... | KEEP CHECKING FOR GLAUCOMA OR STOP TOPAMAX | M | 50 | 5 weeks | 5/24/2007 | 2 | Constant Migraines | No energy, no appetite, severe kidney bleeding (history of stones) constipated, (cramps) memory loss, failure to focus and form words, didn't care to, slight occasional dizziness but never the tingling I'm reading about here. Headaches still come, but not as severe. Oh and constant heartburn. | 25mg twice a day. Toprol-XL 1 a day, took a steriod for a week to break the tylenol habit. Only been on the new meds 10 days, since then I have felt worse from the side effects than I did with the headaches. At least I could manages them. I can't function when my brain is asleep and my core is in pain. I have been told it only took a week for the sides effects. I'm beginning to get worried. | M | 52 | 10 days | 8/20/2007 | 2 | Migraines | ***Developed Kidney Stones*****Hard to concentrate and stay focused. Had lost my competive edge at work. Made me feel and act very lethargic, non emotional. Pop tasted strange. | This did help reduce my headaches but the side effects outweighed the benefits. Have you ever passed a kidney stone? Not pleasing... | M | 42 | 9 months | 2/15/2007 | 2 | Seizures | word recall, spelling issues | not completely through the process of changing over from dilantin to topomax. Am on Depakote as well. has not been a smooth ride. this medicine is freaking me out a little bit but I can't seem to put my finger on it. I know I am having problems recalling words and stuttering at work (somewhat). Am a bit moody with my son as well. Don't like how I am acting. Not sure which direction I am going to go with this one. Any suggestions regarding seizure medications would be welcomed. | M | 40 | 90 days | 3/30/2007 | 2 | Basal Ganglia Calcifications/Shakes | More tremors. Dry mouth. Slurred speech. Loss of memory- which I already had- now it is worse. Short term and long term. I also get dysphasia after eating and have sharp pains in my stomach which I also had before due to a surgery and now the symptoms have spiked. | I would only recommend Topamax if you have tried everything else and your doctor has great faith that this will truly help your symptoms. Feel free to e-mail me for more information or comments. | M | 22 | 3 days | 7/13/2004 | 2 | Tremors & Akithesia due to Seroquel | None | No effects felt at all. Titrated from 25mg up to 100mg with no response. | M | 25 | 3 weeks | 9/29/2003 | 2 | Epilepsy | tiredness, lack of concentration, moodiness, cardboard taste in mouth, tingling feeling in limbs. | M | 20 | 2 months | 7/30/2005 | 2 | Schizoaffective Disorder | I literally couldn't pee while the drug was in my system. It was a nightmare. Phantom smells up in my nose such as cigar smoke and a bleach-like, chemical smell. The heartburn from this stuff broke through even the Nexium that I take for my acid reflux and Nexium is pretty much the strongest reflux med you can take. It made me feel more stupid then Seroquel. | This is the worst drug I've taken for my diagnosis and I've taken 11 (not including this one). I took it so that I could get off the Seroquel and lose weight to reduce my risk of developing diabetes. Instead, however, I got the rare side effect (If you knew me you'd know I have terrible luck) of extreme difficulty peeing. I felt like I had the urinary tract of a 80 year old man!!! | M | 31 | 3 weeks | 2/2/2007 | 2 | weight loss | Sore throat, mucas in throat, very dizzy, tired all the time, cough, felt like i had the flu. | My doctor prescribe me to take this medicine to jump start my weight loss. He told me to take 1 25mg tablet the first week then increase 1 tablet each week until your at 4 tablets or 100mg. I got 3 tablets and i felt like crap and called him up and told him to get me on something else. I felt like was in la la land everyday, could not function with my family, and even though i was tired i slept terrible. So hopefully he has something better for me. And in the three weeks i didnt lose any weight but didnt gain any, didn't see any difference in eating either. | M | 35 | 21 days 25mg 1X D | 6/22/2012 | 2 | Migraine | Kidney Stones | Drank plenty of fluids | M | 48 | 2 months 100 2X D | 4/15/2010 | 2 | Migraines | As my dose increased from 25 to 50 then 75 then 100, the tingling sensation in my hands and feet was unbearable. Changed from capsule to tablet, 100 Mg and this improved. After a few months my wife began noticing how poor my concentration and response was to almost anything. Led to very difficult period of depression low self worth before I saw my GP and came off | Ability to focus on anything very difficult, the comments aboput this drug making you stupid are spot on, I feel permanatly drowsy and very down all the time, and this has led to some very difficult situations. Ability to concentrate and respond severely impaired. Havent had a migraine since I went on them though, so at first I was happy, but now wish I'd never gone on them as I am constantly worrying about everything. | M | 35 | 9 months 100 Mg 1X D | 4/4/2010 | 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 D | 12/8/2010 | 2 | Chronic Sinusitus | depression, loss of motivation, fatigue, | Around three years ago i was diagnosed with Sinusitus by my local GP. I was told that a dose of antibiotics would fix all my problems. 8 courses of antibiotics and surgery later i still had symptoms that (based on descriptions) are akin to a migrane in intensity, but i'm in pain 24-7. I;ve tried several drugs to try and help witht this, including Endep, which was absolutely horrible and brought me to the verge of suicide. after that i tried periactin, which did absolutely nothing, which brings me to Topamax: At first it seemed to help the pain a little, and i didn't feel any side effects except some mild pins and needles here and there, but it never really helped that much. Then my Neorologist, true to his philosophy of "If it's not working you simply aren't habing enough of it" put me up to 100mg, which seemed to help the pain a little more and i didn't question tings. However over the last few weeks i've noticed the side effects creeping in, the familiar numbness that i felt from the endep returning. a couple of times recently i've been so zoned out in the morning that i've forgotten to take a tablet, and i've felt much happier and energetic on those days. I think thast even my memories of those times without topamax is better, and the pain doesn't seem to be any worse. Still my mum refuses to take me off them, insisting they help and that i should try a lower dosage first (and barely lower at that.) In a week or two a plan to stop taking it of my own a | M | 16 | 100 days 50mg 2X D | 9/9/2010 | 2 | seizures | slurred speech, discoulred/blurred vision, poor memory/recall, aching eyes, sore throat | I started on topirimate in about 1996/7 when it was brand new, I went up to 400 a day along with 3 other drugs, which changed with time and am now on 200 plus leveciteram 400 mg. Its hard to say what causes what for sure, but you can eleminate with a lot of reading and checking. Top didnt stop my seizures at all, and that is why the others were tried, keppra slowed them down. I had mood problems at first with top, angry, impulsive thoughts , aggresive etc, also hallucinations, saw ghosts etc,(but maybe they were seizures). Then that passed, and long term, cognitive impairment has been the main problem, I have studied been back to college at 30 and got certificates done open uni etc, but I could have done a lot more, and been a differnt person i think. Now my speech is starting to slur, my eyes are blurred, I get lost and forget anything, im not sure if I come off these tablets I will get smart and funny ! I have been on meds since I was 14, I knew the whole guiness book of records, then a few months later, sleeping all day, all evening, depressed ! Doctors will allways tell you that you prob dont have the side affects, and your family will too strangly ! They all have their reasons I guess. | M | 44 | 15 years 100 2X D | 1/1/2012 | 2 | Mood stabilizer/bulimia/binging | I experienced no side effects because this medicine did nothing for me. | I have been taking 100 milligrams of Topamax twice a day for 2 months now, and absolutely nothing has happened. There have been no effects, either good or bad. This drug just doesn't do anything - it must be a sugar pill. I was hoping for weight loss even if it made me dumb and made soda taste bad, but it just did nothing. Oh well. | M | 27 | 2 months | 12/29/2009 | 2 | seizures | loss of taste,severe tremors in right hand.forgotwords | made me so high at times like visiting alice when she was 10 ft tall.also severe insomnia,right hand would shake so bad i couldn't hold on to anything.i knickname this drug dopemax | M | 55 | 3 months | 6/23/2008 | 2 | Headaches | Slight numbness around lips, nose, cheeks. Headaches still. Awful Insomnia for the first week then it gradually got better. Very tired all day. Decided to discontinue because I'd rather have headaches than be tired when I'm not actually tired. | I know it works for other people. | M | 31 | 14 days | 7/10/2008 | 2 | Seizure disorder | Appetite loss and severe cognitive side effects including memory loss, inability to focus, find words, complete sentences, etc. | My neurologist suggested the switch from Depakote to Topomax for its appetite side effects. (I had gained lots of weight during my years on Depakote.) Unfortunately, I couldn't wait for the pounds to drop off because the stupidity set in so fast. After a week on Topamax, I had become so ineffective at my consulting job, I had to take a week off during my transition back to Depakote. I'll take overweight and sharp-minded any day. The good Topamax news: I didn't have a seizure during my two-week switch. | M | 50 | 2 weeks | 9/7/2009 | 2 | MIgraines | Initially nausea, loss of appetite; Then: excessive weight loss, exhaustion, cloudy thinking, poor coordination; and most recently: Paranoia, hallucinations, aggressive behavior, angry outbursts, placed in mental health facility. | I am married to the man who took this medication. From my perspective: The past month has just been hell on the whole family. When my husband began hearing and seeing things that were not there I feared it was another medication, the fentenal patch, because he had been taking topomax for some time. His symptoms got worse quickly. He was not eating, sleeping, became angry at times and at other times was a sweet-heart. He would be hot, then cold and shiver. He became paranoid, thinking people were coming to hurt us. He even called the police telling them there were several men sneaking around the yard (we live out in the country)swearing he could here them talking on walky-talkies. The mood swings were terrible- everyone was walking on egg shells not knowing what to expect next. It got to the point where he was shoving one of our kids out of the way to "get" whatever he thought he saw. He also became physically combative with me when I tried to stop him from going after "them". I finally had to trick him into going to a hospital where they sent him to a "mental facility." Once there he was immediately sent up to ICU, for 3 days, as directed by the psychologist. He weighed in at 125 pounds-well below normal weight for a man that is 5'11". During his stay at the hospital, he was taken off both fentenal patch and Topamax. After returning home he began taking the Topamax again and within two days he started talking to people that aren't | M | 35 | 1 years | 11/21/2009 | 1 | Epilepsy (GrandMal) | Severe side effects across the board. Euphoria with inability to control myself. Panic attacks. Speed like feelings. Strange changes to taste. | On my first, and lowest possible dose, I flipped right out into a panic attack after 18 hours. The attack lasted for 6 hours and put me in the hospital. They call this one Dopamax for a reason, but despite feeling heavily doped, I also felt the other extreme... Speedy rushes and triggered flight responses. The panic attack was preceeded by my feeling urges to rush into the hallway and pace in my room despite having been trying to calm myself down and watching TV. Very unpleasant and frightening. A shame as I also have Migraines. Would have had two birds with one stone if I could have tolerated this drug. | M | 30 | 1 days | 8/7/2009 | 1 | Migrane | personality change | My wife was put on topamax about 3 onthes ago she completely changed in personallity selfish, mean, wanted me to support her while she runs awhile. she has cheated on me and requested a divorce. she refuse to get off medicine saying her migranes r now gone. my self, her mother and my kids hardly can see herself. i am not sure if it this drug but i would like to her to at least consider it. | M | 45 | 90 days | 8/16/2009 | 1 | Intercranial Hypertension Headaches | Terrible pins and needles,made my moods very bad,felt like harming my loved ones!Turned me in a zombie,sickness and stomache pains. | Was put on these after taking Diamox for IIH,Diamox is a bad drug as well but had got rid of the tingles ages ago,after 3 days my hands and feet felt like I could shoot electric out of them,I was like a zombie and I felt angry all the time,added to that I couldn`t eat anything as I`d eat and then throw up within a few hours.It did help my daily headaches down from a 8 to about 4 but the side effects are not worth it,I thought Diamox was a bad drug until my neuro tried me on these,oh and I can`t spell or talk properly thanks to these,they should be banned! | M | 42 | 5 months | 4/20/2009 | 1 | Migraine, constant headache | With just 25mg on the 1st day, rotten soap taste in my mouth, blurred vision (sort of, more like shaky vision), headache, muscle aches, weakness, tightening of chest, ears ringing louder than ever before, general feeling of unpleasantness and I can't remember a word I want to put in here (it was patent, I had to ask my girlfriend, I had an IQ of 130 before I took this drug). I'm an engineer, no way I can work on this stuff... | I'd rather have a migraine than take this. Yet another drug that hit it's patent limit and tried to find another use so they could re-up their patent. Of course the drug pushers, er, doctors push it to us knowing of all these side effects and they don't tell us about them. I'm so disgusted with our "wonderful" medical system. Have a problem, here's a boatload legal drugs that will not help in the slightest! | M | 38 | 1 days | 7/10/2008 | 1 | Mild Seizure Disorder | Paresthesia, agitation / depression, diminished cognitive function and worst of all insomnia. | Taking Topamax for less than a month was fairly traumatic for me. I'm an executive and really noticed diminished thinking ability, couldn't find words, etc. My family noticed changes in my mood and I can say that I stopped laughing, nothing seemed funny any longer. By far the worst side effect that I experienced was and is insomnia. Although I could fall asleep, I couldn't remain asleep for more than a few hours. I stopped taking Topamax 3 weeks ago and am still waking up every day at 2 or 3 a.m. | M | 48 | 3 weeks | 3/29/2008 | 1 | Migraine / Head Pain | Severe Depression / Apathy / Suicidal Tendencies / Tingling / Constipation / Lethargy / Loss of taste / Memory Loss | I began Topamax 25mg once daily; after my first week to 25mg twice daily; 2nd week to increase to 50mg evening, 25mg morning -I realized my entire change in personality during the preceeding two weeks might have something to do with the new medication, Topamax. I began researching the side effects. I had never been suicidal, apathetic, lethargic, depressed, or etc. before - but I was to the point of wanting to leave my wife, close the business I had worked so hard to build, I was obsessed to either kill myself or leave town and start a new life - these feeling were constant and relentless; they would not leave my mind; all-consuming; psychotic. None of these things were rational or even remotely fit any thoughts I had ever had before taking Topamax. It altered reality for me and ruined my life in a very short time period. Luckily, I had a small window of reality in which I sought information in the confused state I was in. I wish I had known to look for these effects beforehand so tha | M | 38 | 14 days | 4/9/2008 | 1 | Migraines | Sharp tingling in heels, toes, fingers, elbows, arms, sleepiness, memory loss/confusion, constant headache, severe depression, homicidal thoughts, constant ringing in ears, difficulty sleeping, thirsty all the time, back and neck pain, lack of concentration, spelling words wrong (I am an honor roll student, and my grades slipped in every subject; up to 14 points in 3 weeks), nausea, vomiting. | I ended up in a psychiatric facility 200 miles from home, because this drug made me have homicidal thoughts (after 3 weeks of taking it). When my Mom called the neurologist, she was told to rush me to the ER. After spending 18 hrs in the ER they deemed me psychotic, and sent me to a facility specializing in children, where I spent another 24 hrs. No one believed that it was this medication that was making me feel this way. I have been off of Topomax now for 1 week, and although I STILL have some of these side effects, I am pretty much back to my normal self. I will NEVER take this medication again. | M | 15 | 3 weeks 25 mg 1X D | 2/14/2012 | 1 | Severe Headaches | Thoughts of self harm, in my case these were flash thoughts but kept occuring once i upped my dose to only 50mg. insomnia, could not eat, confusion, word tripping (after eighth day only) short term memory went AWOL. | Bad drug nothing more needs saying, KEEP AWAY AT ALL COSTS. I know some people on here have said it has worked for them, but I personally think you are being lead into a false sense of security and eventually somewhere the walls will come tumbling down. I have read some horrific stories on here from teenagers saying they are scared and feel trapped or even being made to take Topamax against their will and pressured by their parents. My message to you is go and seek legal advice or show your parents this website and of how 80% of people taking this drug have had a bad reaction to it. My empathy goes out to everybody who has suffered from this evil drug. I am a normal male and quiet healthy, not over weight and no emotional problems, I started having chronic headaches in September 2010, its now nearly February 2011 and I have been through every drug or feels like it until my neuro prescribed Topamax. In England you get worked up to full dose I guess in America they just throw you in at the deep end. 25mg once at night for first 7 days, everything seemed ok, then it was 25mg morning and night. I then realised I could not eat, then soon found out I could not sleep either, the next day the same again, but now I was hyper and could not concentrate and was just acting oddly. That night strange things began to happen and I started to have disturbing thoughts about stabbing myself with scissors, I shook it off at first and tried to think about other things and then it crept b | M | 39 | 8 days 25mg 1X D | 1/26/2011 | 1 | migraines | The worst of the side effects had to be the facial tic. I didn't think it was from the topamax to begin with but it was. It started on one side then eventually both sides of my face would tic constantly. I was taking 100mg twice a day and when I decided to take my self off the med I got the worst headache I have ever had. I have had migraines for nearly 15 years and never been to the ER with one until coming off the Topamax. I got up at 2 in the morning and took myself to the ER. The next day I called the doc and he said it was likely from the withdrawl and that I would need to start back on a lower dose. I did fer a few weeks but the tic continued until I stopped completely. Other side effects included tingling/pins and needles/numbness, foggy, difficulty thinking remembering things. exhaustion, attention. And very limited help with the migraines. Still had headaches. | do not abruptly stop taking this drug, especially if you are on a higher dose. Drop your dose first, that was honest to God the worst headache ever. | M | 32 | 60 days 100 2X D | 1/27/2011 | 1 | hemiplegic migraines | tingling in fingers, face, and inside my body, yes i know it sounds weird. ringing in my ear. lack of taste. pain in my eye. Visualy disturbances including, seeing things in slow motion, or a trail behind it specifically in lightly lit rooms. My brain would copy objects, for example If i looked in a fun mirror that distorts things a certain way... when i looked away i would see everything else like the mirror was reflecting for just a few seconds, but could repeat this with clear objects w/ texture, and mirrors. I also saw a blue tracer behind any object in lightly lit rooms. sleepy. being depressed, and moody. Not being able to taste food, and lost alot of weight. Also trouble thinking and concentrating. Felt like a zombie. A ton of hair loss. they thought some of the visual things were caused by my very complicated migraine, but i am very sensitive with meds and particularly to this one. it did more harm than good. I still have tracers and trails behind things, but it's not as intens | Everyone reacts to it differently. I think that it really does help some people. I will never take it again, and if you take it and finds it does more harm than good than stop taking it right away. | M | 19 | 4 months 100 mg 4X D | 2/23/2010 | 1 | Essential Tremor | Anger, mood swings, headaches, pimples, memory loss, losing train of thought, can't find right words to say at times, lethargy, loss of appetite, didn't stop tremors, nutritional deficits, sleep disturbances | Began with 25mg twice a day for a week then to 50 mg twice a day. That lasted for about two weeks. I couldn't handle the tiredness and it was affecting my work so went back down to 25mg twice a day. That's when anger and mood swings became really bad. Began cursing a lot. Gotta stop. | M | 41 | 45 days 50mg 2X D | 7/13/2012 | 1 | essential tremor | no side effect | didn't help at all | M | 55 | 10 days | 6/15/2006 |