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 |
| 4 | excruciating and frequent migraines | memory loss, confusion, loss of balance, loss of words when speaking, words don't come to me as quickly as they used to | Drug is a lifesaver if you can put up with the dopey side effects, being an elementary school teacher, it is hard sounding "stupid" in front of students for a while. But, it sure beat missing school for days due to debilitating migraines. I haven't had a migraine in three years when I would sometimes get them three times a week at one point. They were ruining my life. I had to plan my life around the possibility of getting a migraine. Having two kids and a job--that was difficult to do. This medicine was a Godsend and I am willing to sound stupid in turn for the fact that I know I should be free of migraines. I know it makes you dumber than a box of rocks, but I would rather than be dumb than in pain constantly and nauseous. I couldn't function or have a life before taking Topamax. Topamax may either make you lose weight or keep your weight stable if you weren't overweight to begin with. | F | 37 | 3 years | 7/15/2009 | 4 | epilepsy - partial complex seizures | weight loss, inablity to spell and read. confusion | The topamax did stop the seizures and I lost the 40 pounds I gained when I was on depakote but it impaired my ability to comprehend words. I was no longer able to spell and I would forget words when speaking and writing. It also eliminated my appetite which I didn’t mind but I wasn't eating a healthy diet because I wasn't eating much at all. I no longer take it and am now on lamictal and keppra. | F | 43 | 3 years | 11/28/2009 | 4 | Migraines | have been taking Topamax for over three years not sure how many, I have memory loss, I have had kidney stones for being on it so long. And my hair is thinner and my taste buds are way off.. | It helped with my migraines but now I am being taken off of it due to my kidney stones. The with drawl symptoms suck. | F | 44 | 3 years 200 2X day | 6/30/2015 | 4 | nerve pain in both my legs | I could not control my emotions, when I first started taking it my sexual desire was stong and I was very aggressive and flirting with everyone (and I am a very shy and quiet person) I am very married and this medication got me in trouble. These side effects wore off, thank God but I still have problems with forgetfulness, can't remember words, difficulty concentrating | The only reason that I continue taking it is that it DOES help the nerve pain in my legs and it has also helped my fibromyalgia, a little bonus that I was not expecting. | F | 46 | 3 years | 2/2/2005 | 4 | Epilepsy - JME | Extreme weight loss (80 lbs), insomnia in the beginning - much better now - although I get by with less sleep than before, memory loss & difficulity understanding concepts - have not recovered this - can take me minutes to days to understand something or remember an event or figure out a way to communicate my words, cannot drink any soft drinks - tastes very funny, slow coordination sometimes. | Was on Depakote for 10 yrs prior | F | 27 | 3 years | 2/15/2005 | 4 | migraines and depression | Lethargicness at first, it will go away/ tingling in hands, feet, and face | It helps my bipolar, and migraines. Just DON'T mix it with Lithium. My doctor's did it, and I had Lithium toxcity, and renal failure, and I almost died. | F | 25 | 3 years | 5/16/2005 | 4 | Bipolar | Tingling in finger tips, weight loss, memory loss, weird taste when drinking soda | Intially the side effects of memory loss was awful because I couldnt remember anything. I was a student and I couldn't spell my own name. When the prof. called on me I couldn't remember the question she had asked to answer. I couldn't drive without running through a red light. I'm lucky I didn't kill anyone or myself. However,I stayed on topamax because my depression was so debilating I didnt have a life before it. My weight loss tappered off eventually but I changed my diet and I'm now at my target weight. I think the weight loss from topamax stop at 6 months but the other side effects was only a span of 3 months. The side effects don't last forever if you give the medication a chance. | F | 30 | 3 years | 4/11/2007 | 4 | Migranies | I love Topamax and have been on it for over 3 years. I started out at 25 mg once a day and my DR stepped me up slower than most people because I am a smaller person. I'm 4'10 and weighted 120. I lost almost 20 lbs on it and went on the depo shot which is birth control to gain weight. At first and any time my dose was upped I couldn't drink pop I later found out I can drink it as long as its caffeine free and there is no weird taste. I couldn't eat butter, or sweets but the only thing I could eat was meat. Right I went off my meds for almost two months because they thought I was pregnant turns out I'm not so I'm starting back on them at the 150 mg. I am having problems with getting dizzy, forgetting, and now when I try to eat I can only eat a little at a time and I feel like I'm going to puke after I eat. That has never happened before. | As for the numbness or anything like that my hands and feet stopped after maybe 6 months on it, however my face and nose tingle and feel numb. All of the weird food things stopped within about a week every time my dose was changed and this time after going back on it I've not noticed it, only it making me sick to my stomach. But I went from having headaches that would last days or having 2 or 3 headaches a week and ending up the hospital to only having 3 to 4 a month. I believe its worth it. | F | 22 | 3 years 50 3X day | 12/25/2011 | 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 | 4 | Migraines | Tingling in finger tips; numbness/tingling in feet; memory impairment | I started slowly on Topamax for everyday headaches/migraines. I was on 100 MG for years, until my most recent visit, when they increased me to 150 MG, because I was still getting headaches nearly daily. Since starting on the increased dosage, I have hardly experienced any headaches, and the ones I do have are sinus headaches. The side effects are worth it for the relief of the headaches. I do admit that the memory is probably the worse, but for now, I will just blame that on old age. I notice that I will forget things like people's names and common things that you should remember, but I still do fine to function at work. I already recommend this Rx to all my friends and family, because a lot of them are headache sufferers! | F | 36 | 3 years 150 MG 1X day | 5/12/2010 | 4 | mood disorder NOS (low-lvl bipolar) | Some slurred speech and disorientation; overall okay. | I was on it for 3 years (ending 2 years ago), low dosage, overall positive. I didn't really notice much when I was on it - a little steadier moods. But when I tapered off, the edginess, intensity, and anxiety that I'd been experiencing before taking meds came back... meaning that it had been helpful in taking the edge off my mood swings, anxiety, and depression! I'm doing okay without it now, but it worked reasonably well for me. Family history of epilepsy, migraines, and temporal lobe disorder, so it may have just been happenstance that I got a drug that works right on my brain. | F | 23 | 3 years 50mg 2X day | 4/7/2010 | 4 | migraines | tingling in hands, feet, face, difficulty thinking of words (cogn slowness), depression, weight loss, extreme coldness. Most of these side effects decreased/disappeared after about a year. | I started taking Topamax in college when I was getting a few migraines per week. It has helped tremendously, and I now only get 1 or 2 headaches per month. The side effects are a little scary though, and I definitely think that Topamax has affected my ability to think/concentrate. Beyond the normal hand/feet tingling, I have experienced some really weird feelings a couple of times when I feel like my hands or arms are enlarged. This will last for a few minutes and then go away. I lost about 10 pounds when I went on Topamax, but have gained most of this initial loss back over about 2 years (I think it was mostly from the medicine initially affecting what foods were appealing...I can now drink soda and it doesn't taste flat). Also, when I first started the medicine I was cold all the time, to the point where I couldn't hold a drink without having napkins around it because it would make my hand too cold. I started taking B12 vitamins which seemed to help. Depression has definitely been a side effect on and off throughout. I am on a plan now to wean myself off over the next few weeks. While Topamax has worked wonders on my migraines, it has to be weighed against all of the side effects. I would recommend it as a last resort, after trying some of the other drugs out there that have less serious and numerous side effects. | F | 24 | 3 years 75 mg 1X day | 2/25/2010 | 4 | Chronic Magrianes | Not being able to find the right word and then not being able to pronounce it when I do finally find it. Significant tingling in both feet (more so in left foot) some in arms/hands. Some crying for no reason, eye pain and trouble sleeping. No weight loss for me at least not yet. | Recently I have been having problems with my left shoulder and my doctor advised I had a 'frozen shoulder' and said it might be from the topamax -wow that's scary! It's the only thing that works along with MAXALT when I get a migrane. Was getting 4-7 per week, started @ 25mg per day gradually increased to 150mg per day!! It does work, but am wondering if it is worth it. | F | 47 | 3 years 75MG 2X day | 3/19/2010 | 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 | migraines | Initially I experienced tingling feeling in fingers and toes occasionally but this subsided after a month or so. It did cause me to feel tired and a little fatigued, not wanting to get out of bed when the alarm went off. Long term side effects were memory loss and a kidney stone. | Despite the side effects (even the kidney stone that I had to have laser surgery to have removed) Topomax has helped greatly with my migraines. It reduced the frequency from 12 a month to 2 or 3 and it reduced the severity. I no longer get them so bad that I can't stop vomiting and end up in the E.R. In fact, the relpax pills now work to get rid of my migraines 95% of the time. I realized after the kidney stone and seeing a urologist that I need to drink 2 to 3 liters of water per day to prevent kidney stones while on topamax. Since I have been doing this I have not had stones and I feel great. The topamax also makes my memory not so sharp, I tend to forget names when I meet people an my short term memory is horrible while taking it. The topamax seems to numb your whit and sharpness just like it numbs or reduces your migraines. | F | 43 | 3 years 50-100 mg 1X day | 10/12/2011 | 3 | migraines | Was taking topamax for migraines. I also have severe nerve damage in my spine so I'm also on a pain management program for back. My 13 year old daughter keeps saying she wants her old mom back. When I ask her what she means she states that about 3 years ago I changed. I have weaned myself off topamax. With my doctors help. I have been completely off it for 2 weeks. I am irritable, on edge and weepy. I feel clearer in my head but I am a mess emotionally. Don't know if this is a temp side effect for not. | F | 53 | 3 years 10 1X day | 3/27/2010 | 3 | migraines | In the beginning, lost some weight, major loss of words, tingling in fingers and face, got sick easily, lethargic, frequent heartburn, nothing tasted good, eye twitching, and major impact on sex drive and function. I think the weight loss experienced from this drug is because it alters your sense of taste, but it comes back at least somewhat over time. Just eating a banana every day was enough to resolve the tingling for me. | After trying about everything else commonly prescribed, I was desperate to try something else for migraines, which I was getting several times a week. In the beginning this drug was helping me. I slowly worked up to 100mg, then when that stopped working briefly went to 200mg (too much for me - I couldn't function at work) then quickly back down to 100mg. But now I am getting migraines about as frequently as when I began taking this drug. I refuse to increase the dose - this stuff is toxic. I have decided (with my Dr.) to try to wean myself off of. I want my brain, sex drive and taste buds back. I am down to 75mg/day for a few weeks then will go to 50, 25 then be done with it. I can't wait to be off this stuff completely. | F | 39 | 3 years | 1/27/2010 | 3 | Migraines | Memory loss, confusion,decreased appetite, lower libido, tingling in legs and feet | I have suffered from migraines for 15 years. I've tried quite a few different drugs including Effexor.I was skeptical about taking an anti seizure drug to help with my migraines, but also desperate because nothing else I was doing helped. I did notice a difference in the frequency of my migraines within the first couple weeks. I have taken it for 3 years now. I am slowly decreasing my dosage because I am having memory and concentration problems that are effecting my everyday life. At 25mg a day, I'm having only 3 to 5 migraines a month verses daily ones. | F | 34 | 3 years 50mg 2X day | 9/9/2010 | 3 | migraine | carbonated soft drinks tasting flat was first but that went away. Becoming | I am supposed to take 200 mg per day, I take 40mg and still have the | F | 57 | 3 years | 6/9/2005 | 3 | Bi-polar / ADHD | I take Strattera in addition to Topamax. Initially tingling of hands and feet and soda tasted funny but subsided after a year. Positives: Initially worked for mood stabalization and no more seasonal depression. OCD lessened. Negatives: Constant word, weight and hair loss. Internal word repetition increased and rage with missed dosage. Much worse than original moods. | This is a very powerful drug and I appreciated the help it offered at first. I am moving to Tegeratol and Geodon at the advise of my psychiatrist and hope to find some relief. Decreasing the dosage and weaning off has been a nightmare. The 65 pound weight loss was not worth the hair loss, low blood pressure, arrhythmias, kidney stone, word loss, uncontrollable rage, suicidal thoughts etc. There must be better drugs out there. How this one got past the FDA is beyond me. | F | 44 | 3 years | 10/20/2008 |