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 length of time drug was taken longest to shortest. 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 |
| 1 | Epilepsy | Dizziness, sleeping 15 hours a day and extreme nausea for the first two months. Lost 10 pounds. Now weight has stabilized, those symptoms are gone. New symptoms: cystitis (must drink 1/2 gallon of water a day to avoid), rapid heartbeat when I drink coffee but I drink it in the morning anyway, regard food as fuel, not enjoyment, poor memory, I speak more slowly and forget names for common objects, people or places. I compensate for that and feel lucky that I don't have seizures. But while I am not depressed, I can cry a flood of tears now, there's no end of them, even when happy. But most of all, I am not me. It is like there is a stranger inside and the only part that of the old me that I recognize is the one that sitting back wondering who that stranger is. | Would go back on dilantin if the doctor hadn't said 1) it was not good for bone density (osteoporosis) especially for small-framed women like me 2) I hadn't had a break-through seizure on dilantin in May of 2006. I am going start yoga in November hoping to improve my health. If my EEG improves, I can ask the doctor to reduce the 200mg daily dose - he mentioned this as a possibility at my last appointment when I complained of my "part-time job" drinking water/visiting the bathroom to avoid cystitis. Good luck to all my fellow victims of the American drug companies! | F | 57 | 6 months | 10/29/2006 | 1 | mood stabilizer for bi-polar | Severe memory loss and other cognitive impairments. Major weight loss. | I know others who are quite satisfied with this medication but for me the side effects were terrifying. I was a menace on the roads (couldn't correlate red light with "stop")and would get lost. Couldn't recall words. I would frequently lose track of what I was talking about, what I was supposed to be doing, or why I was where I was. A nightmare that cleared as soon as my doctor switched medications at my request. | F | 55 | 6 months | 5/10/2006 | 1 | Migraine Headaches | Numbness and tingling of extremities. Brain Fog mild to severe that eventually cleared up as I was stepping up my dose. Once I reached my maintenance dose had thoughts of suicide at times of severe stress from job. Never had this happen prior to taking this drug. After being on Maintenance does for another two months starting having symptoms similar to IBS and Diverticulitis with severe pain in lower left quadrant. | Migraines also came back. Started tapering off medication. After googling Topamax and IBS. I thought I had diverticulitis again the pain was so bad and considering last time I had to have 13 inches of my colon removed this was not a pleasant thought(I have IBS) Dropped 18# in two weeks. Not very pleasantly I might add. I was so miserable that despite recommendations I stopped tapering and just quit taking the drug 4 days ago and finally feel half way decent. Seriously I think the daily migraine is better. | F | 41 | 6 months 200mg 2X day | 7/4/2010 | 1 | chronic migraines | simple stupid side effects, all of them- didn't care about that, but the big ones, I do care about those. It ALMOST KILLED ME!! repeated small bp drops, then, Severe blood pressure drop! also, acted psycho during pms times according to family. | Very dangerous!!!! I took it as a last resort and now I am trying to stop I'm weaning myself off. It has been 4 days, my Bp is still not back up to normal. I almost died from 80 point drop. also, it does make you dumber, it does make you act crazy,mean, and depressed, but it does work for lowering migraine number and strength.:-( | F | 45 | 6 months 50 mg 2X day | 8/7/2011 | 1 | Migraines | Started weight loss, confusion, word loss, memory loss, cloudy feeling, now realizing my hair loss after reading on here. | I took Topamax for about 6 months (started it 2 yrs ago in January 08). I have had pretty bad cognitive and neurological problems. It did help my headaches significantly but the side effects were not worth it. I am so frustrated everyday that I thought I would start searching some information and found this site which has made me realize I am not alone. I started having some hair loss about a year ago but thought it was because I was highlighting my hair. it is making me have second thoughts now. | F | 30 | 6 months | 10/2/2007 | 1 | sciatica/nerve pain | i was on this drug for about 6 mos.I lost word finding skills,was so dizzy I walked with a cane,or was helped by my children.I lost 30lbs,still have hair loss! I have been off it for a month and a half,and still have difficulty finding words,and some dizziness remains.While on it,I couldn't eat..would gag or throw up when I tried!My blood pressure dropped very low also,and I had eye pain and vision problems.I am seeing a retina specialist this month,I pray it didn't do any permanent damage.My Dr. only told me about the weight loss..NO other s/e's! I think this drug should be taken off the market! I now see why others call it dopomax! I was stupid all the time I was taking it!It leaves you in a fog...Thank God I'm now off it! I no longer see the neuro that prescribed it,it was my family Dr. that caught it!My advice to any who think of taking it...RESEARCH IT FIRST! | It may be good for some...but do your research! | F | 66 | 6 months | 11/8/2009 | 1 | epilepsy | tingling in hands and feet to the point I could no longer feel my toes or fingertips, extreme anger and mood swings, complete loss of ability to concentrate, no longer able to drive (I would forget I was driving and start looking out the side window), reading was almost impossible (It would take me about 30 minutes per page to get a general idea of what I was reading), had trouble holding a conversation with anyone because I would forget what I was saying, or forget I was being spoken to and wander away (This one really annoyed my husband) | I was being switched off a med that worked well because my Dr. insisted the new ones were better. My husband almost immediately started telling me he thought I was having problems on this med and I would get mad at him about it. I kept insisting that he was the one having a problem. I was in college at the time and began failing ALL of my classes. My GPA was 3.8, so this was abnormal. That was when I recognized there was a problem. I tried to contact my doctor, but he was on a month long vacation. His partner told me to stay on topamax until my regular doctor was back, but add another med. I went back to dilantin against his orders. Side effects faded and I managed to pass all my classes. If I hadn't been so angry on the med I'd have probably gone off of it sooner, but I got really mad and stubbornly argued thet I was doing fine. However the day I nearly drove off the side of the highway because I forgot I was driving was the last day I drove while taking this, my husband drove me to my classes. Quality of life on this med was very low. When he got back my doctor wanted me to try it again, I found a new doctor. | F | 33 | 6 months | 7/22/2009 | 1 | Lose weight | Depression, extreme fatigue, phantom smells, loss of appetite. | F | 59 | 6 months 100 mg | 11/18/2013 | 1 | migraines | permanent depression | When Topamax was relatively new I was prescribed it at the age of 14 for migraines. At first I was fine with the medication and it worked well to help prevent my migraines from occurring as frequently. About 6 months later out of the blue I attempted suicide. I at the time had no history of depression and depression does not run in my family. After the attempt I continued to have severe problems with depression despite being taken off Topamax. I have talked to my psychiatrist and she mentioned that a few of her other patients had mentioned the same problem. I am now 24 and still plagued with major depression that requires medication just for me to function. I would be very leary of this medication. | F | 24 | 6 months | 1/24/2010 | 1 | Makes me dumb and dense. | It takes a while to get this side effect but eventually it makes me dull. I just get where I can't understand simple things. It effects my work. right now I am cutting back to 100 mg. I am taking it for headaches but my shrink says it helps my Bipolar 2 also. I don't care. It makes me dumb and that effects work and I can't have that. | F | 53 | 6 months 200 mg 1X day | 4/9/2014 | 1 | OCD | blurred vision extreme abdominal pain followed by whatever I attempted to eat loss of appetite extreme weight loss in short period of time diarrhea constipation hair loss | Very dangerous drug. I wouldn't be surprised if it's eventually taken off the market. | F | 49 | 6 months 200 MG | 4/8/2016 | 1 | Epilepsy | side effects began within a month of beginning it. First my breathing was effected, couldn't get a deep breath, then gradually it got worse. Pins and needles in my hands and feet, my eyesight went from 20/20 to needing glasses to see anything, I lost 12kgs in 3 months, severe vulvadynia, and extreme buzzing in my head. Symptoms came in waves, every couple of hours. Ended up in 8 emergency rooms until the last one I was admitted to hospital for 2 weeks taken immediately off the evil drug as was suspected as having a toxic reaction to it. Coming off it was just as bad and took forever to get out of my system because of its long half life. | This drug should be banned. I trusted my neurologist and didn't do the research. Don't be like me, 2 years later and I'm only just beginning to feel normal. It is an evil evil drug | F | 46 | 6 months 125 | 2/18/2017 | 1 | BiPolar II | Mental lapses, weakness, off balance, diarhhea, weight loss, vision disturbance, severe headaches | ACIDOSIS! If you are experiencing any of these symptoms in a severe or long term manner you need to discuss them with your Dr as they can be a sign of an irreversable and potentially life threatening illness called Acidosis. Google it. God Bless those this medication has helped. | F | 48 | 6 months | 6/13/2009 | 1 | MOOD SWINGS | My wife was on it for 7 months. Changed her completely. We are now very close to divorce. | has any one experienced this drastic change? My wife has been off topamax for 2.5 months but the side effects seem to still be in control. i dont know if I should divorce or be patient. She is moody, indecisive about everything, just someone different all together. It all started right after she was on topamax. since she has been off it, she has calmed down , but she is still a different person. I have asked her to get her hormones checked out. Help anyone? | F | 34 | 6 months | 7/5/2008 | 1 | migraines | went from 140 lbs to 110 in 3 months, see every bone in my body. Weird eye spasm. Diarrhea every day. Extreme anxiety, can't think of a word when it is on the tip of my tongue, extreme acne. Shut myself off to my friends and family. | Users beware, you might think it's a miracle drug at first, but like we have all found out in the past, there is no "quick fix" for anything. This medication almost ruined my life | F | 26 | 6 months | 11/10/2008 | 5 | Migraines | Severe tingling in the feet and hands. Memory loss and speech slip ups all the time. Also severe stomach aches. | Used to get migraines 7x a week after bad car accident and now I can easily go a day without it. If i do, I just double up with relpax and I'm good to go. Though the weight loss is fast so make sure you get food in when you can. | F | 22 | 5 months 100 MG 1X day | 10/31/2014 | 5 | Intracranial hypertension/ seizures | Tingling in hands and feet, loose bowels, itchy skin. | I have many issues with medications however this one I was fine with. I think with medications in general it's about trial and error. What works for one person may not work for another and vice versa. Just listen to your doctor's advice. | F | 34 | 5 months 100mg 1X day | 2/17/2021 | 5 | migraines and daily headaches | tingling in fingers and toes (paresthesia), soda tastes bad, weight loss, cold hands, constipation, appetite loss, no problem falling asleep at night (used to be a problem pre-Topamax) | I did not know how much migraines and my regular daily headaches were affecting my life until the pain was gone. My migraines have been caused by hormones, weather changes and stress- try to escape those triggers. Topamax has truly helped me. The first two months of taking it were rough, with mood swings (depresion, tears), fatigue, memory problems, etc. Now I'm fine- back to being sharp, happy, word retrieval is fine, memory is great, energy is back. I've lost 23 pounds that needed to be lost (nice side effect:-). I've been reading about the vision side effects, which worry me, and I'll be discussing this with my neurologist at my next appointment. I have never felt better. | F | 40 | 5 months | 4/13/2007 | 5 | bipolar disorder | I haven't had any real side effects with Topamax, I did lose the 15 pounds I had gained with Depakote but that was not necessarily Topamax. Once in a while, maybe once a week, I will get a little tingle in my feet for about two minutes and then it goes away. This has been a miracle drug for me. I tried three other drugs before this, all horrible- Depakote is the worst drug ever, and was at my wits end but I feel like I can live a normal happy life again. | I know two other people on the drug. They both took it for migraines. One had to stop the other is still on it. They both had substantial weight loss. The person who no longer takes it had tingling all the time and facial ticks. The other person had increased energy and trouble sleeping but no tingling. She doesn't mind the increased energy. | F | 32 | 5 months | 9/8/2007 | 5 | Migrane & Ocular Migrane | confusion, loss or hard to find choice of words to use, space out, extreme forgetfulness | I was 20 weeks pregnant when I started having migranes/ocular migranes. Without the topamax I could not function due to the pain. However it only takes the migrane away, it doesn't take the visuals from the ocualr migranes away. And my OB assures me that it is safe for the baby. | F | 25 | 5 months | 7/19/2006 |