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 |
| 4 | Migraines | drymouth, numbness & tingling in hands, feet & face, slowed thinking, repeating myself (over and over to the point of extreme annoyance), concentration is shot, fatigue & somnolence (actually falling asleep in class & at work while walking down hallways & almost while driving) - side effects have only been in the last 2 or 3 weeks of treatment | 1 month on 50 mg, 2 weeks on 75 mg, almost 6 weeks now on 100 mg and at the 100 mg is when the side effects kicked in for me, numbness & tingling went away with increased fluids (1.5L/day & eating an orange/day), decrease in intensity but not frequency, still need a lot of breakthrough medication, trying taking the meds in the morning to decrease the fatigue/somnolence, seems to be helping so far | F | 25 | 3 months | 3/28/2008 | 4 | migraines | tingling in hands/fingers, weight loss, soda tastes weird, some word-loss on occasion, extreme fatigue--(extreme when i overwork myself, manageable as long as i remember to get extra sleep, pack a real breakfast and not just stop at starbucks, etc.) | After being misdiagnosed with sinus problems for years, i finally saw a neurologist who put me on topamax. i'm currently @50mg/day. Although it does make me very tired, the constant ache is gone and my severe attacks have decreased from 3-4 times a week to 4-5 times a MONTH. The side effects SOUND scary, and for some they are. but for me, they are worth getting rid of the headaches. Now I can function, i'm not missing out on things, so I'm not depressed, and i feel healthy! If you are a migraine sufferer and your DR. recommends it, it is definitely worth a try. | F | 26 | 3 months | 3/19/2009 | 4 | Anxiety | loss of vision, weight loss, hair loss, forget things easily (mostly short-term memory), don't want to go to sleep at night (tired, but not "ready" to go to bed), soda tasted flat but that went away eventually, can eat pretty much anything I wanted and still lose weight (but there's nothing wrong with that!) | I'm considering going off of the medication solely due to the vision side effects -- several sites have said that this medicine can lead to blindness and that scares me. I can live with everything else, especially the weight loss. This medication did EXACTLY what I needed it to do which was to calm my anxiety and nothing else does that without making me a zombie or putting me to sleep. I am only on 25mg, though, and many of the comments I've read on this site where people felt like a zombie were at much higher doses. Wish it didn't have the vision side effects or else I'd likely say it was my miracle drug that I'd stay on forever. | F | 43 | 3 months | 7/10/2008 | 4 | Chronic Migraines | slight tingling in feet, metallic taste in mouth, certain foods taste very metallic, slight moodiness or feelings of sadness which is not typical for me | I am only taking 25 mg and have noticed a marked improvement in the number of headaches I get. I was having an average of 7-8 migraines a month and last month I only had 2! That is worth the side effects so far. Let's hope they stay minimal. My doctor sees me every 2 months to follow up with how I am doing so I am very comfortable about taking this medication. It is working. I have had migraines for over 20 years and have tried every thing! I am hopeful. | F | 54 | 3 months | 8/17/2008 | 4 | Chronic Migraines | Tingling in fingers, mood swings, forget some words (not too bad), spaced out feeling, lack of motivation, weight loss. | Had migraines all day every day, complete with debilitating nausea, for 3 years. Was put on low dose of topamax (25mg) and reacted badly: after three days, I spent one day completely spaced out, not really sure what was going on, awful mood swings. The doctor lowered the dose by half and I was fine. The spaciness was gone, and all the other side effects went away after the first couple of weeks. After two months I was starting to get migranes at night, so he upped it back to 25mg, but this time with half taken in the morning and half at night. As long as I take it EXACTLY 12 hours apart, I just have some finger tingling, weight loss, forgetting a few words (not too bad, and I'm a writer), and a general lack of motivation / lethargy (which is annoying). But, I'm expecting that to go away in a few weeks like it did last time. I can actually go to work all day and work out at the gym and live a life without horrible migraines and nausea, so these side effects are really nothing compared to what I was living with before. I really do have to be careful about the timing of the medicine, though, because one day I took one dose a couple hours late, and the next day I was unusually aggressive until the combo dose wore off -- or at least that's what I kinda remember, because that whole day is a little fuzzy. This is definitely a strong drug and direction have to be followed exactly. | F | 28 | 3 months | 11/21/2009 | 4 | Migraines | Nausea, acne, prolonged mentrual cycle, tingling sometimes in my fingers, cannot taste carbonated drinks, some taste flat while others taste tangy, in the beginning i definitely had the metallic taste in my mouth but that went away pretty quickly, hair loss, memory loss, floaty/spacey feeling, very irritable. | i have to say, this drug really has grown on me, only because i went from 3 to 4 migraines a week to about 1 every 2 weeks now. the doctors goal was to bring them down to about 1 or 2 a month hopefully less. i started out at 50mg, in the beginning it really messed up my menstrual cycle it was like i constantly had my period for at least a month and a half. ive been extremely irritable and moody, which you definitely need to watch out for because it really comes and goes but it can be pretty intense. in the beginning i had the metallic taste in my mouth bad that went away pretty quickly, and over the first few weeks was really hard because thats when you are starting to get used to the spacey feeling. it can be extremely frustrating, especially depending on what you do for a living, it can be a nuissance. the main thing that has really been hard for me but ive been trying hard to deal with is the nausea. most days are ok but for the most part i constantly feel sick to my stomach and its really hard for me to eat, or i forget to eat just because i feel sick. i guess id rather feel this way instead of the excruciating migraines but its a give or take relationship with the topamax. obviously this s/e is what is leading to the weight loss for me. started out at 150, im down to 134 after 2 mos and its mainly bc i cant eat w/o feeling sick to my stomach, i never vomit, though. the other thing is the hair loss, i can deal bc i had a lot of hair but it really does start to | F | 25 | 3 months | 11/3/2009 | 3 | Migraines | Before the medication I was getting migraines daily. I would be in my room with the blinds drawn, lights off, laying down in front of the fan, puking with ice on my head with no relief even with my primary care doctors medication. Once I started the medication and the dose got up to 100mg I noticed relief. However the side affects I noticed as well such as the carbonated drinks-- which was fine, I don't care to give that up but the other side affects I did not even know were possible. I would overheat in shorts in a tee-shirt with ice on my neck in 68 degrees inside a house. I have had eye damage since I started this medication and I am a type 1 Diabetic-- that is a huge problem for me and this is a very common (1 out of every 500) issue with this medication. The weight loss didn't bother me at first. In the first 8 weeks I lost pounds and I thought I had stopped losing weight but I weighed myself again today, and I have lost another 5 pounds-- I find this really alarming, I can't cont | Be careful. I realized after taking it and not sleeping for over a month (my doctor told me to take it at night, the idiot) take it in the morning if you want to sleep at night! | F | 23 | 3 months 100MG 1X day | 11/7/2014 | 3 | Migraine | I had no appetite and I got to the point that I could not even force myself to eat. I was sluggish mentality and physically. I just felt bad overall. During the time I was on it I only had one migraine but I was taken off of it because those side effects were just intolerable. | F | 46 | 3 months | 3/18/2015 | 3 | Migraines 2-3/week for past 10 yrs | extreme pins and needles sensation in feet, minor weight loss, spelling problems, left eye seems to have developed a bit of a pulsing twitch- has been going on for about 13 days now. | have been on and off this drug for a period of ten years now. I have experienced weight loss in the past, but not this time around as I have been back on for about three months now. I have tried many types, but Topamax seems to be one of the few preventative that has made a difference for me, however, within the past three weeks, my migraines are back in full force. I'm not sure if i have become immune to the medicine or what, but I suppose I will be looking to a new alternative if it doesn't get better soon. | F | 24 | 3 months | 3/15/2009 | 3 | Complicated MIgraine, Migraines | Appetite Loss, Severe Tingling/Electric Shocks, Myoclonal Jerks, Muscle Twitching | Classic Migraine Sufferer, was in remission but a cluster in December 2007 left me with persisting Visual Snow, Tinnitus, Palinopsia, Photophobia, depression and sparodic monocular diplopia and other symptoms typical of a complicated Migraine episode. I started on 25mg of Topamax and stepped up to 50mg. The classic migraine episodes ceased, though I continued to have migraine aura-like episodes followed by very mild pain. During the initial 25mg and the step to 50mg I encountered myoclonal jerks and muscle twitches / fasciculations which can likely be associated with the Topamax. When the Neurologist recommended an increase to 100mg, we did it 12.5 mg at a time. I did not encounter significant myoclonal jerks, but did have a return of the muscle twitches and fasciculations. The tingling is extreme - like electric shocks - and happens in my hands and feet. These shocks once induced a tremor in my right thumb that subsided with the shock sensation. I lost approx. 20lbs that I | M | 36 | 3 months | 3/27/2008 | 3 | Seizure disorder | Diarrhea, nausea, stomach cramps, tingling of fingers, double vision, weight loss | I didn't have any seizures with Topamax, but the side effects, especially the diarrhea, were really bad, and I was taking a low dose. I woke up every morning with stomach cramps and had to run to the bathroom with diarrhea, then was nauseous all day. The double vision decreased when I decreased the dosage, but was scary. | F | 42 | 3 months | 1/8/2009 | 3 | Bipolar II | Tingling in hands, fatigue, depression, decreased appitite | I've only gotten up to 50mg but so far I don't like how this medcine is making me feel. My depression has been worse since switching. I've been extremely tired and feeling really weak... I don't think these side effects are worth it. And it's not a very good mood stabilizer. | 25 | 3 months | 2/17/2009 | 3 | migraines | All carbonated drinks taste flat (I thought it was just me!), tingling fingers and toes, lethargy, mild depression | I've been taking topamax for about 3 months, and I'm still getting migraines, but they are lessening, at least. I'm hoping they go away completely, soon. I used to get them what seemed like every weekend when under a lot of stress, and now it's been almost 3 weeks, so something must be going right. I feel a little depressed, though. | F | 27 | 3 months | 3/17/2007 | 3 | Migraine prophylaxis | Tingling in hands and feet sometimes. Slower word recall and thought-process, especially at the beginning, when I was upping the dosage to reach my max. Strange side-effect - can't feel carbonated beverages on center of my tongue. I did have burning in a couple fingers on one hand after the first month, but it only lasted for about one month and then dissipated. | I've only been on this drug for a couple months. I'm still debating whether or not I'll stay on it, but I haven't had a migraine since I've started. The great debate is, are the side effects worth not having a migraine. Some days yes. Other days..? | F | 34 | 3 months | 4/5/2004 | 3 | Nerve pain | memory problems, burning in the chest shortness of breathe with activities. major hair loss. | Topamax helped my nerve pain a great deal. But topamax depletes the body of biotin and therefor my hair was falling out. I even got super biotin vitamins and nothing slowed down the hair loss. I would of stayed on it cause it really helped my pain but my poor head is getting bald spots. I heard that it takes about a good 3 months for the hair loss to stop after discontinuing the topamax. | F | 36 | 3 months | 11/1/2006 | 3 | Migraine prevention | I had strange visual affects. At night, I would see trailing on all objects, especially lights while driving. My toes and fingers would get tingling sensations like they were loosing blood. I was kind of mentally slow like others describe- but it wasn't as bad. I lost wieght- 10 lbs. in a month. That was nice. | The strangest thing was the visual halucinations (if thats what you call them). It was like being on LSD- but only at night when I was tired. Only a few other people desribed the same thing that happened to me- like seeing trails of light when it was dark. This was hard to deal with when driving- every light on the road looked like a laser show. In my apartment, at night, I couldn't move my head without seeing every object in the apartment trailing. It was so bad some nights I would just close my eyes while I was walking around. This started on only 50 mg. and I never took more than 75 mg. Very wierd, but worth it for the migraines. Fortunately- I have a great doctor who was concered. He took it upon himself to look up these side effects- and found that this is happening to other people and you should be immediately taken off the medication if this happens. A FDA warning is coming out for vision problems with topamax. He started me on Lamictal for migraines about a week ago- | F | 24 | 3 months | 6/2/2006 | 3 | Migraine | Dry Mouth, Dizzy, Change in menstrual cycle, face tingling | 50mg/day | F | 31 | 3 months | 7/2/2006 | 3 | Migraines/ TBI | extreme weight loss, diarrhea, hair shedding, extreme insomnia, pins and needles, verbal dyslexia, aggressiveness, irritability, anorexia | I've been on topamax for three months and at first i thought the weight loss would be nice ( i weighed 115) well, now im at 100 and i look disgusting. i havent slept in two weeks. i hardly eat and when i do i have diarrhea right after. it has increased my lactose intolerance. my hair falls out all of the time, more than ever before. I had verbal dyslexia because of migraines and topamax makes it so much worse. i am an utter bitch to everyone for no reason and highly pressed to get into a physical altercation. i feel this drug has made me have an eating disorder because i am so obsessed with my weight now that sometimes when i eat late at night, i'll make myself throw up. i'm finishing the bottle then i'm going on 100mg of zonisamide. we'll see how that goes | F | 22 | 3 months 100 mG 1X day | 6/27/2011 | 3 | Migraines | Horrible anxiety, quick tempered, ZERO sex drive, chronic pelvic pain, and a deep, barky cough. | Tired this drug, 2 seperate times..While it helped with my migraines and teeth grinding (oddly enough), the side effects were just too much. The worst one was the chronic pelvic pain, it was so bad I couldve sworn I have cysts or worse!! Once I stopped the pain went away as did the above mentioned cough. Not going to try again, but will work on avoiding migraine triggers instead. | F | 39 | 3 months 25MG 1X day | 2/21/2012 Patient History | 3 | migraines | 3 months on, 2 off then back on so on so forth. tingling in face and hands.loss of appetite, made certain foods and drinks taste horrible.hard to focus on reading,concentration on certain things takes more effort. | i did find it helped a lot with the migraines as they were taking over my life but, loss of appetite and foods tasting funny lead to me going off them as i wasn't healthy on them, i found the concentration got better, and the tingling subsided. | F | 19 | 3 months 100mg 1X day | 3/19/2010 |