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 |
| 2 | Neuropathy | Excessive hair loss | I have experienced no side effects other than excessive hair loss. Over a five year period, this has happened three times. For a female, this is particularly depressing. I have just stopped taking it in order to grow my hair back on one side of my head. Very unhappy about this! | F | 54 | 5 years | 10/28/2006 | 2 | Migraine, leg pains | It seemed ok for a very long time and I don't know what changed but I've become extremely paranoid, drudging about things from the past that shouldn't be drudge up. Feeling sad and alone. It's like...WTF is this med doing. | F | 49 | 5 years | 4/12/2016 | 2 | epilepsy | weight loss | F | 63 | 5 years | 2/3/2008 | 1 | epilepsy | Constant suicidal ideation, depression, crying jags, diminished cognition, insomnia, aggression, hostility and shitty seizure control. | I must've had a banging last life because I'm paying for it in this one. Topamax is the only med that gives me the barest amount of seizure control and I've tried them all. This is a NASTY drug that makes you want to die, all day, every day. This has been my life since I started taking it. I had a sunny, funny personality before Topamax. Now I'm a virtual shut in and thoughts of suicide are my constant companions. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE. | F | 40 | 5 years 100 mg 1X day | 10/25/2015 | 1 | seizure | aggressive/hostile behavior suicidal forgetfullness trouble finding words, word substitution leg cramps hair became course and curly/frizzy joint and muscle pain non-convulsive seizure with bizarre behavior(different type of seizure than what I was taking this for.) Fear and panic attacks | I stopped taking it 15 months ago, and some of the effects are still with me. I can't think like I used to; I'm not as sharp. I forget what I'm doing or what I'm saying. I can't find the right word. I will substitute words that have some of the same letters. I get disorganized. I can't remember things that people told me, or remember directions. I can't concentrate like I used to, and I have trouble following what people are saying- it doesn't seem to register for a few minutes. However, the following side effects have stopped: suicidal thoughts, aggressiveness, hair turned course and semi-curly, tingling pain in hands and feet, leg cramps, joint and muscle pain | F | 43 | 5 years | 8/16/2009 | 1 | Migraines | Fatigue- always tired, lack of desire to do anything, brain fog, word retrieval problems. memory issues, insomnia, tingling in fingers- lots of hair loss! Doctor didn't warn me about this and I could not figure out why I was losing my hair! | Topamax works very well for migraines- if you are suffering from chronic migraines you are willing to try almost anything to get rid of them. I had wonderful relief from my migraines for a long time w/ Topamax- now I get a few a month. BUT DO NOT take this medicine!! Try something else.PLEASE!! I can't get off it! I have tried and tried to quit. It has the worst withdrawals imaginable! I am not exaggerating. You will sweat like you are in the Sahara desert for weeks on end and your migraines will return with a vengeance. You will have the worst headaches of your life. I put up with the migraines and they eventually passed, but the sweating lasted for 6 weeks- I was embarrassed to go out in public- sweat was pouring down my face, pooling under my breasts, running down my legs- 6 weeks after I slowly tapered off this medicine. Nothing has ever affected me like this. I think this medicine is dangerous. My regular doctor doesn't prescribe it either- had to get it from a neurologist. I didn't know it can make 1/3 of your hair fall out and it can permanently affect your eyesight - if you don't believe me look it up on the Topamax website. | F | 51 | 5 years 100mg 1X day | 8/22/2017 | 1 | Migraines | Loss of recall memory. Tingling in hands and feet. Kidney stones resulting in right renal failure. Surgery has corrected majority of kidney function. | Check into this drug before using. It may not be worth the risk. Wish I had never started it. My life will never be the same. | F | 54 | 5 years 100mg 2X day | 6/21/2013 | 1 | mood stabilizer | broken bones wouldn't heal; fingernails became paper soft; chronic anxiety; metallic taste in mouth; diet soft drinks tasted horrible; fluctuated between hyper-vigilance, dissociation, and mental fog -- very hard to feel grounded; worse effects were when gradually backing off dose (under medical supervision) -- almost unbearable anxiety and agitation; impaired judgment. Friend also backing off same dose experienced anxiety, paranoia, then committed suicide. | I would not recommend Topamax to anyone before ruling out predisposition to anxiety or mood disorder of any kind. The drug is insidious. It can alter the sense of self, and of reality. I honestly have no idea who I was during the years I took this medication. Now that I'm free of this or any other drug, I realize most of the anxiety I experienced was probably caused by the drug itself. I feel better than ever. I strongly recommend trying meditation, environmental adjustments, avoiding stressors, etc. -- anything natural before resorting to a mood-altering medication. Although I started feeling like myself within months of stopping this drug, it's taken 4 years for my fingernails to become strong once again, and I'm still dealing with orthopedic frailties. | F | 60 | 5 years 800 mg 2X day | 10/29/2012 | 1 | Migraines | I'm positive it's Topamax that causes the twitching because I was on higher doses, then lowered down to 25mg 2X a day and the twitching stopped. Recently I was upped back to 50mg 2X a day when my migraines returned since I have now completed a migraine study that I was on for a year. Just WAIT until the new drug Levadex is released to the public! I was one of the LUCKY people on the study for a year. It's an inhaled drug like an asthma inhaler with the only side effects that it tastes funny and you just rinse your mouth out after you inhale the puffer. Get this, it kicked 99% of my headaches and migraines in about 10 to 15 minutes! Yup, I am NOT kidding! I am DYING now that I can't have the inhaler until the FDA releases the medicine to the public. It's been about a month now. Give it about two years for it to hit the pharmacy at least. I have tried EVERY drug out there and there is nothing like this! NOTHING short of a shot, and torodol shots don't work as well as this inha | I say feed this drug to the dirty pigeons! | F | 47 | 5 years 50mg 2X day | 2/5/2010 | 1 | migraine headaches | Topamax was initially a life saving drug for me. I suffered with cluster migraine headaches and was losing my job. Started out taking 25 mg twice a day and ended taking max dosage 400mg daily. I experienced tingling in my hands and feet, ringing in my ears (that now won't go away), gastroentestinal problems, lost 100lbs in one year, forgetfulness, inability to concentrate, lightheaded, sleeplessnes and so many other things! | I think this medication should be band from the market. My life changed so dramatically. It took me three months to wean off this medication. Ten months later and I have gained 50lbs, ringing in ears continues, circulation problems in legs and hands, continued gastroinstestinal problems. Now taking vitamin B-2 400mg daily and B-6 200mg daily. Migraines dissapated but now I was recently diagnosed with chiari malformation. Need help. | F | 45 | 5 years | 10/20/2008 | 5 | meneires diease | tingley hands and word thought loss | my ringing in the ears is caused by menieres diease. Added with migraines. Alot of people get miss diagnosed.please check into it if you also have dizzy moments | F | 35 | 4 years | 2/22/2007 | 5 | migranes | tingly sensation, extremly thirsy,forgetfull, lose of words, 'dumbness' and the constant 'whats that word?' feeling | i will continue to take this because i would rather have the side effects then the horriable migranes. when i forget to take the med or i skip to see if i still need it, i get a horriable migrane, so i deffinitly need this med to function. it has helped me so much. at one point my first doctor wanted to take me off the med and within a week i was in the hospital for a week dealing with the pain of my migranes. | F | 19 | 4 years | 6/12/2007 | 5 | Mood stabilizer, migraines | Occasional word loss, drowsiness | I love this drug. No headache in four years and it helps stabilize my mood with my bipolar meds. The only weird thing is if I forget a dose I have vivid nightmares, so coming off this med may be hard. | F | 41 | 4 years 100 mg | 12/16/2017 | 5 | chronic migraines | numbness and tingling, taste aversions, mild electrolyte changes (according to regular blood work) | Have had migraines as long as I can remember, never knew where one stopped and the next one started. Frequent trips to ER just to treat and be semi-functional. Tried countless drugs and treatments. Started taking Topamax when I was 18, took a while to get the dose right (numbness/tingling would be so bad in my feet I would fall, in my hands so bad I would drop things). Continued to go up and down for the first year until we decided 25mg when I woke up was all I really needed. After 6 months, I was migraine free. Still haven't figured out a consistent treatment for breakthroughs...nothing seems to help when they hit (save for a trip to ER to be knocked out...otherwise, just an assortment of OTC drugs I call "the cocktail" to make it tolerable until I can sleep it off). Have had the dosage steadily increased every 18-ish months to counter the tolerance my body develops to it. It's definitely been my life saver. I wouldn't be functioning without it. | F | 23 | 4 years 50 mg 2X day | 4/20/2010 | 5 | chronic migraines | Tingling in fingers and toes at first a lot, now only on occasion. I still sometimes have trouble doing simple math in my head. Word-finding problems on occasion. Weight loss that evened off. | From the time I was 11 I had migraines everyday, all day, nonstop. Topamax saved me from a life of living in the dark. | F | 24 | 4 years 250 1X day | 11/12/2011 | 5 | Migraines | For a few months at the beginning, tingling fingers and feet and I still can't enjoy soda (a good thing). I lost approx 15 lbs (also a good thing). | Fabulous drug. I started getting migraines at age 47 (Dad had them) and had 5 - 6 per month. Each migraine lasted a day and was awful. I travelled a lot for work and had to miss flights, stay in hotels. Once I was on my own at home with my younger child and couldn't even manage to get to the phone to say I couldn't bring him into school. I haven't had a full blown migraine since I started taking Topamax. I still get quite a few headaches including what I consider would otherwise have been migraines, but which are now dampened to a very manageable level now. I just take Rx strength ibuprofen and I'm pretty much OK. Previously I found no medication whatsoever that even started to make a dent in the migraine pain and related issues. | F | 51 | 4 years 50 MG 2X day | 11/19/2011 | 5 | Epilepsy | tingling, numbness, some slight slurring of speech, memory loss, weight loss, exhaustion, loss of libido(?) | I'm lucky, despite having similar side effects that everyone else has, they don't bother me much and I have very few issues that are problematic. I used to take Tegretol for years, but that started changing its effect. Then my doctor switched me to Topomax. I have the tingling and numbness, and have some slurring of speech, but it's not noticeable, really, just sounds like average person messing up. I do have trouble remembering things, which sucks because I feel dumber than I know I am. I lost weight, but was also trying to-- about 30 pounds, whereas with Lamictal (I took that for awhile and hated it) I gained the 30 and couldn't get rid of it no matter what. Topomax has completely done away with my anxiety, panic attacks, auras, EVERYTHING. My period has become irregular lately; I'm 41 and I am wondering if I'm perimenopausal or if it has anything to do with the Topomax. I definitely have less of a libido in the last year or so-- may be just my age. | F | 41 | 4 years 100 2X day | 10/22/2011 | 5 | migraines | tingling in my face especially the tip of the nose (temporary) metalic taste | I had a had a very bad car accident and that is when the migraines started also had some emotional problems as a result of the accident, I take 100 mg in the morning and 100mg at night. I do have problems if I don't consistently take at the same time everyday. I went from severe migraines 6 days a week to 1 or none in a month. I for sure got my life back with Topamax. | F | 25 | 4 years | 11/17/2005 | 5 | anxiety after hysterectomy | Tingling, weight loss, hair breakage, memory challenges and sentence forming issues. | LISTEN UP TOPAMAX USERS. If this medicine is helping you but the side effects are rough, here is some help. For things such as memory loss and speech issues, you have to drink plenty of water and take vitamins...that helps a lot. Things like tingling go away after a while. If taken at night it relaxes you and helps you sleep for those with insomnia issues; and don't be afraid to ask for something to help you sleep as this can be an issues with age because the body producing less selenium. The one side effect that you are not always warned about that feels really debilitating is the hair loss and the bowel blocking constipation. For the hair loss especially for women in menopause take niacin..add it to your vitamin regiment regularly. It will help with thinning, hair loss is certain spots and breakage. For the constipation which can stop normal life activity as you currently know it, you have to take two things if it is severe for you...regular laxatives do not help..you need something stronger. Here's what I found that works for me...Reneu from FirstFitness. Go to anewu2stay.firstfitness.com. Then go to shop now-herbal cleansing and you will see where you can order Reneu. This is the only thing that helped me and I also take a generic (equate brand) stool softener as well. Topamax is no joke when it comes to constipation and most of us don't drink the daily recommended dosage of water anyway. LISTEN UP TOPAMAX USERS. If this medicine is helping you but the side e | F | 48 | 4 years 100mg 2X day | 7/12/2012 | 5 | Seizures and migranes | I had it all. But really tired of reading post of people complaining about this awesome drug. Side effects only last 90 days after you up a dosage. People quit to fast. This medicine took away my seizures and migraines, I had a healthy baby girl taking it.. And breast feeding on it. At first tingling in hands feet,paranoia,mood swings, thought people were breaking in my house, couldnt sleep,soda tasted gross,heart palpatations,bad taste in mouth,loss of appetite once I hit 100 mg,lost 40 pounds, loss memory , sometimes couldnt remember where home was, loss words and kidney stones. Low immune system causes weird sickness too. At first this is all a nightmare, I even hillucenated when my dose was too high. I'm just a normal girl .i was freaked out. But you get through it and it goes away. No more side effects ecept some kidney stones and a few lost words are well worth zero headaches and zero seizures and weight loss. Many people wonder why they gain once there off the medicine. Well,topamax makes its own matabolism in your body so once you start brvareful stopping. You might have problems. I would just continue on a low does. Lamictal is great second choice. No side effect and aids in weight loss too. I took this as well. Awesome drug. | F | 33 | 4 years 200mg | 12/7/2011 |