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 | Chronic Vertigo | Tingling in legs, calf cramps "charlie horse", mental cloudiness, clumsiness, bad taste in mouth, mood swings, irritability, suicidal thoughts after 3 weeks | At first I was happy that is stopped the vertigo completely. Unfortunately, the side effects became more unsettling than the vertigo. I can handle the tingling and bad taste in my mouth, the clumsiness was not good since I already have a balance disorder, but when I began to feel depressed and suicidal I really had no choice but to stop the Topamax. | F | 28 | 3 weeks | 8/13/2006 | 2 | migraines/headaches | ANXIETY ATTACKS & CRYING ALLOT never felt like this before.. | The most diffecult side effect is the crazy anxiety feelings like im losing my mind and i need to crawl out of my own skin and run but there is noplace to get away from the feelings so ya and im a crying mess and im only on 25mg lol gota get off this stuff! asap! im only 20 yet this med makes me feel like im ganna die soon so freakn wierd! i just want my life back.. didnt work for me but it does work for some everyone is different! goodluck | F | 20 | 3 weeks | 6/1/2009 | 2 | migrainous vertigo | Pins and needles, dry mouth, sore tongue, constant nausea, dizzy spells, minor headaches, tearfulness, severe depression | Did not agree with me sadly. Started on 25mg for a week then up to 2 x 25mg for 2 weeks. After the first 2-3 days I began to feel quite down/sad/crying with a lot of day time and night nausea. Over the next 10 days I began to feel far worse - hopelessness, remoteness, complete fatigue, flu-like feelings. Developed a MASSIVE tongue ulcer with sore, dry mouth and gums despite drinking gallons of water. Upset stomach, foggy head. And suddenly plummeted into acute depression. Doctor recommended I wean off as he had never seem me so ill. Took a week to come off it and three weeks later still have dry mouth, poor sleep, upset stomach and now need dental treatment for gum problems caused, dentist thinks, by the medication. A very frighteining experience..particularly the black dog of depression. | F | 47 | 3 weeks | 1/29/2008 | 2 | chronic migraines | confusion, trouble with word usage, weight loss, metalic taste in mouth, diarrhea, twitching in eye & cheek, hair loss, memory loss, fatigue, problems with comprehension & attention | I was prescribed 50 mg of Topamax 2x daily with the goal of increasing to 100 mg, 2x daily. I have suffered from migraines since the age of 6, and was placed on Topamax as a "last resort" since my migraines had increased in frequency (daily migraines.) The Topamax DID stop the migraines. That part was wonderful. The weight loss was also nice. However, I experienced almost every possible side effect of the drug. I am a college professor and found that I could not recall words during lectures, could not respond to students' questions (they had to repeat their questions 2 or 3 times before I comprehended), and essentially felt like a zombie walking through life. I also experienced extreme fatigue, twitching in my left eye and cheek, hair loss, diarrhea, and of course memory loss. I am a big soda drinker, but found all sodas (and other liquids in general) to taste like metal. I had no interest in food, and found all foods to be tasteless. It was rather scary to be in a confused "cloud" at all times, so I decided to stop taking Topamax and treat the migraines daily instead. I have taken many, many drugs over the years to treat my migraines, and have found Relpax to be the most helpful. (I take 40-80mg. when a migraine sets in.) Although Topamax worked beautifully to control my migraines, I simply could not function in my life or profession without my full cognitive abilities. It was worth the try! | F | 32 | 3 weeks | 9/27/2009 | 1 | bipolar 2 | Worsened my depression considerably. Increased irritability, angry outbursts, negative obsessive thoughts. | It took less than 2 weeks for my symptoms to get really awful. I tried to stick it out for 2 more, and only made it 1 before I threw the bottle away. | F | 32 | 3 weeks | 11/19/2009 | 1 | Occipital seizure | Couldn't pee, severe mental slowness, severe lightheaded, freezing cold chills, numbness in toes intermittently, forgetful, burning vag tissues, hands tingling, dizziness, sleepiness, severe insomnia | i will never take it again! | F | 59 | 3 weeks 25 mg 1X day | 1/14/2015 | 1 | Migraine and epilepsy | Twitching of muscles, bodyaches numbness, tingling, sick, depressed | Starting taking this medication because of migraines seizures, first 7 days felt kinda out of my body ,hard to sleep loss of appetite.Then on second week dr. Wanted me to update dose to 2xday and by week 3 I was hardly able to walk ,felt like I was Carrying sand bags on me my muscles was twitching uncontrollable, I would sleep for hours upon hours and cry for no reason my feet would fall asleep when walking but my heels would be numb, my fingers would draw up and tingle my muscles would be so sore .I was have seizures in my sleep,my eye sight is wierd I feel like I have presure in my eyes unable to focus and when I can it's takes for ever ,my words want to come out but I am having trouble speaking as well.I am now trying to come off the medication with terriable withdraws .my head shakes for no reason my balance is terriable I have to have assistance walking. I called my Nero dr and told him about all this 2 times and he said to stay on it .and finally I went to er and that dr there said get off it .BAD BAD BAD MED .this is day 2 I have been with out it and I and on 25 mg vistreal and it seems to be helping me feel normal again hope I will get back to myself soon .I am glad that I listen to my husband and went to dr. This medication does ur body harm and it messes with ur head as well .I would not recommend to anyone | F | 42 | 3 weeks 50mg | 6/7/2016 | 1 | My Dr put me on it to help me loose weight it was the worse decision I ever made. I have had major mood swings (I currently take Prozac and have taken it for years and have done well on it) major major depression got mad easily had major pressure in my head could feel my heart beating in my head. Tingling in my feet and hands. It made me very tired all the time. I decided to take myself off of it which I do not recommend to anyone without a Dr advice the withdraw side affects are much worse then I would have imagined. | Stay as far away from this drug as you can. | F | 45 | 3 weeks 300 mg | 6/19/2016 | 1 | Migraine preventative | It turned me into a paranoid schizophrenic | My pain management doctor prescribed this in hopes it would reduce the number of migraines I was getting. I hadn't taken it for more than a week when I began to feel strange "in the head". This drug had me cowering in the corner, afraid someone was coming into my home. I would beg my husband not to leave for work because being alone began to terrify me. I felt detached from the world around me and everything was unreal. When I was forced to go out to buy groceries, I quickly threw items into the cart as having people around me caused great anxiety. All the while I felt like I was walking 2 feet above the floor. Upon getting home I would go to bed and literally hide under the covers until my husband came home. Often he would find me cowering in the corner of the room. It took me a while to realize it was the Topamax. I immediately stopped it and within two weeks I was back to my normal self but it was one of the worst experiences ever. Apparently the drug altered the neurotransmitters in my brain, causing such a horrible reaction. The only good to come of it was that I did gain a new understanding of what for many people is a permanent and frightening mental illness. Schizophrenia is no joke and nothing to make fun of. | F | 66 | 3 weeks 50 MG 2X day | 3/19/2016 | 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 | migraines | severe stomach problems- I began vomiting after the first couple of days, couldn't keep anything down. It was not really nausea, more of severe stomach pain. I ended up in the hospital. | F | 35 | 3 weeks | 1/30/2009 | 1 | migraine prevention | by week 3 having lot of sadness and irritability. Felt uncomfortable emotionally. | F | 37 | 3 weeks 25 1X day | 8/21/2023 | 1 | Migraine Pervention | Tingling of hands and feet, vision problems, extreme anxiety, agitation, intrusive thoughts of harm, chest pain, sweaty hands. Even after two years of being off medication is still experiencing all symptoms except tingling of hands and feet and vision problems. | This should not be prescribed to someone that has underlying anxiety and OCD. My son's life has been ruined. Horrible for a mother to witness her son with these life altering symptoms that no one can fix. | M | 25 | 3 weeks 25 1X day | 8/30/2023 | 1 | Migraines | Loss of tactile sensation and ability to feel painful stimuli in fingers/feet, all over numbness/tingling (btw the 1st side-effect I noted was the tingling in my toes and fingers, triggered arthritis like joint pains and muscle pains, muscle stiffness, inability to sweat,balance/coordination/reflex problems(I was unable to drive after about 10 days on the medicine), no decrease in # of migraines ( headaches I was having on the medicine stopped after I discontinued Topamax), extreme shortness of breath after only walking 20 or so yards (asthma inhaler didn't help to relieve it), extreme fatigue, increased blood pressure, heart rate increased at times, weakness in muscles of arms,fingers and legs/feet, chest pain, eye ball pain and blurred vision, difficulty focusing, extreme depression/labile affect, difficulties with speech, nausea almost constant (took promethazine for controlling the nausea), increased thirst, back pain, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, unable to work or drive du | Perhaps this drug helps some people a great deal for seizures, but for myself it had made me feel quite ill and jeopardized my ability to work in my field which requires coordination and touch sensitivity in my hands/fingers to do well. The vision problems snuck up on me in the 3rd week. I was never able to get up to the 3rd week dose levels--- the side effects were really bad and too numerous to continue on that medicine. The side effects I was having actually triggered daily migraines (as I got pretty stressed out as I lost the ability to feel hot/cold, pain, textures. And the vision problems were the last straw, that was what told me this medicine was making me sicker. People who feel the often reported tingling/numbness need to be careful not to end up getting burned by hot water and hot items (like heating pads)--- the inability to feel hot and cold (as well as pain) really snuck up on me. I wish my doctor knew more about the side effects of this medicine as I wonder now what more | F | 43 | 3 weeks | 1/30/2006 | 1 | Migraines | Extreme fatigue, headache, loss of appetite, burning in chest and throat. | F | 41 | 3 weeks 50mg | 5/20/2013 | 1 | Complex Migraines and Seizures | Tingling hands, feet, and face. Horrible abdominal cramping. Pain in back and neck. Headaches. Unbelievable anxiety and some panic attacks. GI problems. Loss of appetite and lost 12 pounds already. Insomnia and nightmares | F | 37 | 3 weeks 50mg twice | 3/13/2012 | 1 | migraine | severe peripheral neuropathy (tingling n numbness of the extremities), loss of appetite, twitching of facial muscles, deviation of mouth to one side ( sounds like facial nerve palsy), abnormal movement of eyeball which caused me to have some problem in my vision, loss of appetite, severe depression, suicidal thoughts, low mood, diarrhoea, decreased sweating. However the symptoms went off after few days stopping the drug. | -it did not help my migraine much, and the side effects were horrible... - if any of u guys are experiencing abnormal symptoms pls consult ur doctor n do stop the drug, my neurologist told me that the muscle twitching is not drug related, but then again there is always variation n diff people can present with diff symptoms | F | 25 | 3 weeks 25mg 2X day | 6/5/2011 | 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 day | 2/14/2012 | 1 | migraines | Tingling and numbness in extremities and face, extreme disorientation and mood swings, unpredictable dizziness, severe and sudden depression, sense of unreality, fatigue and drowsiness that worsened as dosage increased. | It definitely prevented two migraine attacks, but I also had two others even while on the drug. I followed the dosage instructions exactly. | F | 39 | 3 weeks 50 2X day | 8/4/2010 | 1 | Epilepsy | Hyperactivity, weakness in legs during running (I've been running races at least three miles a day five days a week for the last two years), dazed, empty-headed, forgetful, totally high, and lack of concentration | I've had seizures since I was 14, but I wasn't diagnosed until last October when I was I was kicked out of the military for having what I called "blackouts", which I now know to be seizures, I have generalized and focal seizures. This is my fourth seizure drug experience (I've also tried Keppra, Tegretol, and Lamictal), and for me, it was the worst, and that being said, Lamictal MADE me bipolar. But Topamax is taking away my ability to run, which means its taking away my ability to relieve stress, so I really, really hate being on it. That paired with constantly being high and spaced out and being a college student who can no longer focus in class in the final crucial weeks of the semester, I'd rather have seizures again than stay on this drug. | F | 19 | 3 weeks 75 Mg 2X day | 4/10/2010 |