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 Date added. 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 |
| 3 | weight gain due to bipolar meds | Not much weight loss, however I never gained weight while taking it. BUT - after slowly tapering off to zero - not long after my short term memory could be compared to that of a goldfish. | Is it the Topamax - or lack of it - that is causing this memory loss and frustration? | F | 41 | 1.5 years two 25 MG 2X day | 5/7/2012 | 4 | Migraines | Occasional loss of appetite, pins and needles in feet and hands, fatigue, rapid heart rate (over 100 beats per/min), when inceasing my dose it would make me feel sick. | It did help with my migraines, I used to have a migraine like every day and now I'm down to 2 to none a month. As for the side effects I take like four other medications so you never know what side effect is from what exactly, I just started getting those side effects when I started this medication. | F | 18 | 2 years 125 1X day | 5/2/2012 | 3 | Mood stabilizer / weight management | Skin itching, pins/needles feeling in feet, brief periods of lack of appetite (nothing like I had hoped for) | I was very nervous about taking this medicine due to the "dopamax" effect that is so commonly reported. However, I was mostly interested in in for the wight loss side effect. That being said, I am not overweight... and most people would think it was absurd for me to be taking it for that reason. I'm 5'7" 140 lbs. So far, no weight loss. Needless to say I am disappointed, but I haven't reached my therapeutic dose so there may still be hope. Anyway... I am also taking it because I am possibly showing symptoms of bipolar disorder. None of the side effects have been bad at all really. The most noticeable is the pins/needles in my feet. I suppose it should be noted that I am also taking 450 mg Wellbutrin. | F | 22 | 3 weeks 25-75mg 1X day | 4/28/2012 | 5 | Mood Stabiliser and Alcoholism | A bit tired first couple of days, tingly hands and feet but this go away if I take grapeseed extract. I also recommend you take a very good multivitamin with this as Topamax is a strong drug that can deplete your body from some nutrients. | Topamax has absolutely saved my life. After 14 years of not having any help from all the different pills I tried Topamax finally lifted my depression and took away my gnawing alcohol cravings. I have more energy, I wake up with a song in my heart. I feel normal. To anyone reading this that has an alcohol problem I recommend http://www.mywayout.org where they explain how you can ask your doctor to RX Topamax to help you wean off alcohol. Also if you are like me and you are soft spectrum bipolar/treatment resistant depressive (not sure which one it is) and nothing else work, please don't let the other people's side effects scare you off Topamax. I have none of these and feel great. I thank God every day for finally giving me something that helps me feel better. | F | 32 | 60 days 50MG 1X day | 4/27/2012 | 1 | Mood Stabilizer, Headaches, Weight | Worsened Anxiety, Outbursts, Agitiation, Overall Weird Feeling, Dizzy, Blurred Vision | I have GAD and PTSD. My Psych Dr started these Tues and I took my last dose last night. I left a message today for him to verify that I can come off without any problems, but this medicine makes me feel WEIRD!! I have a history of not being able to tolerate SSRI's. Wellbutrin, Celexa, and Zoloft ALL worsened my anxiety and made me feel irritable and aggitated but this medicine by far, was the worst! The others, at least, took a little while longer to cause similar symptoms. I am on xanax .5mg twice a day and have been for 2 years and still barely sleep. I know I'm developing a tolerence but don't want to become more dependent and up the dosage. If you have similar experiences please respond! I feel hopeless!!! | F | 34 | 3 days 50mg 1X day | 4/27/2012 | 4 | Mood disorder, Headaches, Bulimia | Brittle/dry hair, loss of appetite | I've been on topamax for awhile now. I don't really have terrible side effects like other people; what I do hate is that my once super thick, shiny hair is now dry and straw-like. I've lost some of my hair, but it's not that noticeable. | F | 19 | 1.3 years 100mg 1X day | 4/25/2012 | 4 | Migraine preventative | Constipation, memory loss, insomnia | The Topamax I take for migraine preventative has helped tremendously. I have much fewer migraines. When I do feel one coming on, I simply take my regular migraine medication, which is Zomig. I have tried a higher dose and get the tingling in my feet and legs. I have never had any weight loss with it, which I have seen in others, but I also have a thyroid problem. Overall, Topamax has helped change my life in a positive manner. I do have a prolonged QT interval on EKG, which I did not have prior, but I am on so much medication, it would be difficult to pin down which one is actually causing it. I rated Topamax a 4 because it is short acting, as if I miss a dose, I will already get a headache. | F | 40 | 4 years 100 MG 1X day | 4/24/2012 | 3 | Mood Stabilizer, Depression | Insomnia, word loss, constipation, comatose-like-state, loss of hair, aged skin, bruising, gastritis, bouts of diarrhea, intermittent twitching under left eye, mental processes slowed | Started Topamax at 47 with other meds (Effexor 300 mg, Dextroamphetamine 30 mg)- 300 mgs – 1 pill/a.m. & 2 pills/p.m. Sfx (eg. word loss, constipation) minimal until abt 57, [finished menopause]. Symp suddenly ↑ in # & intensity (see sfx box). Saw docs, but all, incl shrink, said I was getting older. Thyroid/hormone tested. Blood & saliva = neg, excp my ratio of testos to estr was off. Forced to quit job, & spent days in bed, unable to move. Due to ↑ insomnia, given Temazepan (30 mgs). By 2011, sleep ↓, & presc Trazodone to add to Tmzpn, 150 mgs/night. Soon ↓ to 50 mgs/night. Now taking 25 mgs/night. As docs seemed uncurious, began researching causes. Found this site & read of others in same boat. Found good psychotherapeutic help. End of 2011, I decided had to get off Top. Began ↓ by 25 mgs/2-3 wks using pill-cutter. Temp ↑ Dex by 15 mgs. Took last Top Apr 16 2012 & stopped extra Dex. Big difference! Energy still low but most days. No longer feel drugged, able to leave apt for short distances & I’m more lively. Hope hair regrows. Still stomach problems [not as bad, hoping will resolve. Wonder if age or menopausal state changed body’s ability to handle meds –producing sfx. Wish docs had been more knowledgeable of sfx, so would not have had to suffer so long for no reason. | F | 61 | 13 years 300 MG 1X O | 4/21/2012 | 2 | Borderline Personality Disorder | Extreme weight loss (went from 180lbs to 105lbs and I am 5'8")), mood swings, suicidal thoughts, crying spells, extreme rage, restless feeling inside | My incompetent ex-psychiatrist prescribed me Topomax after I gained quite a bit of weight on Trileptal. He failed to warn me or my family that there is a risk of adverse effects in this and all psychiatric medication. I have BPD and always had horrible mood swings/rage/anxiety, but instead of helping with any of my symptoms, the Topomax worsened them. I would wake up sobbing for no reason, would start thinking suicide was a logical option, severe anxiety that I attempted to quell with drinking and INSANE weight loss. You just can't eat. I apparently was high risk for an eating disorder and the Topomax triggered Anorexia that I have been battling for years. Instead of switching the meds, my psych assumed the side effects of the drug were symptoms of my mental illness and upped my dosage which in turn made things worse and he would up them more. I finally figured it out after doing some reading and stopped it all together. Of course I still have BPD symptoms (depression, anxiety, fear of abandonment, etc.), but what the psych had assumed were symptoms of the BPD all went away with the Topomax. I've since dealt with my BPD in therapy and refuse medication and am a perfectly healthy, functioning adult. Topomax may help some but it also may cause the opposite effect! If you show any early signs of an eating disorder or already suffer from one: STAY AWAY. This shit made me think I was legitimately insane for four years! | F | 23 | 4 years 300 2X day | 4/13/2012 | 3 | Severe Migraine | Tingling in fingers, feet and around mouth. Some Constipation. A bit of Insomnia. Some weight loss and a little loss of appetite. | Developed severe migraine after discovery of two cerebral aneurysms (one of which has since been coil embolized) the topiramate or topamax has greatly helped with the pain although not taken it away completely. The side effects i've had so far I can in all honesty live with as they pale in comparison with the pain of the migraine. | F | 42 | 6 weeks 25mg 4X day | 4/12/2012 | 4 | cyclothymia | i was taking it along with paxil to treat my anxiety and hypomania,topamax helped me but after a week there is too much drowsiness,dizzines and sleepy | M | 19 | 1 weeks 25mg half | 4/11/2012 | 4 | migraine prevention | initially: hands/fingers tingling... after a few weeks: noticed forgetfulness, confusion, memory issues | The cognitive changes were, for me, drastic. I lost the ability to punctuate sentences freely and mixed up words like there/their and here/hear... I wrote some letters backwards when I was writing fast... I forgot how to use the ATM machine. Drove up to it, thought the keypad was "missing"... drove around to the other ATM and thought the same thing of the other ATM... had to get an assistant to come help me use it.. | F | 32 | 7 months 75 1X day | 4/9/2012 | 2 | Neuropathy | Heart arrhythmia (atrial fib) which has never gone away; hallucinations that were horrible, mostly about suffocation! | I was given this drug after spinal cord surgery (although none of my doctors in the hospital would admit to prescribing it later) and finally the heart issue became so apparent and bad I was taken off it abruptly after about 10 days. Hallucinations were quite upsetting. I also had trouble breathing shortly after each dose. | F | 64 | 10 days 50 mg 1X day | 4/4/2012 | 4 | epilepsy & migraines | Kidney stones ,take stone free vitamin | F | 56 | 10 years 500 mg | 4/2/2012 | 1 | Bi polar | I couldn't think stright, I could not finnish my sentances or think of words I wanted to say, I almost failed my classes in school. My hair fell out and I felt sick to my stomach all day long | Don't take it!! | F | 28 | 2 months 1X day | 4/2/2012 | 1 | Migranes | Dizzyness, Fatigue, Tigglyness, Suicidle Thoughts, Moode Swings, Irritability, etc | STAY AWAY! None stop problems right from the start. You will be amazed at how your headaches go away at the start, but dont be fooled the side effects dont go away and only get worse over time. My Dr. tolled me my minor side effects at the start such as tingly hands, fatigue during the day, and slowness would subside, yes they did. But what the dr. did not tell me was the many other long terms side effects that would come after that. It has taken me years to realize that my symptoms of; irritability, frequent chest pain, abdominal pain, mood swings, depression, suicidle thoughts, confusion, slow thinking, insomnia, urinary discharge are ALL a result of this medication. Its really unfourtunate that this med has all these side effects as it does rid the migranes temporarily, but its not worth all the extra mental, emotional and physical pain. Coming off it now for good, feel wayyyyyy better, and will deal with my headaches natually. | F | 4 years 125 1X day | 4/1/2012 | 5 | Bipolar Disorder | Tingling in feet (painful but went away - returned only when dose increased), forgetting specific words ("dopamax" moments), memory issues (went away), very minor sexual side effects (went away), weight loss (now maintained) loss of appetite, diarrhea | I was put on Topamax for my manic issues associated with my Bipolar disorder after Abilify failed for me. (Oh man, did that epically fail for me, AND make me balloon up!) When I first started it, I dropped weight like bricks! The side effects were very strange, however, I felt it was worth it to wait it out to try to find something to help me. My memory issues aren't really a bother because I also have neurological problems that cause the same problem, so I can't even say that it really from the medication. My "dopamax" moments only occur within two hours after taking my dose now. And yes, it IS 300mg once a day. This has been my miracle drug. The only problem I HAD was hair loss, which I found was from not eating enough. I added Selenium to my vitamins and problem solved. Now, I have a problem with constant diarrhea. This, too, is from only eating one solid meal a day. I may be physically hungry, just not mentally hungry. So now I have a timer that goes off to make sure I eat solid food at certain times during the day. | F | 30 | 1.5 years 300 1X day | 3/28/2012 | 2 | Migraines | Hallucinations , trouble seeping , tingling in feet , trouble counting | I stopped taking meds because the memory loss got worse as I continued taking the medicine and I have a baby I can't be forgetting the last time I fed my child or how much formula I have put in his feeding bag. My god mother has experience with this drug nd she says the side effects pass but Im not willing to stick it out and hope they do | F | 9 | 9 days 25mg 1X day | 3/17/2012 | 5 | Weight Loss to Counteract Seroquel | Mild sleepiness,tingling in hands,foggy feeling,no appetite,taste disturbances,dry mouth | F | 27 | 7 days 25mg | 3/16/2012 | 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 |