TOPAMAX Reviews (TOPIRAMATE)

Average Rating: 3.0 (1824 Ratings)

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 ANTICONVULSANTS

 Type: Rx Drug

  

TOPAMAX  (TOPIRAMATE):  Topiramate is used alone or with other medications to prevent and control seizures (epilepsy). This medication is also used to prevent migraine headaches and decrease how often you get them. Topiramate will not treat a migraine headache once it occurs. If you get a migraine headache, treat it as directed by your doctor (such as by taking pain medication, lying down in a dark room). Topiramate is known as an anticonvulsant or antiepileptic drug.   FDA Approval Date: 1996-12-24 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

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Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR TOPAMAXCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 4  Migraine Tingling in hands and feet, memory loss, "what's the word for...", hair loss, weight loss, taste change I'm just starting topamax for the 2nd time. I was on it for about 18 months before, everything was going fine, my migraines were down from 12-15 days a month to 2-5 but I suffer from anxiety/depression as well. The doctor decided that adding wellbutrin to the mix would help the migraines as well as the anxiety. It actually spiral downwards - I dropped about 20 lbs in 3 weeks and I was sleeping 20+ hours a day. When I was awake I was like a tiger pacing in its cage. I was a wreck. I saw another doctor and insisted they take me off the wellbutrin and replace it with ... see, forgot the name, anyway something I'd had good results with before. I also decided to go off topamax but after a year I've decided that was a mistake. Not only does topamax help my migraines it helps my cravings for food and alcohol (only drink a martini or two a week but I've only had 1 in 3 weeks of restarting topamax, didn't drink at all last time). I'm sorry to hear of so many bad stories with topamax, I think it must be that our bodies process these meds differently and we each have unique problems. Totally weird. Hope you all find something that helps as well as topamax helps me, I would be in the depths of despair with out it. F 43 18 months
100 1X day
2/24/2011
 2  Occular Migraines At first I experienced a brief change in personality but that subsided. Dark thoughts that too subsided by about week two. Tingling in fingertips, feet and lips. Dry burning eyes. Occasionally sharp stabbing pain on the bottoms of my feet. Can no longer spell words. Feeling of "dumbing down" Decrease in food cravings. Wine no longer tastes good. :-( Less moody. No more occular migraines which were causing daily dizzy spells. Rare side effect terrible bladder burning and urinary bleeding. My neurologist perscibed topamax for occular migraines which were making me terribly dizzy every day. I would have multiple attacks. He said there were no side effects other than dry eyes and mouth. What a bunch of crap! This medicine, though effective, is loaded with side effects. And if my post has spelling errors well there you go...The worst problem for most people is this drugs' "dumbing" effect. You just can't function like you used to. I am disheartened because for all these irratating problems at least I felt as if I had my life back. I could get out and drive my husband and I could plan trips again knowing I wasn't going to get another dizzy spell. But now I'm having this rare side effect with my urinary tract. The pain is agonizing. What's worse is neither the neurologist or my regular Dr even know about it. They tried to tell me my condition wasn't related to the drug. Not according to the Mayo Clinic, apparently it's rare but it's serious. I had to look it up myself to find out! Makes you wonder about the people perscribing these pills doesnt it? Know the facts before you get on this drug; and if you have a lot of pain anywhere you never had before it's the drug. Believe me. F 44 60 days
100 mg 1X day
2/24/2011
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 5  migraine initially had mild tingling in hands and feet, which went away after the first year. I still have some word recall problems and occasional brain fog. I had severe migraines, up to 3 or 4 per week. I was facing disability because they were interfering with my ability to work. Topamax was a lifesaver. I was willing to put up with the word recall problems and mild brain fog because I could still function much better with that than I could with severe migraines that made me unable to do anything for days at a time. I have been able to compensate for the word recall problems and brain fog that comes and goes. I have a full-time professional position and am completing a doctoral degree. Some people absolutely cannot tolerate topamax and don't adjust to it. For me, I am grateful I was able to get through the initial weeks of adjustment without significant difficulty and be almost migraine free for the last 8 years. F 45 8 years
100 mg 1X day
2/23/2011
 2  Migraines Hair Loss, Exhaustion/Fatigue-the worst ever,Memory Loss,Word Loss,Weight Loss I kept taking this because I was having daily headaches and this really works for migraines. The side effects became WAY too much. I couldn't get off the couch-thought I had chronic fatigue.I would stay away from this after reading other comments-and I lost a lot of hair!! F 46 2 years
100 mg 2X day
2/23/2011
 5  Migraines Brand Name (5 1/2 years) - weight loss, loss of appetite, dry mouth Generic (6 months) - anxiety, depression, exhaustion, significant hair loss, phantom smells (sulphur) When I started taking this medication years ago, it was a miracle for me. I was getting several migraines per week and nothing worked, not even Dilaudid. The pain was so bad and so often that I could not function as a normal person. I started taking the Topamax and after about 6-8 weeks my migraines were down to about once a month and manageable with 800MG of Ibuprofen!! I switched to the generic when it first came out not thinking twice about it. I started to suffer with depression, anxiety, exhaustion, most of my hair fell out, shortness of breath, brain fog and I kept smelling something similair to sulphur. I didn't attribute it to the generic topamax for several months and went to see my Family Doctor several times and had many tests (all came back normal). It wasn't until I had a 6 month follow up with my Neurologist and he suggested that I try the brand name again for awhile and see if I feel better. Within a week I started to feel like a whole new person, like my old self again....and my hair eventually grew back too! F 38 6 years
50 MG 2X day
2/14/2011
 1  Migraines Anxious, nervous, confused, lack of foucs, EMOTIONAL, loss of appetite DO NOT LIKE THIS DRUG. Out of the blue I started getting and was diagnosed w/ Migraines in Sept 2010. My Neurologist put me on this drug in Feb 2011 after other meds didn't work. First 7 days 25mg, next 7 50mg, last 7 75mg. The following day after I increaded to 50mg I felt a huge shift. Totally confused, EXTREMELY anxious, emotional and nervous/shakey most of the day. NO appetite at all. Absolutely afraid to stay at this dosage, let alone increase. Getting off!!! F 41 9 days
25mg 1X day
2/12/2011
 5  Migraines Numbness and tingling in hands and feet, weight loss, taste changes, difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness There are side effects to every drug you take. For me personally, the benefit outweighs the side effect. I have migraines often enough and severe enough that it began to affect my life and my job. It is your responsibility to educate yourself before taking medication. Read the printout the pharmacy gives you! Ask questions at your doctors office! Research online! Don't blame other people when we have so many resources a available! F 33 10 years
200 mg 1X day
2/9/2011
 4  migraines slight dizziness, tingling in hands and feet, loss of appetite, slight stomach problems, trouble finding the right word, trouble memorizing (college student), I usually don't have problems with medicine, so what I'm experiencing is the worst that's ever happened to me. However, it has helped me with my migraines. I'm functional in the afternoons (which is when I had my headaches), and that's a step in the right direction. I've lost a little bit of weight, but I've also been exercising more as well, so I'm not sure what is the cause. This medicine will make you lose your appetite, however. Food isn't as appealing to me anymore, and carbonated sodas taste terrible (I didn't really drink them much to begin with, though). My stomach makes a lot of weird noises, but it doesn't really hurt. I feel slightly dizzy at times, but it is only occasionally and nothing that is really frightening. The numbness in my hands and feet, however, does get old after a while. If I cross my legs or sit on my feet, they get pins and needles in about half the amount of time they used to. I also sleep funny, so I wake up with numb hands and fingers. Being a college student is a little tricky with this as well. I can get through the word association okay because I write for fun on a daily basis, but trouble with memorizing has impacted a few of my grades. I would recommend this medicine, however. ONLY if you know you don't have strong reactions. F 18 2 months
50MG 1X day
2/9/2011
 3  Migraines Occasional tingling in hands and feet at times. Extreme memory loss, inability to find words, spell difficulties, word replacement/confusion, decreased short-term memory, overall cognitive dysfunction. It's hard to know exactly what side effects were caused by Topomax as I was simultaneously going thru treatment for Hep C while raising my dose of Topomax from 100 to 200mg/day. I am currently suffering from depression and have in the past, but that is a risk when on treatment for Hep C as well. The biggest issue for me was the cognitive dysfunction it caused. I went from being a fast talker and one that has a vast vocabulary to having extreme difficulty forming single sentences. Words elude me now, and I constantly use wrong words like using there instead of their which used to be a pet peve of mine. I feel like my brain has been damaged. For this reason I'm reducing my dosage slowly to try to see how low I can go w/o having the migraines come back. I don't want to go back to 20 migraines a month, but this is far worse in my opinion. The least I ever had per month while on the 200mg dose was 10 migraines per mo. I can't take a Zomig to make my brain work again, but I can to get rid of the migraine. I choose the migraines. :-( F 34 2 years
100mg 2X day
2/9/2011
 2  Headaches Severe pins and needle in hands, arms face and mouth. stomach ache and growling, severe fatigue and memory loss. seeing black spots and foggy memory. I didn't like the side effects and couldn't live my daily life taking the drug. now to find something else to take. my dr didnt tell me about the horrible side effects of this medicine. very scary. F 29 3 weeks
50mg 2X day
2/3/2011
 1  migraines The worst of the side effects had to be the facial tic. I didn't think it was from the topamax to begin with but it was. It started on one side then eventually both sides of my face would tic constantly. I was taking 100mg twice a day and when I decided to take my self off the med I got the worst headache I have ever had. I have had migraines for nearly 15 years and never been to the ER with one until coming off the Topamax. I got up at 2 in the morning and took myself to the ER. The next day I called the doc and he said it was likely from the withdrawl and that I would need to start back on a lower dose. I did fer a few weeks but the tic continued until I stopped completely. Other side effects included tingling/pins and needles/numbness, foggy, difficulty thinking remembering things. exhaustion, attention. And very limited help with the migraines. Still had headaches. do not abruptly stop taking this drug, especially if you are on a higher dose. Drop your dose first, that was honest to God the worst headache ever. M 32 60 days
100 2X day
1/27/2011
 1  Severe Headaches Thoughts of self harm, in my case these were flash thoughts but kept occuring once i upped my dose to only 50mg. insomnia, could not eat, confusion, word tripping (after eighth day only) short term memory went AWOL. Bad drug nothing more needs saying, KEEP AWAY AT ALL COSTS. I know some people on here have said it has worked for them, but I personally think you are being lead into a false sense of security and eventually somewhere the walls will come tumbling down. I have read some horrific stories on here from teenagers saying they are scared and feel trapped or even being made to take Topamax against their will and pressured by their parents. My message to you is go and seek legal advice or show your parents this website and of how 80% of people taking this drug have had a bad reaction to it. My empathy goes out to everybody who has suffered from this evil drug. I am a normal male and quiet healthy, not over weight and no emotional problems, I started having chronic headaches in September 2010, its now nearly February 2011 and I have been through every drug or feels like it until my neuro prescribed Topamax. In England you get worked up to full dose I guess in America they just throw you in at the deep end. 25mg once at night for first 7 days, everything seemed ok, then it was 25mg morning and night. I then realised I could not eat, then soon found out I could not sleep either, the next day the same again, but now I was hyper and could not concentrate and was just acting oddly. That night strange things began to happen and I started to have disturbing thoughts about stabbing myself with scissors, I shook it off at first and tried to think about other things and then it crept b M 39 8 days
25mg 1X day
1/26/2011
 1  Migraines severe depression, suicidal thoughts, anorexia relapse, tingling, severe twitching, memory loss, foggy feeling, issues "finding words", tingling, diarrhoea, panic attack, personality changes I took this medication for over a year when I was in sophomore year in highschool. The medication did wonders for my migraines, which I got on a 4-5 a week basis. The side effects, however, have impacted my entire life greatly. My memory of the time on the drug is very foggy, as is my memory of the few years surrounding it. My word recall is horrific. My family has had to learn to read hand gestures to have decent conversations with me. I relapsed into anorexia which I had been many years distanced from and became very depressed and suicidal. I started having night panic attacks and my personality did a flip from bubbly and energetic to very shy and reserved. I've been off of the medication for about 2 years now and my word recall is still bad, my depression and suicidal thoughts are finally leaving, I still twitch often, still get panic attacks and am even more susceptible to my ED than I was before. I don't recommend it at all. I finally got off of it because I didn't even remember to take it each day by the end. F 18 18 months
100mg 2X day
1/25/2011
 1  Migrane Migranes are gone BUT today have decided to STOP. After a year of recurring kidney infections and kidney stones with no explanation I found out today it's due to Topamax. I've also delt with depression, tingling in hands and feel and an overall feeling of just crap. Been sleeping 16+ hours a day. Funny that doc noticed until it involved one of my organs. AT 35 I should not be this sick. Oh forgot to mention the bone loss. I thought this was a fantasic drug. I lost weight and my the barfing, eye sight loosing, numbing, pounding migranes were gone. Not worth it. Now, I'm starting tests to see how much damage has been done to my kidneys. Not worth the relief. F 35 2 years
100 1X day
1/25/2011
 3  Migraine Spaciness along with the sliding sort of feeling - like when the train stops but your brain keep going? Hungover feeling. At higher doses, over 50mg, I was suicidal. I work from home and live in the city so I never have to drive. I mention this because honestly, this drug makes me a bit dumber. I forget what I'm doing, where I'm going and where I've left things. And I stumble over words. And I have lost my attention span, hence the worry about driving. I don't know that I would feel all that safe behind the wheel. I am still getting migraines, but the other things I take after they start seem to work better with the Topamax and if I don't take the Topamax, I am miserable for at least 12-24 hours, so it's doing something. I have recently started Wellbutrin to counteract some of spaciness and help the Topamax, since I can't increase the dosage. I tried 75mg and after 3 days I was suicidal. Now I am trying 25mg Topamax and 200mg Wellbutrin. F 40 4 months
50 mg 2X day
1/24/2011
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 1  for migraines Horrible dry mouth, swollen tongue, depressed feeling, cause my hypoglycemia to be much worse. F 34 9 days
25 mg 1X day
1/23/2011
 1  Chronic Migraine Increasing hair loss, mind confusion,increasing all over body pain similar to fibromyalgia, dizziness and disorientation, extreme tiredness yet unable to get a good continuous amount of sleep. Yeast infections starting after resuming topamax. Increased anxiety and depression even though I'm on anti-depressants. The first time on topamax it was a wonder drug. I went from a migraine every 2-3 days to one every 5 to 6 weeks. When I got a breakthrough migraine, 2 Relpax and a couple of hours sleep and I was good as new. Then the weight loss started & I went from 164lbs to 103, dropping from a size 14 to a size 1. I looked like something from the war camps. My hair fell out in clumps and I lost control of my memory, sinking into deep depression. I was taken off Topamax & the symptoms went away including the weight loss. I got my headaches back. After a 2year break we slowly reintroduced Topamax and my headaches became manageable again. My hair started falling out within a couple of weeks. I began to lose my co-ordination and my memory. Gradually extreme pains took over every part of my body and after having scans, tests & MRI, I was told nothing was wrong. I was also having increasing Yeast infections. This time I lost my appetite, but not weight. Headaches began to reappear more frequently until now they are back every day. I have no energy and of course I'm depressed. So my doctor has started weaning me off Topamax once again, calling it a "nasty" drug. I think I'd rather fight with my non-stop headaches than cope with the side effects. At least now my husband has seen what I've been going through & has a better understanding of the problems with both the drugs and the migraines. He's never had a migraine. I've had them since I was around 6 years old. F 56 2 years
100mg 1X day
1/20/2011
 1  Migranes disorientation, severe loss of appetite, severe diarrhea, dizzy, confused, everyone said I looked like I was lost and completely out of it, chest pain, loss of breath, nausea... should I go on worst feeling OF MY LIFE, felt hungover for a few days after I took it as well. F 28 2 days
25 2X day
1/18/2011
 5   I have read all of your side effects from weight loss to numbness and tingling. yes I had them all. I went on and off this drug 3x but the headaches were so bad that I decided to try it one more time and for some reason this time it was a go. I did taper up slowly to 100mg a day 50 in am and 50 in pm. seems to work for me. still taste difference but it keeps my life going with 3 kids! good luck too all those with headaches and chiari..also helps with my back pain! F 40 2 years
50mg 2X day
1/17/2011
 1  migraines loss of appetite is an understatement, more like complete disconnect with food. I've lost 8lbs, it takes every ounce of energy that I can muster to attempt to consume something. Intense tingling of the hands and feet; loss of memory; confusion; feeling like I'm listing to one side; dizziness; feelings of impending doom, despair, depression I've had a headache for 24 days straight and migraines for 12 years. I'm not sure if the Topamax is working or helping with that but the side effects have caused me to be unable to work so I'm discontinuing use. F 31 10 days
50mg 1X day
1/16/2011

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