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 |
| 5 | Reflex sympathetic dystrophy | memory loss, hair loss, weight loss, attention span loss I seem to slur @ a high dosage, not be able to find what I want to say or be able to find the right word. | This medicine was not a cured but does manage my pain during the winter months. The highest dosage I've ever been on was 1600mg and I weighed in @ 150 lbs and droped to 98lbs. I use it during the fall, winter and spring and come off it during about the end of April and go back on it @ a low dosage starting in September and go up to 200 mg twice a day. If I have a flair up the dosage increases! I come off of it because my mind needs a rest and my hair seems to get week. | F | 22 | 6 years | 10/4/2009 | 1 | migraine prevention | Severe mood swings, agiation, mental impairment | My now 20 year old daughter began taking Topamax a little over 3 years ago. She would take 50mg 2x a day- In June of this year-with her migraines coming more frequently and more painful she was put on 100mg 2x a day. Her moods became uncontrolable.She was married on July 18,2009-her husband was telling us that she would flip her switch-we blamed the stress of -college-job-newlywed-until we finally noticed how bad it had gotten and thought maybe she had some kind of mental issue-maybe a bipolar disorder-I called our insurance Health advocate-I did not know where to begin to get help-one of his first questions was what medications she was on-When I said Topamax- he said that is a mood elevator-lets start with that-me and her father were stunned-we look back and over the past 3 years and had failed to notice the gradual change in our daughter blaming many other things-highschool-boyfriends-adolesence, but were forced to when she started taking 200mg a day. Our daughter is 5'3'' and 104lbs-she was being overdosed. If we would have read the pamphlet and least one time- we would have seen the warnings right on the pamphlet/Mood Swings/Mental Impairment/Agitation/Possible Suicide..Suicide- Thank-God suicide did not happen. She is being weaned from it right now. It will be a 2 week weaning process and I don't know how long before this poision is out of her system. We look forward to seeing our daughter and her old self return. | F | 41 | 3 days | 9/30/2009 | 3 | Migraines | Tingly in my arms and legs. Twitching in right eye. SEVERE joint and muscle PAIN. | In the beginning it did help the headache. But then I too have felt "Stupid" as some call it. Can't remember simple things or names or words to finish a sentence. And for two years I have had muscle and joint pain, had x-rays and tests, they say go home your fine and now read that one of the side effects is joint and musce pain. Called my Neurologist today and he said no one has told him that before!?!? I am now going off the drug and unless your life is unbearable due to the headache I would not recommend this drug. Please email if you like I know more of you have had the same symtoms. So I did give the drug time after 5 years but now can't deal with it anymore. The PAIN is to great. | F | 53 | 5 years | 9/29/2009 | 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 | 2 | Migraines | Nervousness, Anxiety, Abdominal Pain, Weight Loss, Insomnia | Did not work for me | F | 24 | 6 months | 9/26/2009 | 3 | Hemiplegic Migraines - severe | Speech difficulties (wrong words), confusion, weight loss, tingling in hands/feet, visual "tracers", inability to taste or smell, hair loss, spasms in my chest that affect breathing, sleep disorders. | I started taking Topamax (75 mg) six months ago after being diagnosed with complex migraine disorder (hemiplegic migraines with one-sided facial numbness/paralysis and cluster headaches).If you absolutely HAVE to take medication for a migraine disorder like I do, this is the best I have found. My neuro helped me to address some of them with the following tips...Take the medication at night with VITAMINS to minimize the hair loss and nutritional issues. I stopped the vitamins and I can tell you that the side effects came back full force. Multi-vit, folic acid and potassium were suggested by my neuro and pharmacist. Try taking the medication in the pm versus the am. If your side effects are more severe right after taking the meds (like mine are) you will sleep through the worst of it and preserve your job/friends/family life. I started to sleep walk/talk, slur my speech, etc. That doesn't work well at the office. If your hands/feet tingle don't mow the lawn. Don't drink Diet Coke, eat apples or purple jelly beans. Trust me on this. They are the only things that I can taste at all and they taste horrific now. About the weight loss? Tremendous. I shop in the teen section now - at the age of 40 (I'm at a size 2 and dropping). I eat, but it's difficult when everything tastes like...nothing. Maybe the cat and I will share a can of her Purina Pro Plan. Maybe not. | F | 40 | 6 months | 9/24/2009 | 5 | Migraines | right now not many | Here is my WARNING! I have been on Topamax for 2 years when I first started I had the normal tingles but i had those before soem memory lose but I had those with the Migraines, blurry vision had that to with the headaches BUT! in 2/09 I filled my script and when I got it home my pills looked wrong I called the pharmacy and was told that they filled it with a genric, which never told them to but it was cheaper I was told same formula big deal... the doctor had changed my dosage so when I started to have issue's I thought it was because of that. it was not everytime I took this generic drug I was in fact making myself sick. I had intense pain,stomach spasms, severe blurry vision, migraines got worse,my heart would race to the point I thought it was going to jump out of my chest, my hands started to swell, the last straw came when i passed out and had to have 6 stitches in my knee. I talked to my doctor again and this time I told him I was not taking topamax anymore unless he wrote me another prescrition and made sure that it was not filled with generic.. I happened to be in that small percentage of people that can not take generic drugs. Generic drugs are not all the same. so please before you give up on Topamax look at it and make sure it is not generic. | F | 42 | 2 years | 9/23/2009 | 5 | Tingling in my fingers for first few weeks. Loss of Weight. Eye Twitching. Diarrhoea. | Was on 150mg and migraines began to come back so increased to 175mg which I stayed on for about 6 months till the migraines appeared agan so I went to 200mg but this was when I began to experience severe eye twitching and diarrhoea. As soon as I lowered the doseage back to 175mg, the eye twitching stopped and so did the eye twitching and my migraines are very few and far between. I think it is important therefore that a Doctor makes sure to prescribe this according to the weight of the patient as obviously 200mg was enough for a person much heavier than I was. Although I have experienced side affects, I would not stop taking Topamax as it has changed my life. I used to get Migraines at least once a week and swallow numerous pain killers and now I might get a migraine about once every 9 months. | F | 3 years | 9/18/2009 | 3 | Migraines | tingling,numbness in fingers, visual disturbances, bizarre spelling issues, weight loss (10 pounds) | The tingling was weird but tolerable. The visual disturbances were troublesome at night (I no longer could tolerate any glare while driving). Didn't mind the weight loss. Didn't tell doc this bizzarre thing, cause I thought she'd think I was nuts, but was always double typing/writing words in emails, or letters. In other words I would would write this! I thought I was nuts, but swear its from the med, once I stopped, it went away. It did help with my migraines though, suffered for many years with them. Was up to 100mg daily. | F | 33 | 2 years | 9/16/2009 | 3 | Migraines | ....... | Im taking topamax right now and have been for about over 5 months maybe more i cant even remember. They previously upped my dosage to about 100mg and want me to go up to 150...if im comfortable there. Because my migraines werent going away...& they findout that apparantly it was working because i had accidently forgot to get the topamax from my mothers and missed taking it for 2 days and ended up with a 3 day migraine. NOTHING helped.Which apparently that meant my migraine needed the medicine from what she told me. Idk. I dont like blaming things but lately i have been Depressed, I dont have friends anymore, i havent had a normal bowel function (constipation),Major mood swings,and im always angry, Ive always been smart but now my class is getting harder for me, ive fallen behind. I probably wouldnt take this medicine without researching it and knowing EVERYTHING. If only my doctor mentioned all this...all she had to mention was weight loss which didnt happen till i was upped to 100mg and ive lost 10 pounds. Im thinking about gettin off this medicine...and yes i feel stupid.So RESEARCH first! | F | 18 | 5 months | 9/14/2009 | 3 | frequent migraines | short term memory loss, loss of sex drive, stuttering, weight loss | Although Topamax was wonderful for getting rid of my daily headaches and migraines I could not handle the side effects. I experienced short term memory loss, complete lack of a sex drive and I stuttered...quite a price to pay! The lack of headaches was very new for me. I have had headaches for weeks at a time since I was a small child. It was amazing to go without them for a while but I could not comprehend anything and had a difficult time speaking. I hope others are able to use it successfully! | F | 31 | 2 years | 9/7/2009 | 2 | Seizure disorder | Appetite loss and severe cognitive side effects including memory loss, inability to focus, find words, complete sentences, etc. | My neurologist suggested the switch from Depakote to Topomax for its appetite side effects. (I had gained lots of weight during my years on Depakote.) Unfortunately, I couldn't wait for the pounds to drop off because the stupidity set in so fast. After a week on Topamax, I had become so ineffective at my consulting job, I had to take a week off during my transition back to Depakote. I'll take overweight and sharp-minded any day. The good Topamax news: I didn't have a seizure during my two-week switch. | M | 50 | 2 weeks | 9/7/2009 | 3 | Bad Migraines | Loss of appetite, Anxiety attacks, lack of motivation and depression. | Initially Topamax helped stop the migraines which was a blessing in itself. However, I did have to cut down on the dosage that I was taking and even now I don't take it every night. Even though I haven't had a bad migraine in several months, I feel like I've lost nearly a year out of my life from all the side effects I've been experiencing. You take the medicine to help you have a better life per se.....not to withdraw into a shell and shut the world out. But again - Topamax did (does) prevent my migraines. | F | 37 | 1 years | 9/1/2009 | 1 | migraine prevention | STUPIDITY... couldn't speak right, couldn't find the right words, couldn't remember anything. And, it didn't go away when I stopped taking it! | I wouldn't take this drug again if someone paid me. I've been off of it for 3 years now and I never regained my cognitive losses. It was bad enough having frequent migraines. At least I used to be articulate and intelligent. Now I have frequent migraines and can hardly put a sentence together. | F | 44 | 2 months | 8/24/2009 | 5 | migraines | initial 2 weeks only-dizzy, nausea,...; after 5 yrs, noticing memory issues that isn't "cute" and way too young to be part of the aging process. | It's been awesome! Lost weight at first, but you can't depend on it as a diet drug; no side effects and used to have 1 migraine/wk to none; but recently noticed memory problems that isn't normal and realized it has to be the topamax; not sure what to do? | F | 41 | 5 years | 8/23/2009 | 1 | alcohol and cutting cravings | CHRONIC MUSCLE WEAKNESS (as in deconditioned muscles...) Terrible skin problems!! Palpitations and irregular heartbeat causing extreme anxiety and fatigue | This pill is evil. Coming off it is like something out of a horror movie -migraine lasted for 5 days; nausea; fever; lack of energy; dizziness and passing out; high pitched buzzing in ears... It's been two weeks off the pill and I'm still in bed. Feeling alot better, and happier though. Muscle weakness has improved, I can walk short distances without extreme pain; fever and migraine still comes and goes; still occasional dizziness with spot in front of eyes | F | 20 | 4 months | 8/20/2009 | 4 | depression/mood stabilization | severe tingling in feet, especially heels, when driving, sitting, and/or sleeping; decreased appetite; weight loss; difficulty retrieving names or previously known information (this is particularly devastating, as I am a teacher). | Despite the side effects, which have affected my quality of life, this drug lifted me out of my hopelessness and brought be back to feeling stable and able and eager to function in my life. | F | 24 | 3 weeks | 8/19/2009 | 1 | bi polar | my side effects were VERY severe. MAJOR tingling all over, felt really dizzy and nausea. had no taste for any food. I LOVE asian food and I could not eat anything but fruit because I felt sick if I had carbs. Strange. | I started taking because of bi polar. I ONLY took this for 2 days and i experienced major side effects. I am very active and I work out everyday. The second day I took topamax i had trouble breathing. I felt like i was going to die. Also, I stopped taking the day and having tingling sensations all over my body. It is constant and is not worth it. DO NOT take this drug if you get side effects easy!!!!! | F | 19 | 2 days | 8/18/2009 | 3 | Migraines | Mental stroke like symptoms; focus/concentration problems; fatigue; tiredness; speech problems | It helped my migraines go away but made me not be able to talk properly. I knew what I wanted to say but the words would not come out. The focus/concentration was off if there was more than one thing going on. I was tired all the time. I did sleep better at night though. I could not work. | F | 28 | 7 days | 8/17/2009 | 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 |