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 |
| 1 | Migrane | personality change | My wife was put on topamax about 3 onthes ago she completely changed in personallity selfish, mean, wanted me to support her while she runs awhile. she has cheated on me and requested a divorce. she refuse to get off medicine saying her migranes r now gone. my self, her mother and my kids hardly can see herself. i am not sure if it this drug but i would like to her to at least consider it. | M | 45 | 90 days | 8/16/2009 | 4 | migraines | Tingling of fingers and feet (mainly heels), weight loss, "word dropping", taste changes | After first trying Depakote and gaining 40 pounds my OB GYN was very worried and really wanted my neurologist to at least have me try the Topamax. I have been on it for 4 mos now and have lost 20 pounds (yay!) but I am a much pickier eater - but for the better. I do get tingling in my fingers and feet - it's worse when I go from cold to hot & my heels will sometimes bother me in the middle of the night & wake me up. I read that flax seed oil can help. I do sometimes forget things, like today in a cinversation I was having I couldn't remember the name of a band - but it always comes back to me. I used to get migraines every day and now I am not.I am so glad that I am not suffering the severe side effects that some people suffer with Topamax because the alternative migraine prevention medication, Depakote, almost always causes major weight gain and that isn't fun either. | F | 43 | 4 months | 8/9/2009 | 1 | migraines | almost constant headache, body aches, not feeling well,ringing in ears, hard to concentrate, not talking right | my migraines have been getting worse and I dislike taking so much excedrin and imitrex so I thought I would try this (at my Dr's suggestion). I started at 25mg a day for 7 days then 2 times a day for 7 days with a plan to go to 100mg a day. Day 11 my head still hurts, my body hurts. I already had a problem with my ears ringing and it is twice as bad. I could not concentrate at work and I could not talk straight. This is not a help it is just more problems. I had already decided to wean myself off this medicine and this web site just reinforces my suspicions of the medication and my reasons for not taking it. | F | 53 | 11 days | 8/9/2009 | 1 | Epilepsy (GrandMal) | Severe side effects across the board. Euphoria with inability to control myself. Panic attacks. Speed like feelings. Strange changes to taste. | On my first, and lowest possible dose, I flipped right out into a panic attack after 18 hours. The attack lasted for 6 hours and put me in the hospital. They call this one Dopamax for a reason, but despite feeling heavily doped, I also felt the other extreme... Speedy rushes and triggered flight responses. The panic attack was preceeded by my feeling urges to rush into the hallway and pace in my room despite having been trying to calm myself down and watching TV. Very unpleasant and frightening. A shame as I also have Migraines. Would have had two birds with one stone if I could have tolerated this drug. | M | 30 | 1 days | 8/7/2009 | 1 | Epilepsy | Major weight loss, loss of the ability to pretty much function at anything, loss of appetite, extreme fatigue. | This drug is just plain ridiculous and should not be prescribed to anyone. I lost 50 pounds in 3 months, I was overwieght so this wasn't a horrible side effect in my eyes but the weight loss was initially the reason I had to go off of it. I was never hungry so I would go a day or two without eating or eating very little and dropped down to 105 lbs and I am 5'8". I also loss the ability to function cognitively, I was an honors student in middle school with a 3.8 GPA and after about 6 months of being on the medication they referred me to a learning specialist because I was doing so poorly in school, my IQ tested at 70 which by definition is mental retardation. They took me off the medicine and I eventually regained my cognitive abilities and managed to make it through college with a 3.6 GPA. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG. | F | 24 | 2 years | 8/5/2009 | 5 | Fibromyalga | Weight Loss (30 lbs in 2 months) - Hair falling out (mine is very thick so I am good on that one) - Unable to focus on specific tasks | I started out with a low dose of Topamax 2 years ago and now take 100 mg in the AM and 100 at night. I feel much better. The weight loss is great, although the loss of appetite can be dangerous because I forget to eat all day long sometimes. I am currently taking Klopnopin at night for sleep/ RLS , but my Dr just changed me to Amitriptyline which I decided I am not going to take after reading the stuff on here. I am starting my masters this month so i will probably get something to help with the focus issues if it continues. | F | 23 | 2 years | 8/3/2009 | 1 | Headaches/seizures | Nerve damage, eye damage, weakness,liver problems,toxic to my body would not recommend this drug to anyone! | F | 48 | 1 months | 8/2/2009 | 3 | Stress, weather/hormone-related | None yet | I haven't started taking Topamax yet, I have a doctor's appointment next Thursday and plan on asking for an RX for it, I'm doing my homework first to decide if it would even be worth it. I suffered from severe hormonal migraines when I was a pre-teen/teenager. In recent years I've begun getting SEVERE weather-related migraines(to the point I get tunneled vision and nausea),in one recent instance I even blacked-out briefly. I've also noticed a trend towards increased frequency of headaches/migraines during high stress periods. I admit, some of the side effects sound scary enough to the point I'm thinking of just "sucking it up" and living with the problem. However, Topamax has seemed to help an exordinate amount of people, and the weight loss is the most alluring plus about it (as I've gained 50lbs since going on birth control). Here are my questions: How bad is the cognitive dysfunction? I'm in the Veterinary Medicine field, incorrect spelling isn't much of an issue but not being able to calculate drug doses will be problematic. Do the mental side effects wane over time as the body becomes adjusted to the medication? Is the "flightiness" concentrated only on forgetfullness? I also have ADHD, so I'm already somewhat incapacitated with my attention span. How expensive is Topamax? I am uninsured,so I will be paying out-of-pocket. Thanks for y'alls time reading this ;-D | F | 29 | 0 times | 7/31/2009 | 1 | Migraines | forgetfullness, dopey feeling, MAJOR joint pain. | This only dropped my migraines to once a week, I was still not able to work, so the joint pain was just not worth it alone. I was literally UNABLE to get out of bed because it hurt my joints so bad! I forgot everything - what day it was, was I supposed to be picking up the kids for carpool, etc. | F | 41 | 4 months | 7/29/2009 | 3 | Migraines | Just started, nothing to report yet | M | 28 | 60 days | 7/28/2009 | 4 | frequent migraines / bipolar type 2 | weight loss, really bad short-term memory, trouble concentrating, diarrhea, bad balance, lightheadedness, irregular heart rate, fatigue, etc. | overall, it helped my headaches very well. but i found myself not being able to have a conversation without struggling for words. i went from 140 to 105 pounds. i'd forget to eat and not be able to find anythiing that appealed to me. i'd almost pass out upon standing. i don't know. it has it's pros and cons. | F | 18 | 1 years | 7/22/2009 | 1 | epilepsy | tingling in hands and feet to the point I could no longer feel my toes or fingertips, extreme anger and mood swings, complete loss of ability to concentrate, no longer able to drive (I would forget I was driving and start looking out the side window), reading was almost impossible (It would take me about 30 minutes per page to get a general idea of what I was reading), had trouble holding a conversation with anyone because I would forget what I was saying, or forget I was being spoken to and wander away (This one really annoyed my husband) | I was being switched off a med that worked well because my Dr. insisted the new ones were better. My husband almost immediately started telling me he thought I was having problems on this med and I would get mad at him about it. I kept insisting that he was the one having a problem. I was in college at the time and began failing ALL of my classes. My GPA was 3.8, so this was abnormal. That was when I recognized there was a problem. I tried to contact my doctor, but he was on a month long vacation. His partner told me to stay on topamax until my regular doctor was back, but add another med. I went back to dilantin against his orders. Side effects faded and I managed to pass all my classes. If I hadn't been so angry on the med I'd have probably gone off of it sooner, but I got really mad and stubbornly argued thet I was doing fine. However the day I nearly drove off the side of the highway because I forgot I was driving was the last day I drove while taking this, my husband drove me to my classes. Quality of life on this med was very low. When he got back my doctor wanted me to try it again, I found a new doctor. | F | 33 | 6 months | 7/22/2009 | 2 | Migraine Prevention | Soda tasted flat at first, tingling sensation(hands, feet, legs, & arms), changes in my menstrual cycle, off and on constipation, loss of appetite (Didn't mind this one. I lost about 10lbs), abdominal pain, and wierd body odor. | I have been on Topamax for about 3 months. I am currently on 125 mg a day(50mg in the morning and 75mg at bedtime). I was put on this medicine as a preventive med because I have Basilar Artery Migraines which causes me to go blind. I have no warning as to when this is going to happen so I feel the need to be on a preventive med. The medicine I was on before didn't seem to be working as well so I decided to try this one. Since being on it I have had more migraines then I can remember. I have also experienced quite a few of the listed side effects as well as others that are not listed on the web site. For some people this drug might be the only option and it might have worked very well for them, but for me I am getting off of it. I have decided the side effects are to severe for me. While I do like the weight loss it is not worth the constant migraines and I am still getting the vision changes. I have decided to go back on my old medicine which actually (now looking back)worked extremely well for my migraines. The medicine was CYPROHEPTADINE. It is a very old med that many doctors don't use anymore, but worked very well for migraines. Hopefully this will help someone out. Think twice before starting this medicine. | F | 21 | 3 months | 7/21/2009 | 3 | Migraines | Topamax is a miracle drug for migraine avoidance, but not worth the side effects. The funny tasting carbonation effect went away, but the memory loss and inability to focus and process information increased. I quit taking it a few weeks ago and hope that I regain some intelligence soon. | M | 33 | 3 years | 7/20/2009 | 1 | Migraines | HAIR LOSS! If your doctor is telling you that it is just stress, diet or age and you are taking Topamax get ready to lose your hair. | I've had migraines since age 7. Maxalt used upon the beginning of a migraine would make the headache go away and within an hour sometimes two I was feeling much better. My doctor suggested Topamax which is finally available as a generic. Amazingly the number of people who are reporting hair loss is incredible! A migraine lasts a few hours, your hair loss may last forever. Luckily I had a lot of hair, it has thinned considerably and I just hope that now that I am no longer taking the medication that this horrible side effect reverses. | F | 37 | 4 months | 7/18/2009 | 4 | cerebellar tremor and paresthesias | fatigue, aggressive and hostile behavior, loss of words, generalized malaise (just not feeling well), i am getting headaches when i wake up and in the evening, not migraine, is it related to the topamax? | I started on 12.5 mg at night and the effect on the paresthesias was amazing. I had been unable to sleep at for almost two weeks because of the intense burning pain and muscle cramps in my legs from loss of nerve innervation. The first night on 12.5 mg I could sleep and the next day my tremor was significantly reduced to the point that i could perform surgery. For me it was a miracle. | F | 55 | 14 days | 7/16/2009 | 4 | excruciating and frequent migraines | memory loss, confusion, loss of balance, loss of words when speaking, words don't come to me as quickly as they used to | Drug is a lifesaver if you can put up with the dopey side effects, being an elementary school teacher, it is hard sounding "stupid" in front of students for a while. But, it sure beat missing school for days due to debilitating migraines. I haven't had a migraine in three years when I would sometimes get them three times a week at one point. They were ruining my life. I had to plan my life around the possibility of getting a migraine. Having two kids and a job--that was difficult to do. This medicine was a Godsend and I am willing to sound stupid in turn for the fact that I know I should be free of migraines. I know it makes you dumber than a box of rocks, but I would rather than be dumb than in pain constantly and nauseous. I couldn't function or have a life before taking Topamax. Topamax may either make you lose weight or keep your weight stable if you weren't overweight to begin with. | F | 37 | 3 years | 7/15/2009 | 5 | Migraine | weight loss (forgetting to eat), tingling in fingers, fatigue then mild less need for sleep | Started at 25 mg once a day with severe fatigue, no real change in migraines. Upped dosage to 50 mg once a day and migraines have decreased from approximately 4 to 5 every week to 1 to 2 every month. Will take the side effects, as they are less debilitating than the migraines. As a side note, I am on the generic topiramate. | F | 39 | 2 months | 7/14/2009 | 1 | Bipolar I | Cognitive slowness and rapid mood cycling. | It did not even cause weight loss and had no therapeutic effect on my bipolar. Some psychiatrist refer to it as "Dopamax." I used it for one year in 2002. | F | 41 | 1 years | 7/3/2009 | 4 | migraine | memory loss, depression, ringing in my ears, lack of focus | I've been headache free but was just tested have have found that I have significant hearing loss in my right ear. The hum and ringing in my ears began about four months ago and seems to be getting worse and louder. I don't think I can live with this. I will be seeing an ENT specialist soon and see what he says, if there is no other reason for the hearing loss I may ask to reduce my Topamax or maybe try getting off of it and see what happens. Also, the memory and focus problems are becoming a problem at work... | F | 52 | 7 months | 7/1/2009 |