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 |
| 2 | Schizoaffective Disorder | I literally couldn't pee while the drug was in my system. It was a nightmare. Phantom smells up in my nose such as cigar smoke and a bleach-like, chemical smell. The heartburn from this stuff broke through even the Nexium that I take for my acid reflux and Nexium is pretty much the strongest reflux med you can take. It made me feel more stupid then Seroquel. | This is the worst drug I've taken for my diagnosis and I've taken 11 (not including this one). I took it so that I could get off the Seroquel and lose weight to reduce my risk of developing diabetes. Instead, however, I got the rare side effect (If you knew me you'd know I have terrible luck) of extreme difficulty peeing. I felt like I had the urinary tract of a 80 year old man!!! | M | 31 | 3 weeks | 2/2/2007 | 2 | Migraines | Sharp tingling in heels and toes, sleepiness, decrease in sex drive (very noticable!), increase in mucous/cough, intervals of rapid heart rate, memory loss/confusion/groggyness, bruising, rapid weight loss, "phantom" headaches. | I was only on this drug for two weeks at the lowest dosage possible, 25 mg. I completely lost my appetite, became lathargic (most likely because my body was starving), lost 7 pounds in less than 2 weeks. I nearly lost my job because I couldn't keep up mentally, it's like my brain was in a constant fog. I would turn on the gas stove, forget I had done so and walk out of the kitchen! My sex drive has always been very vibrant, and this drug just killed it. The wierd thing is, though I recognized that all these sympoms were harmful, my brain was in such a gooey state that I couldn't make the right decision to take myself off of it sooner. I still got headaches on topamax, just a "different" kind of headache than I was used to. I would not reccomend this drug to anyone. It depletes your quality of life. | F | 22 | 11 days | 1/31/2007 | 5 | Epilepsy | Soda tastes funny, kan't spell | This is a wonder drug for me. After trying almost every other drug out there and feeling half dead from the side effects I feel alive. Tons of energy. No seizures. The side effects are minimal compared to past AEDs. Oh, and the tingly hands stops if you take it with oj. :-) I thank the Lord for this drug. It's like a door has opened and I have my life back. | F | 40 | 23 days | 1/30/2007 | 5 | Severe Migraines | None so far - other than excessive crying - not sure if this is a side effect! | Life pre topomax was categorized as "time between headaches". I rarely went for more that 48 hours without a severe migraine. After years on Fiorinal the rebounds were killing me. Tried everything else, from acupuncture and TENS to Imitrex, nothing helped. 30 years of this was enough. My Neurologist took me off Fiorinal - 3 weeks of total hell, and put me on Topomax. 12.5mg to 25 now on 50 after 3 weeks, with goal of 100mg. Headaches are wayyyyyy improved (except for the one I have right now due to that lovely glass of red wine I gave in to last night)BUT I have noticed that over the last 3 days, since I've gone up to 50mg, I AM CRYING AT THE DROP OF A HAT! I mean sobbing - TV commercials, thoughts of my daughter going to college, Grey's Anatomy, you name it, I'm crying. HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS SIDE EFFECT??? Or should I talk to my shrink :)?? | F | 44 | 3 weeks | 1/28/2007 | 5 | Severe migraines | Minor tingling in fingers and toes, diet Coke tastes bad now, some fatigue | This is starting to be a wonder drug for me - I've only had 6 migraine attacks in the 2 months I've been taking Topamax (that's a huge improvement for me!), and only 2 migraines since my dose was increased to 100 mg per day. I take Imitrex 100 mg tabs for the big headaches, which didn't used to really work before I started taking Topamax, but now it does work! It's so nice to finally get some relief from these massive headaches that I don't mind the minor side effects from Topamax (diet Coke tastes gross now, and my fingers and toes are a bit tingly, but that's OK!!!). I lost about 5 pounds after starting Topamax (I weigh 120 pounds) and my doctor cautioned me that I have to keep eating (that's another thing - I'm never really hungry any more) so I have to remind myself sometimes to eat 3 times a day... | F | 40 | 2 months | 1/27/2007 | 2 | migraine prevention | stomach pain, nausea, and very depressed. Also my tongue felt burnt and soda tasted like pepper.... | As soon as I stopped taking Topamax my stomach aches went away and I feel like a cloud has been lifted. This medication can cause depression in some people. | F | 40 | 6 weeks | 1/26/2007 | 1 | migraines | tingling extremities, stomach cramping and diarrhea, complete idiocy, word loss, unhindered yammering, wild mood swings, suicidal thoughts, uncontrollable depression and weeping, continued migraines- hell- I could have used the weight loss! | It made me truly insane. Upon reflection after hitting my head repeatedly against wall, mirror, and cabinet in a public bathroom out of desperation I realized that I was no longer in control of myself- no longer even recognizable to myself- and had to begin to get the stuff out of my system. | F | 38 | 8 weeks | 1/25/2007 | 4 | Chronic Migraine | Tingling in fingers and around eye area which is a little scary. still have heacache daily though nothing like the migraines. Still get a little scattered and unbalanced every now and then. Appetite suppresant kicked in after about 3 weeks. Very easily confused. | My Neuro has only just started me on Topamax and I'm still a little wary. The tingling in my face is freaking me out but he warning me that i'd be in for a hellish 4-6 weeks weaning off all codeine that i was practically living on. I have to say even with the headaches that i'm still livng with and the occasionally unbalancing, the scatteredness etc this is so much better than living with the migraines. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that things will get better and maybe the dosage can sort that out. Definately worth a shot. | F | 29 | 5 weeks | 1/23/2007 | 3 | Binge eating; mood stabilizer | 1st time (4mths-3 yrs ago): break-through bleeding leading to D&C; couldn't taste carbonation in sodas. 2nd time: can't taste carbonation in sodas; tingling in hands and feet; in menopause this time around. | The Topamax stopped the binge eating within one week both times. The side effect the first time was too severe. This time, I have developed this cough. It is constant and my husband has an asthma inhaler that I use with some relief. Cough medicines don't help. I am afraid it is the Topamax and I will have to stop it again. Although the stuff is a miracle drug for the binges, it is evil with the side effects. I never know where it will hit! If anyone else has experienced the coughing or asthma as a side-effect, please email. Tks. | F | 53 | 5 weeks | 1/23/2007 | 3 | Binge eating; mood stabilizer | 1st time (4mths-3 yrs ago): break-through bleeding leading to D&C; couldn't taste carbonation in sodas. 2nd time: can't taste carbonation in sodas; tingling in hands and feet; in menopause this time around. | The Topamax stopped the binge eating within one week both times. The side effect the first time was too severe. This time, I have developed this cough. It is constant and my husband has an asthma inhaler that I use with some relief. Cough medicines don't help. I am afraid it is the Topamax and I will have to stop it again. Although the stuff is a miracle drug for the binges, it is evil with the side effects. I never know where it will hit! If anyone else has experienced the coughing or asthma as a side-effect, please email. Tks. | F | 53 | 5 weeks | 1/23/2007 | 4 | Migraines | Kidney stones - they were so severe that I had to be operated on (lithotripsy). Also experienced heartburn. | Decreased the number and severity of migraines. | F | 24 | 2 years | 1/19/2007 | 5 | Migraine | Sodas taste horrible. Weight loss. Tingling in my hands. Loss of words. | The first few days were horrible. I didn't think I was going to make it.... but honestly after day 5 I feel like my world has finally opened up and for once in my life I'm going to start living migraine free. It's been wonderful and I'm so happy to be on this drug. It's not for everyone, but it is for me. | F | 33 | 2 months | 1/16/2007 | 5 | Migraines, weight loss | sodas and some taste flat or odd, the weird tingling thing in extremities occasionally, double vision on awakening, and making more "typos" in first few months of taking it. Sleep like a baby! Overall, great. | Started this drug since I have perimenopausal migraines and I am allergic to all NSAIDS and aspirin -- the amount of Tylenol I was taking was going to fry my liver, so Topamax is the lesser of two evils even thought this is a very powerful drug. Prediabetic also so my doc would welcome a 20 pound weight loss, so she wanted me to try this. Sleep definitely improved -- sleep soundly and wake refreshed. Some daytime sleepiness but this has passed as I got used to it. Fat around my midsection has started to go away -- even though I've only lost a couple of pounds my figure looks better because of this slimming in this area -- guess it is due to less cortisol/stress hormone and therefore less fat there. Feel less stressed and am doing better at work ( a new career.) Topamax still scares me but I think it has definitely improved my life -- wish it weren't so expensive though! | F | 51 | 4 months | 1/14/2007 | 5 | PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress) | Weight loss comes and goes. The Brain-less effect seems to stay forever. Have found help with that though. Drink V8 juice daily when going up to counteract potassium block. Also continue to experience hair breaking and shedding--hope bald is in 10 years from now. | Put an almost instant stop to PTSD symptoms. Stupidity drove me crazy until DR put me on Exelon. I'd sugest anyone feeling the same stupidity symt. look into it. The only bad thing is Topamax seems to build up in my system after a while, then I have to take a break. Weird--it's supposed to be in and out. | F | 27 | 3 years | 1/13/2007 | 5 | migraines | fatigue, weight loss, mild confusion, ZERO APPETITE, tingling in fingers | topamax saved my life. for over 8 months, i would start each beautiful morning with a headache and end my evenings with a headache. i was about ready to jump off a cliff head first. within the first few weeks after taking the topamax, the headaches stopped. the only downfall (for me personally) is the extreme weight loss (for most americans though thats not a problem) but for small/petite girls, losing 15 pounds can make you look borderline anorexic. so if you're a tiny person to begin with, be careful! | F | 19 | 2 months | 1/10/2007 | 3 | Migraine Prevention | I started out at 25mg and worked up to 100mg which i just started 2 days ago. Minor tingling in hands and feet. Pop tastes flat and terrible but that's not such a bad thing since this medication slightly dehydrates you so you need to drink more water. I was on prozac before this to prevent my migraines which did not work at all and it actually made me depressed, made me lose 10 lbs in 1 month (which i didn't really need to lose since i only weighed 120 @ 5'6" to start) and just totally didn't feel like myself but i felt much better when i started on this....even after reading all of these horror stories on here. I have probably stayed about the same as far as the weight. My appetite has actually come back quite a bit but i don't seem to be putting the weight back on. I seemed a little clumsier than normal and forgot my pin# one day when i first started but was that from the medicine or just one of my normal blone moments???? I haven't experienced any of the horrible "stupidn | (Cont.)I will say though, that my migraines are not GONE. They do seem to be getting more under control. I can now take a normal over the counter medicing like Tylenol or Motrin to get rid of them (which NEVER would have worked before) and sometimes they even go away on there own!! Medication affects everyone differentyl. You won't know until you try. Feel free to email me if you have any questions! | F | 25 | 1 months | 1/10/2007 | 1 | migraines | Nauseas, tremor in the hands and feet, depression, I really fell very bad. So bad than migrains....even worse. Points and lights in my eyes when I closed it, or when I tried to sleep. Just take it away from me. | I'ts a bad (hard) drug for begginers....even when you start whit a low dose : I took 25 mg dialy (in the night). | F | 24 | 2 weeks | 1/10/2007 | 5 | migraines | tingling in fingers and toes, weight loss | cut migraines in half, side effects were minimal glad I took it. I have been on Topamax for 3 years and still on same. | F | 64 | | 1/9/2007 | 4 | epilepsy | headaches, dizziness, tingles in hands and legs, depression, some agitation and frustration, word retrival issues. Also, initial weight loss the first go round with this med. However, med. did help a great deal with seizures as adjunct therapy. | I have stopped this med. once and have begun again. Anyone done this before? If so, does the weight loss side effect still come into play along with all the other side effects? Has anyone stopped and started again with this med? replies appreciated. | F | 37 | 1 years | 1/5/2007 | 2 | Bipolar 1 | Loss of words, "Dopamax" effects, couldn't complete thoughts or sentences. Was having a very difficult time staying focused at work and doing my job. | Doctor prescribed this to help with the weight gain side effects from Depakote. She was hoping to eventually wein me off the Depakote and only take the Topamax. We tried several dosage amounts, increasing, decreasing, etc., but nothing seemed to calm the side effects. I decided I needed to keep my job more than lose weight and stopped taking it. Am only on Depakote now. | F | 46 | 4 months | 1/4/2007 |