Topamax has arrived

It does prevent migraines. It does everything I wanted it to do: prevents migraines and suppresses appetite, I just did not want it to suppress my appetite to such a great extent!

I take Topamax as my mood stabilizer and for my migraines. I love it.

I cannot tell if it works as a MS because I was already at baseline (stable) before I started taking it. So how can I tell?

So I looked up dizziness and sure enough, 32% of patients report it. It is bad because I have to sit at work because of it - I cannot work standing. That deletes all my progress with standing.

I hope it will go away with time.

I was hoping to enjoy a soda again - no such luck so far, still tastes horrible. But the appetite control is fantastic! Love it!

I am happy for you! No snacking over here either.

So everything is good except for dizziness. I reached the sweet spot with respect to appetite. This morning, after swimming non-stop for an hour (breaststroke, but still, non-stop) and biking for 40 minutes, I was really hungry and had a big breakfast consisting of a serving of oatmeal with butter and two glasses of chocolate milk (chocolate milk is the preferred snack post-exercise). So cannot complain - do have quite a normal appetite. I did not eat prior to exercise so having two glasses of milk was justified.

But dizziness means that I sit at work. That is bad. Prior to Topamax I was able to stand for 8 hours straight. It was a major accomplishment of mine, health-wise.

I hope with time I will get used to Topamax and the dizziness will go away.

No headaches. Works like magic for headaches. I berate myself for having taken Depakote for headaches in the past. Now I have to shed the pounds I gained while on Depakote and Topamax seems to be even more effective than Depakote for headaches. Why did my GP not tell me about Topamax back then?? I requested Depakote because I did not know any better and I was suffering from frequent migraine attacks and needed a relief. Sure, I should have done my homework and didn't, but it still was her job to give me my options. Argh!

I started looking up old old friends and classmates on FB. It was very frustrating because looking up Kevin Smiths and some such IS frustrating. It did not net me virtually anything. But, after decades, I retained the names. So, memory-wise, I am still doing OK on this drug.

It was so frustrating when the p-doc's on-call clinic disowned me and sent me to GP with my dizziness. He prescribed the drug but they refused to see with a common side effect of that drug!

And the guy who talked to me could not even retain in his damn short term memory that I suspected LOW blood pressure - he kept referring to my "high" blood pressure again and again.

Do not have time to go see the GP. Maybe when I have my blood drawn for TSH (same bldg).

Tiny bit of progress - stood in public transit today. But still sitting at work and when eating.

Me too. Tastes so yucky! That could be a weight loss mode in itself. I can't tell if I'm less hungry. I think I am. I'm still on Zyprexa just less.

I have read that Topamax is an effective antidote to Zyprexa. Smart choice.

Yes the dr when I was inpatient said that Zyprexa and lithium work really well together. As the Saphris did a huge number on me and left a hole (and frankly I believe me in the psych hospital) in my meds, they asked if i wanted lamictal or topomax. I said no lamictal I don't want my skin falling off. The German dr said "Oh! Yoof bin reedink!" so yeah . Because of my migraines that I can't use any meds to abort except the ER I chose topomax. My pdoc once said it was a last choice I don't know why. After this Saphris fiasco I'm not playing around and frankly I'm happy with the topamax. More than happy.

Just make sure not to play around with Topamax because it has this weirdest quality - if you go off it and then get back on it, it will no longer cause weight loss. So, keep taking it.

I do not have anything spectacular to report, but from biking and Topamax I am 15 lbs lighter - not so bad. And I am not even complaining that it is slow because I know that this way it is better for the skin.

It's not just possible weight loss but its that my mood is evened out and the idea that my migraines will go away.

I did have one migraine on it. But, only one.

How long have you been on it?

Let me check the timestamp of the first post.

Since 11/16/2012.

That would be two and a half weeks.

That's longer than I have so far- one week and holding!. I'm really hoping this is the one for me. It sure seems to be mood wise.

I have been on Topamax since 2005. I started at 50mg and titrated up every few weeks until I was at 200mg. I take it all at bedtime because it makes me sleepy. I do titrate down to 100mg in the summer and the fall because I have less migraines.

I did go off it for a year (maybe a year and a half) because it was wrecking my body. Unfortunately, the benefits outweigh the side effects. So I went back on it March of this year (I weighed 145) and today I weigh 114. I've learned some new things since then and have gone a more homepathic route to help offset the damage (a little). I'm on a heavy duty vitamin regimen, and I drink have my body weight in ounces of water per day.

The upside is that I've had one migraine since then. And I'm not verbally assaulting people.

The downside? Where's my list... When I started taking Topamax in September of 2005, I weighed 148ish and by April of 2006, I weighed 97 pounds. I have 5 kidney stones (3 in the left and 2 in the right), I am prone to UTI's, I have tingling in my hands and feet, my short term memory is not so hot, my eye sight has diminished, my hair is falling out in handfuls(at least 1/3), my internal thermometer does not work correctly so I need to avoid extreme hot and cold (especially hot), certain food smells make me want to throw up, words are on the tip of my tongue but I cannot recall them, my libido has left town... Oh - they don't call it Dopamax for no reason.

These side effects don't happen to everyone obviously... but a lot of people suffer the majority of them. Some effects lessen, some go away, some just stay. It's a harsh drug. I hope that helps.

I could use a large weight loss - I'm obese right now from depakote the Zyprexa

I've heard it works for most people as far as weight loss. I've also heard once you stop taking it the first time, some people don't experience the weight loss side effects the 2nd time around.

It does some funny things to your taste buds. It intensifies flavors, eating sweets is like pouring granulated sugar in my mouth, so I avoid them. For some reason I don't crave carbs either. And the soda? Forget it, I haven't had anything carbonated in years. I avoid anything canned too, blech! You can't drink while taking it either (it makes me throw up).

A doc friend of mine said they are prescribing it off label to people with bulimia and alcohol issues so there's a direct correlation somewhere...

Topamax does work well for migraines and bipolar, I have been on it for almost 12 years now. But be careful, while it really doesn't have any major short-term side effects, it does have some long-term ones. After a long period of time, it can affect your memory and your balance. I had a hard enough time remembering things as it was, because of the bipolar, but now I'm lucky if I remember things that happened last week, and my balance is terrible. I had to put a bar in my shower for when I wash my hair, and I can stand on one foot but not the other. It's not terrible, but it is a pain. I would have an awful time trying to go back to work, which I need to do now, even tho I'm on disability, because I'm a waitress and balance is everything. But I only get migraines about once every 6 months, and the bipolar is better controlled than it was.

With all due respect Debi54, it doesn't have any major short term side effects for you. I mean that in the nicest way, I truly do. Dopamax has been an amazing drug but it's a powerful one that has MANY short term side effects for the vast majority.

I'm glad to see it's been working for you too. Some people find no relief from it.

I would not be able to live with any decrement in balance because I bike. Hopefully on just 50 mg a day I will be all right.