[mommyof2girls]

Hey all....at my last pdoc appointment, she had stated that on my next appointment she was going to take me off Tegratol and put me on Topamax... I have never taken topamax before, I now that it will help with weightloss (which would be awesome for me) .... but I wanted to know are there any serious side effects.....and has anyone taken it and what your thoughts are about this drug???

Hi mommyof2girls,

Yeah I take this for migraines, Only side affects that I had was tingling in my fingers and toes. I find it useful and it controls my weight.

[Evis]

I've been on it for about 4 years. I was put on it for anxiety, but it had the added bonus of pretty much eliminating my migraine headaches too (what a relief!).

The only side effects I've experienced is weight loss and slight confusion/memory loss.

[Fresia]

I started taking this for migraine relief many years ago but had the added benefit of helping with mood stabilization that I was able to go the med I had at the time for this for the BP. It has been a life saver for the treatment of both for me.

However, I too have noticed the tingling and numbness on higher dosages in my limbs as others have reported above but still functional. Also on much higher dosages I troubles with word recall, but if the dose is backed down, functioning returns; it is not permanent. Water intake is important with Topamax to prevent the incidence of kidney stones.

This is provided through the National Institute of Health library for Topamax (topiramate-chemical name). Like with all meds, it lists all reported side-effects and not necessarily the number of incidences, but can be good to mindful of when starting. We never know with our chemistries how we will react, but perhaps this will answer your question about reported side-effects:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000998/