starting Topamax

I was prescribed this med as a mood stabilizer.

I wanted to see what some of the side effects from those who are on topamax experienced.

I keep seeing there is weight loss and kills your appetite. I am recovered from a eating disorder (anorexia) and not sure why my pdoc would choose this med w/those side effects.

I just started topamax for mood stabilization last week. Topamax has a ton of side effects. I was on it for two years for migraines when I was a teen.

Did your pdoc tell you what your target dose will be? At lower dose I dont notice appetite suppression at all. I usually have to hit 100 mg's for that. Other mood stabilizers have a tendency to make you gain weight, maybe your pdoc didn't want weight gain to trigger your ED?

It has a lot of cognitive side effects. I was pretty much dislexic on it. I even talked a bit backwards sometimes, and I definitely typed backwards on it. Soda always tastes flat. And I was always very tired as I was reaching my target dose. Hmm I can't really think of the others right now. I just got off a overnight shift and can't think. I'll add more later.

50mgs for x2 weeks then up to 100mgs. Either way it is going to trigger the ed. I am still struggling in my ed recovery and this pill and this is my ed talking will make it effortless almost for me not to be hungry and loss weight.

I heard about the issues you mentioned - does that go away? Does it cause an nervousness/anxiety?

Well keep in mind not EVERY body gets the weight loss side effect. I wasn't anxious/nervous on it at all. The cognitive effects never went away while I was on the meds. Once I got off it slowly faded away.

I have been on it for about 2 years for migraines and I haven't lost much weight but I do have thyroid trouble too, I did get tingly feelings in my fingers and feet at first From what I remember this lasted for about 2 months.

Ohhh yes I forgot about the tingly feeling. I had that for the entire time I was on it.

Sometimes to Topamax may be used in conjunction with an aap or another medication that is notorious for causing weight gain. Is it possible you doc is being sensitive to you ED issue? The issues with word forgetfulness usually are not noticeable at a target dose of 100mg daily. Generally, topamax has a mild calming affect. It can help with generalized pain as well. Sometimes there may be a blurring a vision at the very onset of treatment which should abate quickly. I have been satisfied with my 100mg treatment. Good luck.

Oh just thought of another one, hair loss is pretty common on Topamax.

That explains a lot. I could make pillows out of my own hair like that one wild woman who howled at the moon on Frasier.

topomax & effexor work like a charm for me...been on both now for about 2 years...touch my combo & i will hurt you!...usually 100 mg of topomax & 75 of effexor once each day

2 years ago i went thru medication HELL as they tried to figure out the right combo for me...lithium, abilify..& after that i lost my memory (seriously) for a year..i know i fell down a flight of stairs & got a blood clot, damaged my shoulder, passed out for 3 days, had wicked side effects, lost my ability to read & write, still suffer some cognitive effects, got to dwi from the meds...there were many many meds..at one time i think there were like 13 meds including those i take for other things,.

finally i mustered enough fortitude (which wasn't easy) to tell my doc enough. i wanted to stay on the effexor & topomax. i stopped everything else. i guess he gave me directions of how to wean myself off...i have no idea. i just stopped..i was so sick i didn't notice any side effects from that.

to this day i am good on those 2. sometimes they get adjusted up, sometimes down..but i swear by them.

i also have tri-geminal neuralgia & the topomax works for that as well...

Topamax worked great for mood stability. However, i lost 70 pounds and I got an eating disorder. I'm back to above average weight now, and I am weaning off the Topamax, because I feel I am overmedicated (on 7 meds), and I think it is the topamax that is making me lack motivation and my creativity. Also, makes it hard to concentrate and remember.

I am terrified of meds and the side effects and reading what some of you went through reinforces that some. I wish I had someone with me while I was adjusting to the med. The thought of having a panic attack and feeling paranoid isn't fun. I need a better support system. I dont know what to do its the the ed ignore it and it will go away same thing with the bipolar...i have dealt 12+ yrs - nobody listened to me when i said the SSRI's were making things worse and put me some of the worse side effects I have ever experienced. smh

topamax wasnt for me

i had the tingling hands and feet, hair loss (still having hair loss from this and stopped it 6 months ago!)

yes and the dumbing down I had that loads - It was like mental retardation.

the best thing about it was I lost weight

the worst thing about it was it didnt stabilse my moods it had the opposite effect and made me suicidal

I've met people on this med that I thought had a mental challenge, they came off it and I realized it was the med. When I asked them if they saw themselves as cognitively blunted on the med, they said they could not see that! It's so weird. How can you not seen that you lost 50 IQ points?

I also knew someone that stayed the same, so I guess it doesn't make everyone dumb. But if you get dumb, you might not notice. My doc wanted me on this and I said NO.

When it comes to ED, I've heard both negatives and positives about the med. Some people could sort of use it in their ED to get sicker. Some people were helped with their ED since they couldn't use hunger anymore as either a scare factor, punishment or reward. They could just eat what they set out to eat, because not having hunger made their ED less dramatic.

If I was a doc I would follow this closely on an ED patient and yea it is a bit of an odd med choice.

I didn't know this med was much used anymore, it was used quite a bit years ago.

Topamax made my skin tingle, made me thirsty all the time, made me lose weight and made me extremely suicidal. If you struggle with an ED I would tell your pdoc you are not comfortable with this med. It can cause some massive weight loss and there are a LOT of side effects.

I had the tingly toes/feet for about 2 weeks. The flat soda thing for about 2 weeks. I am not sure how it did with my appetite, but it did wonders for helping stop my bulimia, which is why I was put on it years ago. I am weaning off it now because I dont need it anymore. I do have some trouble with words switching around, but that may very well be more my DID than the meds.

I have been on Topomax for over 10 years now, I love it. Before being prescribed Topomax I had this horrible psychiatrist who had me on everything from seraquel, epival, respidal, you know name I was on it. I ended up in a Grand Mall seizure and gaining up to 203 lbs. Needless, to say I fired the shrink and consulted with neurologist who was shocked, she immediately adjusted all my drugs and put me on 400mg of Topomax and 40 mg of Celexa for depression. That was 10 years ago. I did find an awesome psychiatrist who took over my meds and informed that I was borderline bi-polar and full blown ADHD. I was then put on Concerta for the ADHD and was able to read my books again. He maintained me with the Topomax, celexa, and added Seraquel. I am thriving. I am maintaining my weight at 120lbs. I am 55. I also had an eating disorder when I was 16 and bulemia well into my early 20's. I was lucky I had mother who threw me into a Psychiatrict Hospital and scared me silly. It was not easy to over come my body image issues. But it can be done. I am a here to tell you never ever give up. We all struggle with issues everyday. But we are still here. I have a son in Prison with Bi-Polar. I am caregiving for my 80 year old husband who is my best friend. My daughter is bi-polar. I put one foot in front of the other everyday.

My pdoc prescribed Topomax for me to lose weight. One of the side effects is anorexia. Well, I had ZERO appetite and would only eat a small meal once every three days. I lost 26 pounds in three months, and became obsessed with my weight and body image. I was becoming anorexic.

That's not the worst of it. It changed my personality and threw me into a constant manic state, and not the good kind. I was explosive, abusive, mean, reactive, swore like a truck driver, thought everyone was out to get me, didn't sleep. I lost friends and nearly lost my fiance. I knew I had to go off of it but didn't want to gain the weight back. My doc switched me to Geodon. Nine days later I wound up in the ER with suicidal thoughts. I've never been that manic in my life. Spent three days in the psych ward trying to come down. Checked myself out AMA and went back on the Invega. Took about 6 weeks to kick in. I had to take a semester off from school. Needless to say, I gained all the weight back.

If you have an ED, I would not recommend this medication. I suggest you speak with your doctor again. Good luck!

i take topamax, 50 mg daily, and have an ed. i use it to control my binge eating. it helps tremendously. side effects for me are not being able to remember words, not being able to drink anything carbonated, loss of appetite (which i am quite happy with), somewhat of a calm feeling, loss of hair, and i think that's it...no tingling for me

I too take Topamax, and it is pretty good at keeping those evil little thoughts at bay lol.....I lost a little weight at the beginning...maybe 5 or 10 pounds, but it has evened out....Im also only on 50mgs too so I dont know what a higher dose would do....Made soda taste like crap for the longest time, and I got the Topamax stupids for a couple months, which those pretty much subsided as well....All in all its not a bad drug....it just does different things to everyone. I like it because of all the drugs out there to treat the Bi-Polar that you have to add to your anti-depressant, the anti-epileptic drugs seem to have less effects.....I would just titrate up slowly and just see how you do....best of luck.

I was taking Topamax for migraines, about 20mg a day. I had the tingling, and it kicked my disordered eating into full-blown anorexia. Also, after two years with only those side effects, it began making me severely paranoid and I nearly divorced my wonderful husband because I was convinced he was trying to kill me.

My new pdoc says the extreme reaction I had may be related to my ADHD, because drugs aren't tested with that in mind. So maybe it was just me. Sure worked for migraines, but the other issues weren't worth it!

I love my Topamax. I take it for migraines. If I go above 150mg per day the tip of my nose tingles! I do occasionally get the numbness in hands and feet and I cannot do math in my head to save my life. Tipped a waiter 300% one night. He brought the bill back to me thankfully. I was expecting to lose my taste for Diet Coke and chocolate (love DC...not big on chocolate) and neither happened. NO weight loss. But one more side effect to watch for is the formation of kidney stones. Drink plenty of fluids. I know all of this sounds horrible but it is a really clean med. Hard to believe though, huh??

I had taken Topamax for approx 3 days....I had to stop due to horrible tingling of my face and head....Now back on my Tegretal.....