for my bipolar 1, i was first prescribed abilify. i felt NOTHING. then, i was put on 200 mg of lamictal. the first few weeks, i felt flat (which was a nice change from being constantly suicidal and self-harming), but then, NOTHING. about a month ago, my psych put me on 600 mg of lithium. i felt no relief from my mania, but more importantly i have never been filled with such rage and aggression. has anyone else had this side-effect from lithium? i had plenty of the usual lithium side-effects... mostly extreme thirst and constant bloating, but the aggression really freaked me out. i began punching brick walls to the point that my hands are currently bruised, swollen, and hard to use. woah.

anyways, my psych just started me on 100 mg of TOPAMAX yesterday. i did what research i could, but i really was hoping to hear more from you guys out there. i know that it has gained popularity because it often causes weight loss, but im hoping to hear about more side-effects people have had taking it, and their positive or negative experiences with it.

man. sorry for being so wordy. i dont sleep much, so i tend to ramble.

[tracy33]

I've been on Topamax for 2 years now. Are you starting on 100mg?? You are supposed to start out in small doses. Like 25mg., and then increase by 25mg, until you reach the desired dose. I take 125mg.
I love it. It doesn't make me feel like a zombie and want to sleep all the time like Lihtium did. It levels my moods pretty well. And I lost all the weight I gained from all the psyche meds I have tried.

In the beginning, I lost my appetite, and the taste of soda became flat. I also couldn't stand the taste or smell of the vanilla creamer that I used in my coffee. It was gross to me. My brain became foggy. I had trouble recalling things or sometimes felt a little "stupid" trying to have a conversation, trying to reach for the right words.
The fogginess seems to have gone away, but I'm still not as sharp as I used to be, according to my husband.

But before I was lazy, miserable, depressed, moody and FAT.
Now I am motivated, pleasant, only sometimes moody and skinny.
I wouln't change that for anything.

I hope that the topamax works as well for you as it does me. I hear that it is supposed to come out with a generic around January. I hope it works exactly the same, as I'll have to get it due to my insurance. Plus it'll save me alot of $.

thanks for sharing your experience with topamax, tracy!

my psychiatrist has started me on 2 50 mg tablets a day. so yeah, 100 mg a day total. i pay VERY close attention to my response to medications however (i probably bug the hell out of my doc), so should i experience any strange and harsh side-effects i wont let it slide. so thank you for the concern along with your advice and your positive feedback regarding topamax. while doing my research before i began taking the med i found SO much harsh criticism against topamax when prescribed for bipolar disorder... so i appreciate your positive spin on it. so thanks!

[tracy33]

By the way, if you're female, and you're on the pill, you may want to think of another alternative. It lessens the effectiveness of the pill. My pdoc stressed this to me so much that he tore up the prescription twice before I finally got a 2nd doc to prescribe it to me.
My husband ended up getting a vasectomy so that we wouldn't have to worry about things.