I guess the more appropriate question would be, for those who've used this drug, how long did it take your bodies to get use to it? It is 9/4 I have been on this only since 9/2 and it makes me very dizzy, confused and tired. I am suppose to take it twice daily (morning & night) but right now I am taking both doses at night. If I take one in the morning I can't drive, work or care for my son. I am hoping that once my body gets use to the medicine, it won't be such a shock to the system and I can take it twice daily as directed so that it will be more effective. I was just wondering when to expect this change to take place; when most people feel that their bodies were use to the medicine. Also, please share if you've experienced the same side effects and whether they completely went away or not. Thanks in advance!
-Jess
Topiramate - How long will it take my body to get use to Topomax?
Question posted by JaedynsMommy0317 on 4 Sep 2015
Last updated on 27 June 2022 by Fluffy62
4 Answers
I took one after supper and one at bed time. It seemed to lessen the effect. I've been on it at 50mg twice a day for a little over 6 years. Just in the past 2 years I have been able to take it in the morning now. It really depends on what other medication's you take that might interact with it.
I was wondering the same thing when I stumbled across your question... I've been taking this medication since Aug. 19th its really worked for me with my migraines, I used to have them every other week for 2 to 3 days excruciating and debilitating pain and now I've only had one light one since taking Topiramate and at first the only side effect I noticed was foods tasted different and carbonated drinks were awful which was ok bc I don't really drink them then I noticed my side hurt like a kidney stone(I suffer with them) but that went away after taking azo for a few days. Now is my menstrual cycles. I'm 40 and I've never had problems, never been late, early, extra heavy, light... just normal heavy days, a little cramping, regular periods.
It began a really light period with no cramping and I didn't think much of it other than maybe it was a blessing lol but 3 days after my last day I spotted and then it was a little more than spotting but not much and it was like that for a whole weekend but by that Monday it stopped so I thought it was random but now its just on and off spotting for three weeks and it looks like an early period but it stops and starts again. I dont want to say anything to my doctor bc I'm afraid they'll take me off but the period thing is getting to me... I was just wondering if anyone has had any trouble with theirs and if it ever gets better...
They first put me on Topamax 12 years ago & I had to stop taking it after the fourth year, due to extreme weight loss. My migraines have returned since & are fierce. My doctors have tried every new & old migraine med out there (at least 50) nothing has worked & its been really frustrating, to put it mildly. They have recently put me back on Topamax. It's been 8 years since I've been on it & I am 25 pounds overweight. It has been a little more difficult for me to get adjusted to it this time. Their goal is 200mg per day. I started out with 50mg daily & after a week, scaled back to 50 mg every other day for a week, then progressed to 50mg daily for 2 weeks. I've been working with 100mg pills for 2months now. Same thing with them, I began alternating between 50 & 100 and am now up to 100mg daily.
I've gone from having three severe migraines a month causing me to have have an IV, to just had one severe migraine about 9 weeks ago. In 2 weeks, I'll begin alternating between 100 & 150mg to see how that goes. The side effects that really bothers me from Topamax are the momentary loss of vocabulary - it's very frustrating as you're talking & you blank out or lose your place in your story. The other side effect is tingling/numbing I sometimes get in my feet. Other than that, I don't notice them making me tired or dizzy. Overall, because my vocab comes right back and the tingling stops... I can deal with this. I cannot deal with a life of or should I say no life... where debilitating migraines cause me to be in bed, lying on the bathroom floor, missing my children's school functions, enjoying date night with my husband... just basically having a life. Topamax has been a miracle drug for not only me but for my family too.
I already suffer all of these side effects (memory loss, neuropathy, loss of vocabulary) from thyroidectomy. Makes me totally stupid some days. Hopefully the topomax doesn't increase these things for me. I am not taking it for migraines though I am taking it for a severe case of anxiety/ptsd. It makes me very tired and dizzy, and about 20-25 minutes after I take it I feel like I'm leaning to the left while I'm trying to walk. I'm scared to drive or be left alone with my son who has autism, so that's why I don't want to take the morning dose and have been doubling up at night.
I started on it June 4. It took me about 2 months to feel "normal" again. I'm on 100mg/ day for migraines. I take 75mg at night and 25 in the morning. If I try to take 50 mg in the morning, I can't stay awake. I still have times when I can't think of a word or get mildly confused. When I get tired I still slur my words or stutter. I feel the side effects at this point are mild enough to tolerate and my headaches are much less in frequency and intensity. Good luck!
It took me almost 2 months to get used to it. I started using it back when I had a pinched nerve in my neck and was having migraines and sometimes blackouts. I didn't have any side effects to complain about nothing out of the normal anyway. Today I'm almost completely migraine free. I think topamax has alot to do with it.
Related topics
topamax, weight loss (obesity/overweight), post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, panic disorder, seizure prevention, generalized anxiety disorder, topiramate, anxiety and stress, drug
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