Topamax User Reviews & Ratings (Page 2)

• adopt...
• March 27, 2013

For Bipolar Disorder "I have had a good experience after trying to find the right cocktail for several years. I have a very high-stress job and my anxiety is put to the test daily. It is not clinically significant at this point and I can only attribute that to finally having my medicines right. I am taking Wellbutrin, Lamictal, Topamax and Zoloft at pretty low dosages for each. I did lose about 70 pounds. After over a year on the Topamax, my normal appetite has started to return and I have gained back about 10 pounds, but I still have self control that I lacked when I was fighting depression which is now at bay."

• Smart...
• July 20, 2009

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I've been on Topamax since March 2009. I've lost 75 of the 110 pounds I need to lose. The side effects are annoying and, in the beginning I really wanted to quit the medication. But as I've lost the weight, I've actually been able to decrease the dosage so a lot of the side effects have decreased as well. Some of them are easier to live with than others. The paresthesia has mostly subsided, but I do still struggle with memory lapses. I quit drinking all carbonated beverages because I do not like the way they taste. That has probably helped with the weight loss anyway. Overall, I am quite pleased. I am also pleased to read that others have been able to maintain their weight on this drug."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 28, 2020

For Migraine Prevention "Had chronic migraines and was prescribed this medication. At first I had no migraines or headaches but then it got worse. I urge you to not take this medication If you have an alternative. It created a barrier in my conversations. I couldn’t comprehend what people were saying, had trouble creating responses and felt like I was drugged up all the time."

• annie...
• September 6, 2011

For Bipolar Disorder "I have taken Topamax for bipolar twice. First for three years then now for a year. Do not know why I ever went off! This has been great for me after 25 years on lithium which was like living under 4 wet wool blankets. I also tried Depakote which only increased the weight gain and depression. At first, the side effects were a bit rough even at the initial very low dose of 25 mg. Very sleepy and tingly of hands and feet. BUT they pass, they really do. It may take a week of just being exhausted even when you increase your dose. The appetite depressant is wonderful. Also cuts down on general anxiety. Takes the real edge off the hypomania. I have not had any of the problems with finding words, etc. "

• ponygal
• April 28, 2010

For Fibromyalgia "This has been a wonder drug for me when combined with Cymbalta. I have suffered for years and had been on narcotic pain killers. The pain had finally gotten so bad that even those weren't working. I work in Pre-K and didn't want to give up my job to become a disabled person living at home on pain killers. I found an awesome Doctor who understood that I didn't want to live on those types of medications. After only two visits she tapered me off of the medicines I was on and started me on Topamax along with Cymbalta. That is all I take. No more pain! Life is wonderful again."

• sfears
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 28, 2015

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "When I first started taking Topamax it was prescribed to me for the prevention of migraine headaches. A couple of years later I now take 200mg in the morning and 200mg at bedtime and since February I have lost 51 lbs... 282 down to 232 and still loosing more!!!!"

• Erin...
• March 9, 2020

For Migraine Prevention "Topamax ruined my life! Kaiser put me on it until my Psychologist said “get off of it if it’s not working” after I told her I had been on it for over a year! This medication caused tingling in my hands, feet ,face and caused me to see people’s faces in distorted ways like a horror film! My headaches are caused from a 2cm round tumor in my left temporal lobe near my cortex at the Hippicampos Hypathalamus, it causes light seizures and horrible right side brain headaches! Even though neurologists say it’s not connected, I know from reasearch it is connected and no one is helping me deal with the horrific debilitating headaches!So when Kaiser said “try Topamax”I said sure why not!I lost 2 years of my life with my son who was a jr in highschool, it’s a miracle my husband of 25 years stayed married to me ! Topamax ruined 2 years of my life "

• Amand...
• January 14, 2016

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I have been obese my whole life. I have struggled with diets and exercise and eating and starving. I have gone as far as having weight loss surgery. EVERYTHING has only been temporary. My new doctor has recommended Topamax. I currently weigh 282.6. I have started out on 25 in the morning and 25 at night. In 1 month I will go in for my follow up. Has anyone else tried everything else and completely fail? My doctor says it could be my genetic makeup. But anyway I plan on keeping a record on here of my journey for myself and others to follow. Thank you for your support."

• misin...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 29, 2018

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "My Dr. has just prescribed me Topamax for weight loss. I'm the biggest I've ever been at 223lb. I have always had the tendency to be heavy as I have fought my weight my entire life but now it's becoming threatening to my health. My doctor said the "foggy" head side effects and kidney stones etc are so rare that it's worth trying. He said that the tingling of hands and feet are the most common side effect and they tend to subside. Is this true? Reading some of these reviews has me scared now but my dr seems like it should be fine. I'm confused. HELP"

• mommy...
• September 15, 2011

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I have been battling my weight since I was pregnant with my first son, who just turned 2. I was 165 when I got pregnant with him, and on the day I went in to have my second son (who is 5 months old today) I weighed 270. I just took my first 25 mg dose of Topamax last night. I am addicted to Diet Dr. Pepper and can't even stand the taste. Not hungry either, so I'm hopeful that this medicine will work. I also take Celexa and Tenuate. I don't know if it's the combination, or just the Topamax, but I am feeling kind of "floaty" today, in a sense. Maybe this will improve with time."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 16, 2012

For Bipolar Disorder "I took Topamax for 12 years as a mood stabilizer for Bipolar 1 disorder. It is a GREAT mood stabilizer and I used to be quite heavy and I lost 100 pounds in around 6 months (yes you read that right!). The bad part was HORRIBLE side effects. Constant itching in the summer. I developed a 9mm kidney stone when I had no prior history. I developed a blood disorder (something acidosis, was told this was a rare side effect, but that was why I stopped taking it. However, if I could go back in time would I still take it? You bet! One of the best mood stabilizers I've ever been on. Just make sure you EAT when taking it, it makes you not want to eat."

• Compu...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 4, 2019

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I was put on 25mg of this drug by my psychiatrist to control my appetite, but felt, well, just "off"." I told my psychiatrist that I wll stop taking it because I didn't like the way it made me feel and never took it again."

• Ladybug
• November 12, 2019

For Migraine Prevention "I am 24 years old and I've had terrible migraine headaches since I was in high school. I've been on Topamax for 3 months and only taking 50mg a day since it can lessen the effect of my birth control and I don't want to highten the side affects. This has also been good enough to where I'm not getting migraine/tension headaches everyday like I used to (it was making my life miserable). I get them sometimes once a week now. My side effects from Topamax are I used to have some hand/feet tingling but it went away after I got used to the medication, it does make soda does taste flat, and I sometimes I forget words - but it's kind of how I am anyway. So far this has worked well for me and hasn't caused me any problems."

• Ldonut
• November 7, 2014

For Bipolar Disorder "I've been on Topamax before and it worked and went off I don't know why. I recently went back on it and it has made a world of difference. It's like night and day. I take it with Abilify and Xanax because I have really bad anxiety also. I am 24 and was so depressed I wasn't leaving my apartment but now I feel like a new person like I want to go out and do things again. I'm not held back. I like that this medicine doesn't make me gain weight too because I've had that problem in the past, I lost 10 pound since I went back on it 4 weeks ago. The only thing I will say that is not great is it slows down my thought process sometimes and it gives me tingles in my hands and face but not all the time. The benefits outweigh those side effects greatly."

• Mike_...
• August 31, 2014

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "Awful. I lost 10 pounds in 5 weeks before I had to quit Topamax due to side effects, which were terrible. They included: memory loss and "senior moments" which increased 10-fold, I think this medicine dropped my IQ at least 15 points, that "I'm not part of this world" feeling of disconnectedness; and overheating to the point that I simply could not work out. Gained the 10 pounds back within 3 weeks of quitting."

• Steph...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 13, 2014

For Bipolar Disorder "I have been taking Topamax for mood disorder for the past six months along with my antidepressant and anxiety meds and I thinks it's GREAT! It's improved my mood so much with no side effect. I recommend it to anyone."

• revie...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 2, 2019

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "Please do not take this medication! it's not worth it! I had put on some weight and doc wanted me to take this to curb appetite. It has caused me to become angry, severely depressed, having crying spells, overly sensitive for no reason, tingling in legs and hands, eye issues, and foggy head. It's been only 3 weeks and I am now tapering off cause I have been snapping on everyone. I was only on 50mg and even tapering to 35mg didn't lesson the side effects."

• Sweet-P
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 4, 2012

For Migraine Prevention "Began Topamax in 2005 after suffering from migraines that would last for weeks. The litany of side effects is true, and its nickname, "Stupamax" is honestly earned. Word recall, memory, trouble focusing, hand numbness, fatigue, insomnia, the works. But number of days with headaches went from 21 to 9 the very first month. Now, after years of taking it, my body has been depleted of vitamin B12, and I have been suffering from horrible GI troubles. However, none of my doctors seemed to link Topamax to the B12 depletion. It took Google to figure that one out. But thank you to Google and B12 supplements. I hope this helps someone else relieve any issues they've been experiencing. "

• Anonymous
• April 7, 2009

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I have struggled with weight loss for years. Food cravings are one of my "symptoms." Topamax really did help with this, however my energy and memory are not what they use to be. Originally I thought it was a trade off I could adjust to but the fuzzy memory for me is frustrating. I sometimes say words that I am thinking about and don't even realize it. Then argue that I didn't say it, only to find out I did. Silly, but worth revisitng my physician about. I struggle with the same 10-20 lbs but won't give up. I would recommend trying it to people who are serious about weight loss. It helps you push your plate away and not obsess about food. That was an experience I had never had before, but I need my memory."

• Burps
• Taken for 10 years or more
• June 24, 2015

For Fibromyalgia "Topamax was a miracle drug for me! It helped with my Fibromyalgia pain & headaches. I would definitely recommend this drug. I have to stop taking it now due to the development of kidney stones. I wish I could stay on it as it improved my life by 90%. I'm a 59 year old female. I have had fibromyalgia for 23 plus years."

• Piggy
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 28, 2019

For Migraine Prevention "I was prescribed Topamax for migraines. At first it was amazing, my migraines stopped. But as my dose increased, I began having loss of memory, confusion, and severe panic attacks. These problems persisted for a whole year after stopping the drug. One plus—I have not had a migraine since. This drug changes your brain chemistry. Be really careful."

• Anonymous
• January 14, 2012

For Bipolar Disorder "I started this medication for weight lose, bipolar, migraines. Seems like it may just be perfect...hopefully. I just finished my first week and lost 3 pounds! I workout 5-6 days a week but due to antidepressants making me gain so much weight, regardless of my diet and exercise I am fat. So today stepping on that scale and seeing 3 POUNDS LIGHGTER! I am a very moody person but the medicine seems to be making it right, moods seem to be very level. And haven't had one migraine! No side effects other than weight loss and loss of appetite..can't complain about that!"

• Anonymous
• February 15, 2011

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "Topomax combined with Melatonin have prevented me from waking up and eating in middle of the night. Has allowed me to diet and make progress. However, side effects have been challenging, mental fog, reduced sex drive are just a few."

• Aunt...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 8, 2019

For Migraine Prevention "I have been through so much with this medicine !! I ended up dizzy, confused, very irritable, pain behind my eyes so bad it would give me headaches every day. I was scared to death to drive as my perception was off, so bad sometimes it was like the road was moving not my car. I had memory loss and couldn't say things right or even do deposits at work, I felt as if my brain was trying to come out of my skull. On this I had to go to gyno because had abnormal periods and neurologist because of my head!! I too had breast , arm and leg pain to the point of couldn't wash my hair or get ready . My legs were so bad I couldn't make it up the stairs! My husband was scared I was scared I was losing my mind and had something major wrong with me. This medicine wreaks havoc on your body and brain and eyes !!! NIGHTMARE DRUG....... I stopped it 3 days ago and getting better already... I'm 42 and a healthy person or was!!"

• Nomor...
• November 10, 2014

For Migraine Prevention "I started taking Topamax about 3 years ago. Began at 25mg a day for a week. The second week I was supposed to move up to 50, the third week 2 75mg and then finally to 100mg on the fourth week. I never really had to move past 25mg. My migraines all but stopped after a month of being on the medication and at the lowest dose. I had all the side effects - tingling, weight loss (very happy about it too), forgetting certain words and the nasty taste of soda. That was okay because I only drink it very rarely anyway. I was getting 1-2 migraines a week and now, I may have 1-2 a year. Most of the side effect seemed to have faded with time as well. Very, very pleased with this medication."