Comments on: Bipolar Medication Spotlight: Topamax (Topiramate)

By: Annie

Annie — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 06:32:16 +0000

Haha I must be the only person on Topamax who gained weight. I have food issues though so it isn’t the medications “fault”, just my brain’s. I’ve been on this med for about 9 months now and I really love it. I wasn’t able to stop drinking since I was diagnosed 2 years ago. I’m 26 so go figure. My meds couldn’t work as well since I was hungover and all that. Since being on topamax I haven’t had an urge to drink and I love it. I even tried my (previously) favorite drink and took 2 sips and found someone else to finish it for me.

I do have the pins and needles feelings every once in a while in my hands and/or feet and I feel pretty dehydrated most of the time. Those are the only side effects I can think of off the top of my head.

It seems to work with my brain and body chemistry. Good luck to all.

By: Antonela

Antonela — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 04:26:20 +0000

I started taking 200 mg of Topamax in the summertime and I loved it! I started losing weight, my appetite was decreasing, and I even quit drinking. Once I started up the semester I realized that I was having a really hard time not day dreaming while staying focused. I had diffculty studying for exams, completing thoughts and sentences not only in class, but also in day to day conversations. I had trouble remembering my own house phone number! The point that I am trying to make is that there are many medications out there and some side effects are not worth the things that I thought were so important. My mental health should come first.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:17:52 +0000

Topamax is a NIGHTMARE. I take it for epilepsy. It is destroying my quality of life. I have suffered major depression it, my moods fluctuate so wildly that people call me crazy to my face and the suicidal ideation is *relentless*. I have crying jags, mania, insomnia and I’m one step away from a psychotic break on this stuff. Perhaps it works better when it’s prescribed for conditions other than epilepsy, but I’m going to wean myself off it starting today or I’ll be taking the big Dirt Nap in no time at all. I’ve been on it before and went off it for these same reasons. It’s not even very good at seizure control anyway. Bad memory problems, word finding difficulties, etc. I would far rather seize (even though my seizures are life threatening, crack your head open ones) than be psychotic. This drug is POISON.

By: Erica

Erica — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:49:57 +0000

topamax saved my life. with my current insurance it costs me 30 for 3 months worth (I think 3 months, maybe 2…but it’s reasonable) I lost a ton of med weight when I went on it, my weight has gone up and down some in the 3 or 4 years I’ve been on it, but never up the high point I was at when I started. I take a very high dose, 400 mg, but it’s what works for me. I also take it with 500 mg of valproic acid and have in the past also taken 650 mg of strattera. I am dx’ed as bpII, but I question whether it’s one or two and whether I may have bpd…but I think that’s just the msw student in me self dx’ing….

By: trudie

trudie — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:13:36 +0000

Uppi might love, love , love Topomax now, but after several years on Topamax, T have sever memory loss that no one warns you about. So sever that it affects my work and every day living. I am now trying to cut back the Topomax because this memory loss is much too severe.

By: Mary Sanford

Mary Sanford — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:43:45 +0000

I’ve been on Topamax for about 2 years and I absolutely love it. It was given to me when I was first diagnosed Bi-polar 2. My brain went to sleep when I went to bed… wow! And for the first time ever, I could shut my mouth and listen to others talk… I didn’t have to talk, and talk, and talk, my brain was quieted… I didn’t realize that I now had a brain that functioned the way most other people did. Gosh, but I felt so much better, so rested in my mind, my body and spirit. I love, love, love Topamax.

By: sallybear

sallybear — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:25:32 +0000

I am currently 34 years old and have been on anti-depressants for over half of my life. I have always been treated as having Major Depressive Disorder and I now have reason to believe that I have been misdiagnosed and chemically mistreated for years. I have also suffered from migraine headaches since the age of 12. Recently, after the birth of my 3rd child, my migraine episodes became truly unmanageable. My family physician put me on Topamax, which worked miracles (and continues to do so) for my migraines. However, I noticed within the first week a feeling of “evenness” that I don’t know that I can ever recall feeling before. After the feeling was maintained for a solid month I began doing some research and found that Topamax is also used to treat Bi-Polar Disorder. I truly cannot describe the clarity and evenness that I have experienced- it is significant. However, I am also on 40 mg of Prozac and since introducing the Topamax I have had 2 significant hypomanic episodes that I believe may have been elicited by the Prozac (SSRI) by introducing the Topamax. At this point my family doctor and I have cut the Prozac back to 20 mg and I think that we are looking at switching the anti-depressant to a non-SSRI anti-depressant with the assistance of a good Psychiatrist.

By: mztc

mztc — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:43:02 +0000

I have been on Topamax for 2.5 years. I am bipolar. The side effects either went away or I just got used to them. I lost about 20lbs. My weight now stablizes. My life was not manageable before Topamax. I now have a career, family, friends, I have gone back to school and so on. I do have my “bad days” but I can get through them now. Topama is my life saver, my miracle drug.

By: Krystal

Krystal — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:05:19 +0000

Topamax is a miracle drug for my bipolar. I have only taken for a couple of months and have lost 14 pounds. My moods have levelled out. I am no longer a nervous wreck all the time and have to pop benzos all day. My headaches have also gone away mysteriously, but I thought that was just a sinus thing. The side effects are: I can’t drink anything carbonated, it tastes flat and salty (which is weird), I can’t concentrate, I have become as dumb as a box of rocks, my dr has me on strattera for that now. The strattera hasn’t started working yet. I can’t eat, I feel nauseous all the time and I get dizzy a lot. But these are all worth being mentally and emotionally stable and the weight loss is awesome especially since I also have hypothyroidism.

By: K

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 15:54:55 +0000

I am 33 and have suffered from severe mood issues for as long as I can remember. Diagnosed with severe depression at age 16, started taking antidepressants and have struggled my entire life to find stability. Last year, my excellent Dr. diagnosed me bipolar, prescribed me topamax and I am a whole new woman. It has made an incredible difference in my life. I am stable for the first time in my life. I can be a mom, a wife, a professional and not be stuck in my head or freaking out all the time. I sleep through the night. I don’t have panic attacks. I can have professional disagreements without freaking out. It has REALLY helped me…then my work switched insurance companies and the new company denied covering Topamax or the generic for mood stabilization because it is not FDA approved for this yet…it is a nightmare. I would love to visit the insurance company after being off the meds. for a week or two…