Drink soda symptoms and conditions

I have been taking Topamax, 25 mg. for one week. Today was the first day I took 2. My doctor prescribed it for migraines, which I was having several times a month. The past few times I thought I was having a heart attack! I read about the side effects before I began the medicine so I have been waiting on everything to begin. So far the only thing I have noticed is I have a weird sensation in my mouth and sometimes in my throat. The only way I can describe it is if I have been breathing something caustic, such as smog or smoke, or a lot of dust. One thing I am going to try is a mouthwash called Biotene or Biotene. It is for dry mouth. Maybe it will help. Has anyone else experienced this and/or tried Biotene?
I read with interest what everyone has written. I drink soda all day and will be integrating more water because of one of the posts. So far though, my cokes taste the same. Is it only Dr. Pepper that tastes differently? I have also been getting winded easily and thought it was just me. The one side effect I am READY for is the weight loss. I gained 20 pounds in a year after I quit smoking. Anything to help with that is welcome.
So far though I have not had any migraines and I always have one with PMS. No increased anxiety but I have been on Zoloft for several years for depression. Maybe the Zoloft will offset the Topamax in that respect. I can be somewhat scatterbrained at times and as an assistant principal, I have to stay focused all day. Now that it is summer I will be able to relax a bit and it's ok if I am more absent minded than usual. Except that I have to work on a research project. But hey, does anyone really read that stuff??
Thanks everyone for sharing and I will check back in if anything changes. I am curious to see how things will go.

I have been on Topamax for a year. I am on a low dose of 25mgs morning and night for Migraine prevention (instead of the Verapamil I had been taking for years). I am pleased with the results. No migraines. I do not drink soda any more due to the after taste but thats fine. I think I am a little more "hazy" in my thought process but not to an extent of it interfering with my life. I will see how I continue.

Today is day 8 on Topamax. The only symptoms I've really had were the first few nights on it I woke up in the middle of the night but that has stopped. I had a few bad dreams but that has stopped. Drinks taste a little weird to me, but nothing like anyone else on here has described. I can still taste the carbonation at times. I just started taking 50mg today. I do 25mg in the am and I am going to take 25mg in the pm. For the previous 7 days I was only on 25mg per night. I have heard all this talk about weight loss on Topamax. That's part of the reason I am on it...to counteract the weight I have gained since I've been on Lamictal. Anyway, I haven't noticed a decrease in my appetite OR any weight loss at all so far. I was just wondering how long it took to start affecting you guys with the weight loss. Is there a certain mg you are on that it starts to affect your appetite/weight loss or a certain time frame or what? Any information would help. Thanks!

I started with 25 mg for migraines and upped dosage by 25mg pweek for 4 weeks till I reached 100 mg per day. Right away this didnt work because you cant half the pills because the taste will kill you. but once I adjusted to the 50 mg it was ok. There are side effects. I have cured my life long addiction to coca cola. I can no longer drink soda, it tastes gross, really vile, and I have lost almost twenty pounds sfter one month. The no soda gave me incentive, so I have been dieting, but the topamax only seems to help. I have only had one migraine this month, on the monring of my periods arrival. This hasnt happened in twenty years. Ive been on all sorts of meds throughout the years. I love topamax. I have had some other side effects. I am diagnosed as bipolar, and do not take medicine because the depakote made me a zombie. Life has been much easier, although on the days I up my dosage I was a bit hyperemotional. Nothing too bad though. I was, however, unable to drink two glasses of wine on this medication. I did have some spacey moments, and tingly fingers as well. Like I said before, nothing compared to Depakote, and nothing that I wouldnt trade for ONe hormonal migraine a month. I love this stuff.

I've been on topamax for 3 1/2 months & was on 25 mg & then was pushed up to 100 mg when I started to have more severe migraines & "seizing" in my arms & legs. Here are a list of my symptoms: increased sleepiness, gait problems, word recall, more difficulty w/dysgraphia, increased ADD problems, increased lability, increased hypersensitivity to stimuli (seizing in limbs increased), pins & needles, metallic taste in mouth, asthma worsened, sleep became more disrupted, lost weight (already skinny), increased facial hair, strange menstrual symptoms, basilar migraines worsened, hemiplegic migraines started occuring at increased rate, suspicious that it may cause or excacerbate pre-existing sleep apnea (haven't been evaluated yet), feel like a stroke patient, weakness on right side of body, can't drink soda, increased impulsiveness, confusion, increased speech problems, increased GERD...this has really messed me up.

you really should be careful giving this to patients who may have a sleep disorder, previous head injury or breathing issues...Is this safe for people w/ asthma, sleep apnea, cerebral palsy, sleep disorders, etc.? Will these side affects wear off or is permanent?

I have nothing to thank Topamax for.

28 year old male. Seems like a lot of users of topamax are woman. I think i started using this pill about 6 months ago but im not really sure. Dr. Fox in the Bay Area of California prescribed me 200mg right away from day one for migraines and said to also to continue taking 550mg of Dilatin for my epilepsy at the same time.

Since then I have only lost like 5 pounds. I have that bad tatse in my mouth when I drink soda so I think thats where my weight loss came from. The memory loss was minimal and loss of was as well in the beginning.

Recently I have noticed the patchy hairy on the top and sides of my head as well as in my facial hair, no where else, not yet. But now I cant remember if I put a whole chicken in the oven or chicken legs to cook 20 minutes later. I cant remember work and talk to anyone without sounding stupid, luckily ive been there 10 years. I cant think of the words to say and i stutter trying to think of the words to say. Ive just started noticing when i try to drink out of a cup how i dont always get in my mouth but laugh it off but now i realize its seriously a problem. i cant even drink out of a damn cup. I forget to eat and loose track of time, hours pass all the time and I cant figure out where they went, if i wasnt awake id think i was abducted or something. I put things off and then forget to do them constantly to the point where I got my 15 day notice on my electric bill.

Im so tired because of this pill a friend told me to use hydroxycut to get some energy but even that barely keeps me going. When I dont take the hydroxycut to make me feel like I use to fel with decent energy, and I feel like I would just topamax alone on the weekends i dont even get out of bed.

BIG QUESTION! HAS ANYONE GOT OFF THIS PILL AND ONTO ANOTHER TO STOP THE MIGRAINES WITH DECENT SIDE EFFECTS? E-MAIL ME SO I CAN SUGGEST THE NAME TO MY DR, TELL ******

I've been taking Topamax for just slightly over two months to treat migraines and neuropathy and it has helped with both. My dr. also thought some of the side effects might be beneficial (i.e., wakefulness, weightloss, etc.). I wasn't prepared for all the negative side effects. I'm constantly thirsty (but everything tastes so bad I can't find anything to drink and I don't drink soda - so that's not the problem), I've have had a sore throat for the past two - three weeks, my tongue also burns and has streaky, red craters running over it. I'm incredibly crabby and my sex drive (which has never been a problem, is non-existent). I also seem to be craving sweets - maybe because they seem to be the only thing that tastes good. I'm currently taking 50mg 2x per day and I'm going to talk to my dr. about cutting each dose in half. If that doesn't help then I'm going to have to stop this med.

I HAVE BEEN ON METADONE FOR ABOUT 7 MONTHS NOW AND I AM UP 150 MGS A DAY, I HAVE FIBROMYALGIA AND THE PAIN IS JUST TERRIBLE MOST OF THE TIME, WHEN I FIRST WENT ON THIS DRUG I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS THE PERFECT DRUG, IT TOOK ALL OF MY PAIN AWAY, IT WAS SOMEWHAT CHEAP, AND MY DOCTOR WOULD GIVE ME ENOUGH OF IT TO TAKE CARE OF MY PAIN. HOWEVER ...I WAS ALWAYS A SMALL WOMAN THE MOST THAT I EVER WEIGHED WAS 150 PONDS AND THAT WAS WHEN I WAS 9 MONTHS PREGNANT WITH MY CHILDREN, I USED TO HAVE TO MAKE MYSELF EAT TO TRY AND GAIN WEIGHT..AFTER BEING ON METHDONE FOR ABOUT A MONTH I STARTED TO NOTICE THAT I HAD INTENSE CRAVINGS FOR SWEETS THAT I COULD NOT DENY...IT WAS LIKE NEEDING A HIT OF HERION OR SOMETHING.. NOW THAT LITTLE GIRL THAT USED TO HAVE TO TRY TO GAIN WEIGHT AND WHOS NORMAL WEIGHT WAS 115 POUNDS IS UP TO 162 POUNDS AFTER JUST 7 MONTHS ON THIS DRUG, I AM ONLY EATING ONE MEAL A DAY AND JUST HAVING A FEW BITES OF SOMETHING AT BREAKFAST..THE MORE I TRY TO DIET THE MORE WEIGHT I GAIN...SOMEONE HELP!! IS THERE ANY THING AT ALL THAT I CAN DO .. I CAN SOMEWHAT DEAL WITH THE CONSTIPATION THAT IS NEVER GOING AWAY AND I CAN DEAL WITH THE SWEATS THAT ARE HORRIBLE - I CAN EVEN DEAL WITH THE SLEEPINESS AT INAPPROPRIATE TIMES BUT I CAN NOT DEAL WITH ALL OF THIS FAT..THIS IS MAKING ME EVEN MORE DEPRESSED AND SUICIDIAL THAN I EVER WAS BEFORE METHADONE....I REALLY AM THINKING ABOUT TRYING ANOTHER DRUG BUT THEY ALL JUST COST SO MUCH.....ANY ADVICE FOR ME ABOUT THE WEIGHT GAIN???

200 mg a day since April 2002, dont know if my visual problems have anything to do with Topamax or not. my visual field is effected. Will know more after further testing. Pressure is great. Tremors under both eyes now. Tingling in hands once in awhile now. Nothing like at first. Headaches much better once a month or every two months. Weight loss was great. Keeping it off. taste buds changed. Couldn't taste much at first. Over salted everything. I can drink soda now. Diet soda doesn't taste good at all. I drink juice now. Water it down. Short term memory lost still is a problem.

appetite loss which is cool, cant drink soda only h2o, only i am only on 100 mg a day for migraines i dont have tingling the only side effects i have experienced is loss of appetite some weird dreams stomach pains, other wise cool i am happy with the loss of appetite and loss of sweets taste:)