Topamax and acne

I have been taking topamax for five months now. My friends and family have been so worried about me that they have accused me of doing hard drugs. I thought that some of the side effects I was experiencing were from stress in my life. I am a 26 year old girl who has battled migraines since puberty. Now I have about half my hair left, acne like you have never seen before, ( I have never ever had acne in my life!), depression, high levels of anxiety, and my vocabulary has shortened to that of a 6th graders. I have always been a thin girl, usually around 125 and I am 5'8. At this point, you can count every bone in my body, see every vein. it's pretty discussing. I am going to wean of 25 milligrams a week, and deal with my migraines in a different way, so that I can become the person I once was.

My psychiatrist started me on Topamax 2 yrs ago for depression from being 75 lbs overweight. Started at 25 mg/day up to 50/day for 2 yrs. Lost 70 lbs and kept off with only minor side effects. Also took 150/day Wellbutrin during this time. (For being kind of a neat freak and washing my hands a lot.- didn't affect my social or work life much) Have slowly started gaining the weight back (+12 lbs). Seem to have built up an immune to the 50/day dosage over the 2 yrs. So he added 25 in the am in addition to the 50 I've been taking in the evening. (1 mo. ago) Having some strange reactions. My memory seems to be taking a real hit. I am a CPA (passed these exams 15 yrs ago) and now I'm studying for the Cert.'d Internal Auditor exams. I am having a great deal of trouble trying to memorize for these 12 hour long tests! I feel fatigued every day. My blurred vision (that requires reading glasses) has gone crazy. I can't read the song book at church at all. And I'm only 47!. I've had acne like bumps all around my nose and face. How could such a slight increase cause so much change? Also sometimes my heart feels like it is going to beat out of my chest. And I'm losing patience w/my 13 yr old son who's pushing my buttons to see how much he can get away with. He seems to sense that I'm not at my best. But if I go off this Topamax and gain back my 70 plds I know I will plunge into a DEEP depression. Has any one talked to their doctor about the possibility of these side effects going away after time? My tingling hands and feet did and my slight hair loss did. And my weight loss is trying to go away but I don't want that. I'm majorly concerned about the memory loss and blurred vision eventually going away. DALIAL

ok i have been taking topomax for about roughly 7 years. at one time it got so bad with the memory loss they put me on the alzhimers med. that they proscribe for about everyone with alzhimers. i have had clumps of hair fall out so they put in a prescription for hair loss. i once weighed 100 lbs size 0 im 5 ft tall and i am usually about a 7-8 . the topomax i was taking it for my toruretts syndrome and every so often it causes a clich ill have face freezing that will last for and hour to 3 days or make it worse. ill get hives i get aggressive angerd very easily at the drop of a pin and wont eat at all because i forget i forget everything i once stared at a wall for 3 hours i couldn't move my body or eyes my mind went blank like someone shut off the electricity . plus bad acne ( um when i first took it it was like i was getting high with my entire body tingling like when ur foot has fallen asleep even my eyes felt like that) i have sufford some vision problems everyday and forget what and where i was going it has made me have some psychological problems increase
i have now recently stopped taking it i still get rashes i am always cold hair is still falling out still hear a ring in my ears i see things that aren't there like little firecrackers going off in my vision or blackouts like when u get a migraine i am always itching tingly all the time aggravated all the time
but now i eat i have gained like close to 20 lbs but i am more focussed in some things it helps when i am in class to stay focussed but not really because im not used to being so alert but i think i like not feeling foggy anymore

I'm a 26 year old female and I've been on Topamax since March 2007. It has completely gotten rid of the debilitating headaches I experienced 3-6 times a week. It also got rid of my anxiety. I got my life back, my antidepressant kicked in at the same time. I experienced all the usual side-effects, tingling hands and feet, forgetting words, memory problems, loss of appetite, but was COMPLETELY pain-free. I still am. However, I never remember anything now, forget whether or not I did something, paid my bills, etc, lose things constantly, and I have lost about 20 lbs. Not good. I look anorexic. I have bones sticking out. Eating is hard. I forget to eat and drink all day and food is just unappealing. I feel fuzzy and stupid and slow. Not sharp like I used to be. It has killed my confidence and self-esteem. But I was wondering if any women out there got yeast infections while they were on Topamax. I've had one monthly since I started it, and my doc said it's a rare side effect. Oh yeah, I've had mild hair loss and mild to moderate acne now. This drug, it is such a 50-50. Living with chronic pain, those headaches were awful. But doubting yourself is awful too. Anyone have similar experiences?

I take topamax for migraines. I'm still feeling this out. When I first started about 2 months ago I went through all kinds of crazy symptoms. My husband thought I was loosing it. For some reason my doctor wanted to start me out right away with about 50 in am and 50 at night. The first month was rough.
I read the pamplets and took myself down to a lower dose and worked up slower as the company suggest. I not only had tingly hands and extremties.
But outburst of weeping and anger like never before. Like triple the pms symptoms. There were just all kinds of weird things. In this 2nd month I am taking 100 in the am and 25-50 in the evening. I am now experiencing the acne, itchy skin, inability to concentrate, apathy. Insomnia. In general I don't get chronic headaches. But have yet to see menstrual migraines subside. Sill feeling my way through this. You cannot stop this med abruptly. As many meds. Do not tell you how dangerous they are to stop abruptly. I think every one is individual. Soda's are not flat for me, but enhanced. More carbonated. Which I like. Strange I know.

Topamax is w/out a doubt the WORST drug I've ever been on. It made me brain dead. I couldn't find a job on Topamax. I would be in interviews and would space out and couldnt' answer questions. People looked at me like I was crazy. I felt like I had Alzheimer's at 38, especially when my neuro prescribed Exelon, the drug for Alzheimer's to counteract the cognitive side effects. As I said, couldn't find a job, had no insurance. My topa-lovin' neuro was giving it to me and getting me on the patient=ass program through Johnson/Johnson, the maker's of TM. She didn't want to help me get on another anticonvulsant PA program. Finally, I had to charge another med on my credit card because I couldn't take this toxic gunk in my body anymore. The decay of my mind has escalated to the point that I don't know if I will ever be back to myself again. BEWARE of this drug. I haven't even covered the eye pain, insomnia, headaches, leg cramps (i can go on).

I started topamax on Tuesday for bipolar disorder. My pdoc started me on 50 mg and I took one in the am and got really sleepy so I cut back to 25 mg at night and went back to 50 mg on the weekend. I was surprised to feel the effects the first day. I thought I had gotten a flat pepsi at lunch and then realized that my tastes had already been effected. I got the tingly hands and have noticed that my leg muscles have been twitching some. The very first day I felt like I was in a fog and I definitely don't want to feel dumb. I'm hoping that cutting back and titrating up more slowly, as well as taking the medicine at night will help. The side effects I can stand as I withstood 6 months on Accutane for acne which was waaayyy worse.

hi, i seem to have a lot of the less common side effects: hair loss, itchy, acne, back ache, frequent urination, yeast infection (started with vaginal bacterial infection when i first started and now have yeast infection around arrival of cycle each month and now doing preventative measures, but not sure of effectiveness yet), irritability, restlessness, inability to focus, sore throat, change in taste, and hot flushes, though sometimes tingling and coldness in my feet.
my dosage is low, 25mg, for migrane prevention. was supposed to work up, but will not. spoken to dr. and am now taking 25mg every other night before bed. i was very drowsey at first and had seemingly adjusted, but will only take it before bed. it does help curb my migranes, and with the relpax to kick them when i do get them things are manageable.
what i would like to know is if i finally get to the lowest possible effective dosage, does anyone know if over time will the side effects become manageable or will i continue to have them or worse get more of them. to be honest hair loss, acne, and yeast infections are not a girls best friends, then add aggression and aggitation and i am not sure if i even want to be around me, yet i have less migranes. ANY replies will be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sandy*