Topamax and bedtime

I have been on Topamax for 2 months and it has been horrible. I started at 25mg at bedtime and worked up to 50mg at night and 25 in the morning. I wish I never took it at all. I have had numerous migraines with the medication except now my tongue goes numb every time. I can't remember anything and I am in a fog all the time. I had to take a trip to the emergency room for tachycardia that occurs every time I stand. It goes up from normal to 166bpm. The cardiologist insists the Topamax is causing orhtostatic hypotension. I stopped all of the Topamax on Monday and it is now Saturday and I still feel horrible. Migraines are horrible but being stuck on your couch all the time because your hr increases sharply and you feel like you are going to pass out is worse. My hands and feet tingle all the time. I feel out of breath and I have always been very active. I now feel anxious all the time (never like this before). I feel like I am not myself and I am going crazy. I do not trust myself because I do not feel like myself. Has anyone else had these symptoms? Do they eventually go away? The cardiologist can't guarantee that they will ever go away.

I have been taking 25 mg. at bedtime of topamax for the last week. I was prescribed topamax to end my chronic headaches. The last week has been very difficult for me. In just 7 days I have gone from being sharp, aware, motivated, focused and in control... to scattered, unable to focus, can't remember my pin # that I have had for 20 years, stop mid sentence because I can't remember what I was trying to say, unable to hold a conversation, unable to think clearly, unable to interact with my children. My family says I have turned into a zombie. I am not safe to drive and cannot work. I did not take my topamax last night and won't be taking it anymore. I would gladly have my headaches back if I could just feel like myself again. I had no idea it would affect me so negatively in just one week on such a low dose. (25 mg)

Be so careful before taking this medicine. My doctor didn't discuss any of these side effects with me, but I did research the drug online before I took it and was aware there were serious side effects, but it never seems that serious until you actually endure the side effects for yourself. The drug is not for me.

I have been on Topamax for several years now for crippling migraines. I now take 125 mg at bedtime. I once tried to take myself off of it but, the headaches came back worse than ever So... I went back on. some say that it works because migraines are like a type of seizure. I sure don't know but I'll do anything not to have them like I used to. Recently at night my arms and legs get numb; sometimes one side sometimes both sometimes all I feel is my trunk. It is really scary, but more scary for me is the headaches with the intense nausea that accompanies them. You just can't function. Lately I also feel very tired too! Every one tells me it is just stress from work and "perimenopause" (just what I need more hormonal fluctuation to cause headaches) I really wonder if all this increased fatigue could also be the Topamax ... I mean I could easily sleep 11 hours per night if you let me! Has this happened to anyone? Did perimenopause complicate your treatment?

hi started my topamax 25 mg at bedtime i take it for migranes been top for 3 weeks now i have noticed side effects however iam taking other meds and im having trouble distinguishing which side effect goes with what lol ..e.g.. paxil for anxiety , panic attacks and HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE for borderline blood pressure , i have experienced the tingling in the hands and the feet ..lack of appt,i wouldn't say my desire for sex is gone but im experiencing vaginal dryness and itching and numbness as well as problems climaxing sorry tmi lol ... thought it was a yeast infection but its kinda different? any girls ever exp that before while on top? im getting scared now reading the post about loss of hair im already very thin and have little hair as it is any help or suggestions would be great thx ...

I've been on Topamax since Sept 2007 and the only side effects I have had were at the beginning were the tingling in the hands and feet when I was brining my dosage up. Soda tastes awful but I no longer drink it and that is a godsend after being a heavy drinker of it for years. I do find there are time when I can't find the right word to say, or I forget what I was doing, but I deal with it. I have lost 20 pounds since being on the medication. After being on it for 6 months the tingling is gone, I usually counteracted it by drinking plenty of water in the morning, that got rid of it. The drug has taken away the migraines, and regular headaches I have suffered from for years. It has also stabilized my moods and taken away my anxiety issues. I'm 36 and have never felt better. Topamax is definitely not for everyone. For those that are suffering, please do contact your doctors and try to get off the medication.

I have been on Topamax for four months for epilepsy and I love it. I do experience some of the above mentioned side effects but my seizures were not grand mal seizures they were absence seizures. so the memory loss thing is a non issue for me, as far as depression, didn't get that one, weight loss; glad to have it, tingling; not that bad; the coldness; really only bothersome at bedtime so I take a bath at night, a really hot bath. Confusion, I was confused a lot because of the seizures so, again don't know which is worse. For me I feel this is a miracle drug. I'm not sure about the abdominal issues that is my only concern right now, that is what I am dealing with constipation and maybe some menstrual issues??

I am going to begin taking 25 mg of Topamax at bedtime tonight. After reading all of these posts I am a scared. I was prescribed Topamax for bipolar disorder. I am currently taking Lamictal as well. I always gain weight on psychotropic drugs and need to lose about 15 lbs (all of which I have gained over the course of being on Lamictal). Any who-my psychiatrist said that this medication may help counteract the weight gain I have experienced. Although I do not consider my self an overeater now. I do hope that it helps me to not like the taste of sodas though. I am addicted to Mt. Dew and caffeine, which I wouldn't mind stopping. Anyway, I am supposed to increase my dosage by 25mg per week until I reach 75mg per day. I am also supposed to go back and see my doctor before I increase the dosage beyond 75mg. I just hope I do not have the horrible side effects I have read here. Some of them I know I can deal with especially if they are temporary but the anxiety/depression/shortness of breath/lack of energy/morbid thoughts are the main ones that concern me. My psychiatrist said that with this medication I should drink plenty of water. He said that it could cause headaches and other side effects if I'm not sure to drink plenty of fluids with this medication. So, I am planning on hydrating myself really well today before taking it this evening. I'll post back and let you know how the side effects are going. Is anyone else on a combination of Lamictal and Topamax or on it for bipolar disorder? I'd like to hear more of your experiences.

I just found this and wanted to put a warning on here to new topamax users. If you experience difficulty breathing, please consult with your doctor immediately! I havent even been on this for two weeks and this week I upped to 50mg @ bedtime, and within 1hr of taking the first 50mg dose of this, I started having swelling and tingling of my hands and face, difficulty breathing, and a lot of problems concentrating. Second day, same thing, third day same thing, and today, I went in and demanded to see my dr (who wasnt in the office today) and they wanted me to wait until next week to be seen, and I knew something wasnt right, I wanted seen now. They kept insisting "its not a common side effect of the drug" and I kept asking if it was a side effect at all... seriously, it took me several hours to be heard, and finally, the ARNP that I was seeing in place of the practitioner I normally see looked it up and its a severe side effect. Needless to say, I am not taking this drug anymore, and will continue my quest for a migraine relief. *They* said it should only be in my system 21hrs (we're on 25now) and the effects should be gone by then, which makes sense because each day, the effects seemed to subside shortly before I took the next bedtime dose, but today, they're persistant... I can't breathe, my fingers wont cooperate with me due to the numbness and tingling, and my lips are numb, swollen and tingling which makes it difficult to drink anything...

Anyway... PLEASE... be proactive with this medication... if something doesnt feel right, talk to your dr, and make them listen to you... Im waiting for blood and urine tests to come back to be sure the drug hasn't had any other effects on me... they said that the topamax allows (as a severe side effect) the blood to absorb high amounts of carbon monoxide (great, huh?) which is what causes the difficulty breathing (which she was originally trying to brush off as my athsma, which I KNEW wasnt the issue... I KNOW when my athsma is bothering me, and what an athsma attack is... I've been athsmatic for the greater part of my 26yrs of being...)

Hi. I was on Topamax for about a year for severe pain in my foot. I had nerve pain on the front outside part of my foot so bad I could not walk. I am also a sufferer of chronic migrains and have been hospitalized several times a year for them. I stopped having migrains - didn't realize until now that it was probably the Topamax. I didn't know why they stopped and didn't know that Topamax was used for that. I took it for just over a year. 100 mg a day at bedtime. I lost 40 lbs, the pain in my foot went away, and I haven't had a severe migrain since. I have been off of it for abou 1 1/2 years now, but want to go back on it because of the weight loss and some other nerve pain I am having with my ciatic (sp?) nerve. I did experience tingling in my leg and toes and soda was flat. I didn't know what the leg tingling was from until I read this blog. I can deal with soda being flat because I really don't need the sugar!! I love Topamax. It worked GREAT for me!! The pros far outweigh the cons for me. But everyone is different!!

I have been taking Topamax since 2002 for migraines. I started out slow with 25mg at night for a week then 50, 75 then 100mg after one month. The following week I was suppose to start 25mg in the morning. I received headaches from that. I only stick with 100mg at night and have not suffered from a migraine since. Unless I am hung over. I did get the tingling in my hands and now I hate soda. Which to me is a good thing for all the sugar it has in it. However, when my script runs out and it takes me two or more days for a refill, I get extremely sick. Must be a withdrawel thing. So do not miss more than one day.

i started taking topamax because of my migraines which i would wake up with them daily. the first week i started topamax 25 mg.(once a day) i was dizzy, lightheaded, silly, "drugged" sleepy (all day), stumbled over my feet, my head was "cloudy". now is my 5th week and i am 25mg in the am and 25mg at bedtime. i don't feel silly anymore. no migraines!!! i am happy now. i get tingly fingers and toes but that is nothing compared to my head throbbing every day all day long. sometimes my chest feels tight but i don't know if thats related to the drug or not. overall, i am satisfied after i got through the initial start-up phase. i did have to stop taking my birth control pills though because they wont be as effective. :(

I have been taking Topamax for almost a year now (100mg once daily at bedtime) and don't have a problem with this drug. It is a mood stabilizer for me, and as a recovering alcoholic I am told that it may help with that issue as well too. The first thing I noticed was that my sodas didn't taste good and since I started taking it before I got sober I thought my beer was flat and old as well. My feet sometimes go numb but I chalk that up to being a smoker and having poor circulation or sitting in wierd positions too. I didn't know about hair falling out or heart flutters, nor have I experienced anything but pleasure from a more "balanced" feeling, partly thanks to this drug. I truly believe it is an individual basis as to how each person reacts to a medication. I could not take Wellbutrin- had every bad side effect and then some. For many it has been successful. It is helpful to be aware of side effects but certainly one can't stay away from a drug based on another's experience with it. I give Topamax two thumbs up.

Hi Everyone,
I have been taking Topamax 25 mg for 1 week. I can't stand it. Today I am to up my dosage to 50 mg.I am not sure if I want to do that. The side effects suck.. I think I would rather just deal with my migraines, at least I know how to do that since I have had them for over 25 years. I have tried everything and nothing has worked so the Dr. and I thought we would give this a try.
I am trying to keep my place of employment happy with trying to cut down on the migraines but nothing works.
Most days I just want to give up.
Hopefully we will be able to figure something out.

I can't stand the pickhands and feet, the stumbling like I am drunk( and I dont' drink) nothing tastes right anymore, I have the shakes and I ache.
And all it does is makes me sleepy and like I am in another world.
I went to work today and made it half an hour before I came home because I stumbled and almost fell over. And when the boss talked to me it was like I wasn't there. So I came home. I don't know but I don't like it at all.

I have been on Topamax for approximately six weeks - 100 miligrams for migraine. I have to say that so far my side effects have been minimal and my results have been quite good. I am experiencing some parasthesia in my hands and feet - but it is transitory and mildly annoying at worst. I have found that a lot of foods don't taste very good - and I really only like highly flavorful things like fruits and vegetables. I don't enjoy anything fatty, starchy or sugary. I'd like to be able to complain about that - but let's get real - that's probably a good thing. I've lost about 20 pounds since I started on the Topamax, 20 pounds that I can easily afford to lose. I also find that I am quite thirsty. I was experiencing some tiredness, but by switching to dosing only at bedtime, I have minimized that side-effect. My appetite has diminshed a great deal. I am not noticing cognitive side effects. I have had two migraines since I started on the Topamax (I was having approxmitately 15-20 days a month of severe migraines before), but I was able to take 1/2 dose of Relpax, and the migraine was gone within a half an hour. Typically I woiuld have to take a whole dose, repeat the dose in 2 hours and still have a headache, and repeat for 3-5 days, so I am seeing a big difference in the incidence of my headaches. All-in-all I am feeling quite hopeful that the Topamax, for me, will be an excellent overall solution for something that has been quite debilitating.

I have been taking Topamax for approx. 16 months. I began with 25 mg at bedtime and have just a week ago worked up to 100 mg at bedtime. My Dr. was good to prepare me for some of the side effects so that I wouldn't freak out and want to discontinue the medication. I was having about 3-5 migraines a week. It was scary how much Imitrex/Phenergan I was taking just to be able to get through a day only to face another headache. When my Dr. offered me Topamax for "migraine prevention" and told me of possible side effects, he also told me that if I would work through them it would be worth it. He was right! I had tingling in my hands and feet at first that only lasted a few days. I had subtle hair loss after about 2 wks. The most noticable side effect that I've had has been how it has affected my concentration and memory. For the first month or two, I had a very hard time getting out the words I was trying to think of in a conversation and I would forget to do ordinary things. This has gotten back to normal!!!! I encourage you to hold on! The side effects aren't as bad as the headaches - at least not for me! My Dr. also told me that it was VERY important to drink LOTS OF WATER! I even noticed that when I would wake up in the morning and feel the tingling in my hands and feet - if I would drink a glass of water the tingling would get better. The higher the dosage of medicine the more the water; especially in hotter weather. I think my body doesn't sweat as much as it used to unless I drink plenty of WATER!
Just hang on - if you can - and know that you can decrease your dosage and take it easy until your body completely adjusts to that dosage and stay there a while (months) then increase a little more until you get to the goal dosage. That's what my Dr. and I have done. It has worked!!!!!!!!!!

I am a 62 yr old lady that was started on Topamax a little more than 2 yrs ago for migraines that were getting worse as I was aging. After the first "weaning on" period I have been taking 100mg a day at bedtime for the entire time. Initially, I had a lot of tingling in my hands and feet, but it subsided somewhat and never seemed like a big deal. The Topamax brought my migraines to a grinding halt. However, more recently I've noticed quite a number of new increasing symptoms that are bothersome and scary. Difficulty concentrating, a certain amount of confusion, and some eye pain that sometimes feels like pressure and my vision is blurry. My balance does not seem quite normal. I'm not really dizzy, but I have "missed" a step too many times lately. My mind functions do not seem all together "there". Normal functions like spelling, counting change, answering questions, like my address and phone number, aren't always easy especially if I'm under pressure or get upset. Backaches and joint pains are present, but since I have Degenerative Disc Disease it is hard to distinguish the source of the pain. The problem is I cannot determine if this is from the medication or if I am experiencing another kind problem. ? Most medications have side effects; however, if the benefits out weigh the (negative) side effects, it is worth it.

I am extremely sensitive to all medications, so I start at the very lowest doses; I have very bad migraines and am trying 25mg. of topamax. I can only take 1/2 of the 25 mg. pill at bedtime, and sleep well, but awaken with swelling around my lower eyes, and a feeling of "mucous" in the eyes that makes me want to blink all the time

I have been on Topamax 50 mg at bedtime for 8 months. I have lost 17 pounds and only get headaches once a month. They last an hour or two and not 3 months. My feet tingle, my vision is a little worse. My stools are always loose. I never had that problem before. Never. I am very happy with the medicine though since I am a fulltime worker and mother and function while I wait for my Imitrex to work if I do get a headache. Great medicine concidering I have been on lots since I have been 10 yrs old and now have weaned off everything but Topomax. I am now 43 yrs old. and living.

Began Topamax/Relpax rx in Jan 05...had been increasing the Topamax dose to 75 mg total/day until 3/05 but felt irritable, not sleeping well; Dr. added Elavil at bedtime to help me sleep and it has really helped. I have just inc. to the next level dose of Topamax :total now at 50 mg in the am and 50 mg in the pm . Side effects are tingling /buzzing sensations in my heels- this seems to calm down after I get used to a dose level... Forgetfulness and trouble getting my words out,mixing up words and even occas. slurring. This does frustrate . BUT, my headaches are so much fewer.So , it is working well I'd say .I have lost a few pounds but I am watching my intake and exercising .I notice that exercise helps my headaches too !

I haven't seen the weight loss yet, but have had a decrease in my appetite, but I take imitrex for migraines and have to eat through the headache to feel better. I know weird. Very dry mouth and soda's taste weird, but my teeth are very, very sensitive. I expected the weird taste buds but are the sensitive teeth normal? Taking 75 mg at bedtime. I was on birth control pills until this week. too many headaches!

I am taking 100 mg at bedtime for bipolar type II, I was on 50 mg for 2 weeks. I told the doctor of the tingling in my hands feet and face and she did not even know that was a side effect of the med. I also have been having some pretty bad anxiety soon after I take my dosage at bedtime. I feel like I am seeing little black bugs every now and then. Other side effects...some short term memory loss, sometimes cant think of the right words, general scatterbrained..but alot of these things i had before I was on the Topamax ...they were just intesified when I started taking it. Well, one good thing has come from it, i have lost 6 pounds in the past 2 1/2 weeks. But that is the only positive thing. I am seriously starting to think it is beginning to trigger a mood swing. (not a good thing) If it doesn't start to improve soon I will discontinue this med.