Topamax and carbonated beverages

Hello, I started taking Topamax a year and a half ago for my migraines ( I was getting them almost daily- still am). My neurologist started me out at the normal dose of 25 mg a day and kept raising it up until I was at 100mg twice a day at which point I just quit taking it because I felt like it was just making things worse. Anyway, in the beginning, I did lose my appetite and things tasted terrible... especially carbonated beverages. I lost probably 15lbs. I quit taking the topamax for about 6 months and gained about 20lbs. I just started taking it again about 2 weeks ago and my appetite has actually increased. Has anyone else experienced this? I am hungry all of the time. I did not have a problem concentrating or remembering things last time but this time I do. Funny how it effects you differently each time you take it...

I love topamax.
I've been taking topamax for depression for 5 months. I started on 25 mgs a day, than worked my way up to 25 in the am and 25 in the pm, and now my doctor is moving me up to 50 in the am and 50 in the pm. I'm 31 years old, and have tried antidepressants since I was 17. I've struggled with depression since I was a kid. Antidepressants always made my depression worse, and caused me to get brain shivers because I don't tolerate serotonin drugs well. Antipsychotics for depression cause me to want to kill myself. Topamax was the only relief I have ever found.
The biggest side effect is sometimes I feel high or stoned like I smoked pot, especially if I am tired from not eating or pushing myself too hard. Most people don't get this, I just have a very strange brain chemistry.
Topamax works in the temporal lobe of your brain and can cause serious cognitive side effects if you do not already have damage in that part of your brain. That's why some people love it and some people hate it.
Weight loss isn't something I have experienced either, which sucks because I am overweight. I actually gained 10 pounds since being on topamax and I love carbonated beverages. But I am also the kind of person that quits smoking and loses 20 pounds, so I don't know if that will be true for you. I've also been way more thirsty since starting topamax, and my feet do fall asleep easier. But circulation improves if I practice a little yoga every day.
Don't be scared of this medication. It could really save your life.

I have been on topamax for almost a year now. I had been having a nearly constant migraine cycle for three months which had to be broken with migranol nasal spray. I then started on escalating dosages of topamax. By 100mg I realized that life was wonderful but that I couldn't retain much information which was a problem as I had just gone back to school for an advanced degree. Upon consultation with my doctor, we reduced my dosage to 50mg and things improved dramatically.

I have experienced some fingertip and toe tingling which have been completely tolerable. I take the medication right before bed so that I don't have problems with fatigue during the day. I do get out of breath easily when I exert myself and carbonated beverages taste horrible. But my migraines are under control.

I have a Ph.D. in molecular biology and a few years of neuroscience research under my belt. I would like to say that it is EXTREMELY important for people to understand that no medication is going to work identically for any two people. What works for one person, may not work for everyone. I know people who swear by imitrex but this medication does absolutely nothing for me. You have to be your own advocate when it comes to medications and treatments. Your genetics will also determine how well, if at all, you respond to any medication. For some topamax is a life saver, for others it will be the bane of their existence. This will always be the case for any medication. Be tolerant of others' experiences and understanding of each others' pain and progress will be made.

I have been on Topamax for 4 weeks and although I have had some side effects, the drug had done wonders for preventing migraines. I was getting 4-5 migraine headaches a week and now I get none or only 1 a week. The side effects I got mostly occured on the weeks I was increasing the dosage and were nausea, dizziness, fatique, lack of appetite and of course cognitive disruption. I could not remember the little things and of course that made you just a little nuts, but I read up on the drug before I started on it and knew all that could happen. I was so miserable with the migraines that I had to try it and hoped the side effects would not be terrible.
I do not regularly drink carbonated beverages so the terrible taste now due to the medication is no big deal. I will continue with the medication as long as it controls my migraines.

I have been using topomax 100mg daily for 6 months now. I started at that dose immediately, as I was having occular migraines on a daily basis. I experienced terrible side effects of memory lapses, tingling in my face and hands, & speech issues for about 6 weeks. It was about that time that I also realized carbonated beverages were tasting like liquid tin. I also have decreased appetite, and have lost 35 lbs. The side effects were awful in the beginning, but I was told they would subside after my body adjusted to the medication. So, I kept telling myself the effects were due to the medication, and would eventually go away, and they did. I have to admit, those 6 weeks were awful. My kids, hubby and I would joke, because Mom just had a "loopy" topomax moment. As of today, the only side effects are the liquid tin taste of carbonated beverages and loss of appetite, and I am now experiencing difficulties sleeping, which could be caused by something else. For me, the 6 weeks of feeling like I was losing my mind were worth going through, as I am continuing to lose some needed poundage, and most importantly, I am headache free!

I've only been on Topamax for 3 weeks, and I am already wanting to get off of it. My doctor DID NOT tell me about all of the side effects, he told me the most common was the tingling in the hands and feet, which is so painful for me. I have lost the taste for carbonated beverages, which I only realized for myself by looking on a website that was caused by the medicine. My advice to anyone is to get a second opinion before going on this medicine. Now I have to wait until my doctor says its ok to stop taking it.

I was given Topamax for headaches and loss of weight. I am obest. 142pds over weight. plus I am disable I can't be on my feet to long. I have rumatoy arthrits, osthio arthiris. I go thru depressions,anxieties,going thru menapause, will this topamax work for me? I have read all these side effects and they scare me. Because I have enough problems and I don't need more,scarier ones. please help. fumashoo1

I started out taking 100mg and had the tingling hands, feet & face. Eventually went away after 5-6 weeks. Carbonated beverages tastes bad. First few weeks felt really out of it but that changed. Sometimes still feel a little out of it but not like in the start. I've been on topamax for a couple of months now and now take 200mg. 100 in the morning and 100 at night. I thing the side effects are worth it. Eventually they do go away somewhat you just have to stick with it. When you do increase you dosage they do come back sometimes so just bear with it.

I have been on topamax since Nov. 06. My psychiatrist started me on 25 mg and moved me up to 100 mg. He put me on this medication because I asked him about undergoing a gastric bypass for weight loss and wanted me to try medication first. My symptoms are tingling fingertips and feet. I have also had a chronic cough (sometimes so violent I vomit) from a cold that I have been unable to get rid of. I read on a web site that Topamax can cause a chronic cough. Also, carbonated beverages taste flat to me now. I have lost about 20 pounds but I don't think the sides effects I am having are worth the weight loss.

I've been on Topamax twice now for migraines. I went off of it the first time b/c I didn't think the side effects were worth it. As soon as I stopped taking it... my migraines came back. Now I'm on Topamaz again... and I can't decide what's worse.. the medicine or the migraines... especially after reading all of this. And what's really interesting... is that the second time around my side effects are different and I'm taking the same dose! I can drink carbonated beverages this time (which I couldn't do before), but I'm experiencing a lot of neck pain. And I have very sore, swollen knuckles this time. Mine are red and have strange bumps on them. Has anyone else had this???

Well I have been taking Topamax for 3 weeks tomorrow and so far the side effects have not been that bad for me. I have experienced a little bit of most of the ones I have heard about: loss of appetite, weightloss, numbness/tingling in hands/feet, off tasting carbonated beverages, fatigue, mood swings, increased thirst, increased perspiration. But they haven't been that extreme for me. The pros have really outweighed the cons so far. I have only had 1 migraine since taking the Topamax, and it was a few days after starting it. I am upping to 75 mils tomorrow so we'll see how I feel about it after that, but so far so good. I think that it is really important to remember that everyone's body chemistry is sooo different and we are all going to react differently to this drug. I have pretty much found that people either love this drug or they hate it. But it is really nice to be able to get feedback from other people to see if the side effects we are experiencing are "normal". When 50 some odd other people are experiencing the same thing on this drug then I think it's a pretty safe assumption that it is related to the drug, whether or not the doctors want to claim it is or not.

I began taking Topamax for severe migraines. I used to get them to the point I was in tears daily. Since I started it the migraines have decreased, although they are extremely painful when I do get them. My side effects include the tingling in my hands, feet, and face. I also have the bad tase of carbonated drinks. And my right eye tends to twitch after taking it. I also have had nauseau, which I thought was the stomach flu. I also have found myself places that I didn't remember going to. Anyone else have this one? I also get the detached feeling when driving so I have people drive me around more often, which is a bit frustrating. My side effects have tended to get better as I get used to the medicine though. I still cannot drink carbonated beverages and I still get the tingling though. If I experience anymore side effects I will be sure to post them.

Reading all of your your sx's was both heart-breaking and eye-opening. I have been on Topamax for 4 months--just moved up to 100 mgs in the hopes that the migraines would be defeated once and for all. So far, besides a week-long doozy that I think was actually a horrible manifestation of the stomach flu, the headaches have reduced themselves to about two times a month rather than averaging about every day. An improvement. Never-the-less, I still wrestle with the choice of the depression that has followed me like a black cloud since I began this therapy, and also the rage that can blow up out of nowhere, or the headaches. Quite a choice. I often wonder how my children will remember me. I'm not normally a moody, angry person, but since starting Topamax, you wouldn't know it! Not surprisingly, my doctor simply offers me an array of more prescriptions to add to the cocktail. I've had about enough. I too get the tingles in my hands and feet--especially if I've been sitting with my feet elevated--like in an easy chair. I'm getting good at ignoring it, though. It's actually quite painful! My face quit tingling after the first month. Words can still elude me at embarassing moments. So frustrating! I lack all ambition, and I must literally force myself to do anything--housework, exercise, take care of my children! Guilt, guilt, guilt! I'm so glad that so many of you mentioned that! I've been beating myself up about that particularly, wondering what in the heck was wrong with me! I could sleep all the time! I've lost about 8 pounds, and my appetite is satisfied very easily. Carbonated beverages don't taste horrible, exactly, they just don't taste good. So I've more or less quit drinking them. No loss. We spend less that way! As I read all the entries, one thing is very clear to me. We have got to be less passive in the hands of our doctors. No one knows too much about this drug. There are alternative forms of medicine that are being more actively explored by reputable practitioners. I am starting to research it more myself. I don't want to live out the rest of my days so...sad. And angry! Good luck to all of you.

minor tingling in feet, appetite suppression (which for me is good since I'm about 100lbs overweight as it is and gained weight on Seroquel), minor boughts of memory confusion/loss), TERRIBLE tastes with carbonated beverages (which again, for me, is a GREAT thing)..