Topamax and depression

i was put on topamax for migraines back in aug 07.

well, i stopped it like 5 months ago. (2june 08) i still feel "out of it" like i'm here but im not. headaches came back but i would rather deal with them than all these side effects. i got severe panic attacks and nervousness, MAJOR HAIR LOSS, AGORAPHOBIA (FEAR OF LEAVING MY HOUSE CUZ IM SCARED TO HAVE ANOTHER PANIC ATTACK), i constantly feel dispatched from my family (i have 3 boys and a husband) every day i feel sick or tired, or both. which led me to stop the meds. (25mg am and 25-50mg pm) i weaned off over like 2 weeks (on my own cuz the neuro told me not to stop it and its all in my head.

i had to quit my job cuz of the panic attacks that just happen for no reason.

i still feel all the side effects even though i have been off topamax. hair loss, panic attacks, depression, "high" feeling all the time, cant hold a normal conversation. i have changed soooo dramatically from when i first went to the neuro and started this HORRIBLE DRUG. poor concentration, i don't feel like i want to be involved in anything- i just wanna lay on the couch with an ice pack on my head. i don't know what to do. my neuro doesn't know i stopped the drug and i was so mad at him for putting me on it that i didn't go to my last appt. now i have to wait until January to see him.

I've been on Topamax for 3 years for migraine and it works most of the time. I am currently having a hard time with the usual side effects of memory loss, hair loss, word recall problems, coldness, depression, no sex drive, and am developing a cough. BUT I had a side effect that has not been mentioned when I first started taking it (25 mg in am and pm -- I'm now on 50mg in am and pm).
For about 2 weeks, I would get in my car to go to work and miss my turns because they would cognitively come up too soon (this is after 15 years of going to work the same way everyday). I had to be extremely conscious of my surroundings when I drove or I'd miss all my normal turns. I got lost in my own neighborhood once going home. At work, I'd get up from my desk to go to a co-worker's desk and arrive there amazing fast to my mind. I was experiencing time/space/distance distortion. It became fascinating to me, but it passed.

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

I posted above, but forgot to add....I feel like I just got off a plane, and it was a 16 hour flight. My ears. I hope no one has lost their hearing on this med because if this is the case then I seriously need to go off of it. I do feel a bit confused, too. I take it for migraines but I kind of make a fool of myself at PMS time, getting all irritable and stuff, and I do feel like it is helping me control my mood better at this time. It sure helps the migraines. I have pins and needles in my hands, too. Depression, too, it was worse at first, better now.

Hello All,
I"m a 50 year old Mother and Grandma who takes Topamax as a Mood Stabilizer for Bipolar Disorder. I took it about 5 years ago and about 6 months after I started taking it I was struck down with debilitating diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite, extreme weight loss ( 26 pounds in one month ). No one knew what was wrong with me. My psychiatrist actually upped my Topamax dose because I was becoming depressed and having severe mood swings. I was sick for 8 months. I saw a new psychiatrist and he stopped the Topamax because it just was too over medicating at that time and started a different mood stabilizer.

I didn't put 2 and 2 together. I just was happy that the diarrhea and nausea for the most part was gone. I still have nausea frequently but that is from a totally different cause.

In December we discussed that the new mood stabilizer was no longer working so we went back on the Topamax. In April the diarrhea and nausea this time accompanied by vomiting started. I was ready when it started tho even tho I didn't know the cause. I got hooked up with a GI doctor, started probiotics immediately, started eating organic yogurt with as many live active cultures in it as i could find. I would only eat plain boiled rice, boiled macaroni, toast, ripened organic bananas and drink lots of fluid. No gatorade but pedialyte because gatorade has citric acid in it which can be irritating. Pedialyte doesn't. I also drank decaf ice tea with small amounts of sugar.

Now today I read that Topamax can give you diarrhea and if you have a history of diarrhea tell your doctor. Great, just great. Trade my mental health for my physical health but having diarrhea at the most unopertune times does affect my mental health. What am I going to do?

I refuse to take a weight positive mood stabilizer and that is all I'm left with. Like Lithium, Depakote. they will make me as big as a cow. I'd rather have diarrhea to tell you the truth. I don't think I'm gonna tell him.

Missyk10atx

I've been on Topamax for a few months now........this is the second time. The first time was in 2002-2004. I was up to 400mg for migraines & depression. It was supposed to do double duty. Well, I was stupid, to put it briefly. I couldn't remember anything. I would stop mid sentence because I couldn't think of the word I wanted to use. I lost a lot of weight, too much. I had needed to lose a little....baby weight. But I looked anorexic. So out to buy a new wardrobe. $$$ I lost a ton of hair!!!! So off it I went. The weight came back very fast....too fast I think. My friend says the same thing of her experience. THIS time I'm on 250mg.....no more than that, as per me. I was stupid for a little while, but it seems to have gone away for the most part. My hair is still falling out, so not much longer on this one for me. The reason I went back on it was for the weight loss ( and it does help the migraines). I was on some migraine meds that made me gain 40lbs over a 2 yr period(Abilify,Cymbalta). NOTHING could get off the weight. Not exercise, not diet. I've lost 21 so far, but my progress has slowed because of Wellbutrin...it makes me crave sweets. And my willpower is nil. lol So off the Wellbutrin I go. I also learned my nastiness could be from Topamax. I snap at the kids. Who knows which drug it's from! I also take Singulair. That's a story in itself. That one's gonna go too.

I was given topamax and I dont have seizures or anything. I have PTSD, Depression, and Panic Disorder. I was all over the map, having violent episode, and no memory of it (which was dissociation). They put me on this while i was in the hospital, and I became so non-functional it wasn't funny. I have a degree, grad school, and am 1/2 way through a masters, so I am normally well spoken rationale and well thought out. I was having trouble finding simple words. The effects came on immediately. My memory and cognitive abilities have been permanently affected. I was on for a year live in a outside a small city, and have no real option for other doctors. Not to mention..I found out that this drug has a high rate of users getting depression and in particular at risk for suicide. That was what happened with me...prior to taking it..Then they put me on it?

Trouble seeing, cognitive abilities, memory, depression (was already depressed, and suicidal, but I think it was counterproductive to the anti-depressants)

Is their any action against this drug?

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.

Currently on and will be calling the doctor tomorrow to stop after reading everything tonight. I have the migraines still, I have the tingles in all the weird places, everything taste like pooh, which is wonderful, seeing that I myself am overweight and do need to lose the weight. I am not through my 1st full script,but up to my 100mg per day(50 in the morning and 50 at night). I have lost those first 20lbs. and Wow, how nasty those DP's taste now! I was up to 4 Zomig per day before the doc put me on Top and he thought it would help with the weight loss too, but the depression is uncontrollable. Can't sleep at all even while taking sleeping meds and very tired. Everything hurts.

headaches,nausea,fatigue,irritability,blurred vision,terrible loss of memory,inability to eat,depression,diarrhea

After taking Topamax for six months, I found my self different person.... I started feeling this way just in the first few weeks after I started the medication, but the simptoms incleased with the time....Anxiety, nervousness, panick attacks, negative thinking and depression....crying, making up problems from nothing, hair loss also....I decided to stop it, slowly and without any concequences I thought I am out of it....But just a couple weeks I stop it is I noticed some red spots on my skin on the lower legs, soon they became more and stronger..... Two months later I was in abnormal stress that I am going to be sick from a terrible desease... Read so much on Internet.... I can explain how terrible I felt and even though I did blood tests (everything was in normal range!!) and spoke with so many doctors, nobody could tell me what exactly is wron with me. One Dermatologist named the skin problem as Progressive Pigmentary purpura and gave me a cream for that. Thanks a lot for that because the spots started desapearing, but it may come again.... nobody knows for sure.... I think this is another side effect of Topamax, that nobody had before..... Please tell me if somebody else had the same situation... I will feel much more relieved....

Okay, this is the comprehensive list
memory loss, cognitive damage, exhaustion, mood swings, suicidal ideation, paranoid ideation, auditory hallucinations, depression, daily weeping.

Dry mouth, enamel stripped off teeth, no sweating, constipation and resulting hemorrhoids, loss of appetite and extreme weight loss, tingling in extremities, trembling hands, twitching eye muscles, myoclonic jerks

I took it for severe epilepsy. I had two children on it fine, no problems. It put my epilepsy into complete remission, but for all the years I took it my life was destroyed by the emotional and mental side effects. Ended up homeless and in a domestic violence relationship, which I got out of when I stopped taking the poison pills. Coming off it felt like waking from a bad dream, but without epilepsy.

The effects which never went away were the dry mouth and no sweating, the enamal is stripped off my teeth. The mood swings and depression and exhaustion and memory loss and cognitive damage never went away. The loss of appetite and extreme weight loss(92lbs at 5'1" at first, 98lbs after tolerance) never stopped, nor did the constipation and resulting hemorrhoids.

Initial dose increases caused what I understand to be myoclonic spasms, which was a change in my seizure pattern, and other seizure pattern changes. The spasms came immediately after the final dose increase, were incapacitating in severity and lasted for about a half hour, and didn't fade for a week or two.

Did put epilepsy into complete remission.

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 was doing just fine taking 50 mg of Topamax but I was still having minor headaches. My doctor said to go to a neurologist because there may be a tumor to worry about. He doubled my morning dosage and added an evening dosage so now I am taking 200 mg. a day. I started the insanity on Friday. By Monday i went grocery shopping and couldn't remember what I was shopping for. Thank God i brought my husband with me...when I could remember that he was with me. And then when I remembered to ask him what we came for I needed to remember where it was. Upon returning home I offered to help my 7 year old grand daughter with her spelling homework. Do you how embarrassing it is to not remember how to spell first grade spelling words? Tuesday was Mardi Gras and we went to the movies so I was saved any further mind questions. Then along comes Wednesday and I returned to work. Well, I tried to get to work. I got lost. Here I was at Walgreen's trying to figure out what I was doing out at 6:00 in the morning. What day was it? The looks on other's faces when you ask them these question is not something funny. So, I get back in my car and aim in the direction I hope is work. Luckily, I remember where I habitually stop for breakfast. My memory comes back again and I make it to work. I am on time and all is well. Now, the day begins.

I haven't had a period since December. Here it is February. And no, I am NOT pregnant. I can't concentrate. I ate 2 chicken nuggets for lunch and am full (now that is a healthy lunch, huh?). I was addicted to Dr. Pepper and now can't even stand the smell of it. I can't walk and chew gum at the same time. I found a note that I wrote sometime yesterday that really scares me because I don't remember writing it. It says, " Headache @ 1:55 no known trigger jut sudden movement to pick up papers from bin over desk. Nausea as well. Need to go to sleep forever." Good feeling to have? Depression is kicking in.

I just called my doctor and he says decrease the medication down to 100 mg. Ummmm...How about I decrease it down to 0 mg and I take a Imitrex or 2 and a hot bath with a nap when I get home and live to see my grandchildren grow old! I think living with a migraine or 50 is far better than what I have been feeling this past week.

If anyone can tell me that it gets better in less than 2 weeks I will stay with it but 1 more week of this and I will be a patient in a mental hospital. I can't even play Nintendo with my grandson...NOW THAT IS DEPRESSING!

I started Topamax two years ago for migraines. It caused many side effects...depression..I would forget, tingling (that we away after about 4-5 months), weight loss (I looked bad -- I was thin before)...but I stayed with it because I was pain free and before had daily headaches with debilitating one to three times a week. I went off the Topamax in November. Slowly I got my life back and was happy...now the headaches are coming back faster than they left. I just started back to Topamax day before yesterday. Today the tingling started....guess you have to weigh the results.

Haven't seen anyone mention any sexual SE's but I know I'm not imagining this. It's not a lack of libido but, it's as if my wiring has been disconnected.
A lack of sensation. Major bummer. I can live without sodas but not this!
That was my major reason for getting off the Topamax. My doctor was very incredulous about this being a SE of the Topamax but he didn't argue with me. I came across this site just looking to see if anyone else had experienced this. After getting here I can not believe all the things I have been brushing aside as due to something else. Stomach pain and diarrhea, severe GERD, depression and morbid thinking, oh and my gosh the trouble searching for words and connecting thoughts--I thought I was loosing it, shortness of breath and weakness that I was attributing to weight gain! I have only been on 25 mg a day for 6 months. The migraines did improve and the paresthesia in my hands subsided over time. But all this other crap that has slipped in and I have been passing off as aging or just wondering what else was up with my body and mind. Sheese! Thank goodness for this site! I am tapering off this crap-- and I feel like crap. Weakness and fatigue and a weird pain in the side of my head that is not a headache exactly. I hope I'm back to normal soon, this is awful!

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.

Hi All, I am a 37 year old mother of 4, with a history of severe Hemiplegic migraines (up to 14 a month). I've been on Verapamil and Topamax for 7-8 months with a gradual increase of the Topamax to 150 mg a day. Before I start writing this I have to preface it with two things: First, Before Topamax I was one of those women my friends refer to as a "Supermom", I home school my kids and used to love it, we normally have a lot of fun and I have a successful, happy marriage. Second, on Topamax, I went from 14 migraines a month to 0. It didn't happen over night, they went away as we ramped up the dosage, but for the last few months I have had no migraines, I can feel it occasionally when my head is fighting one off, but nothing an Advil won't stop, and for those of us who've lived with trying to care for kids while having migraines (especially Hemiplegic) you may understand why I initially put up with the following: I started out with the tingling in my hands and feet (that went away in a couple of months), word finding difficulties (which never really went away, I just learned to accept it),occasional blurred vision which never lasts very long but which has been an issue the entire time I've been on the med, and weight loss ...I am 5'4" and was only 118 lbs to start with, and have nearly "disappeared" into a size 0 and 105 lbs, and it doesn't matter how much I eat, I've been trying 3 meals, snacks, cookies, candy, you name it, I can't gain weight. I was never nauseous, no diarrhea, I just don't get hungry... I had to start wearing a watch at one point to remind myself to feed the kids, because if they didn't ask, they weren't getting lunch until 2:00 because I wasn't getting hungry! Soda does taste like metal (fortunately I don't drink it normally anyway), and you do get loopy with one glass of anything alcoholic.
Then to add to the lovely appearance of skin and bones, my hair is falling out. Before Topamax I worked out regularly, I am even on commercials for my gym (recorded a year ago), since Topamax, I was so tired, depressed, and so afraid of losing weight that I stopped working out. Now a woman who has always made it a goal to set a good example for my daughters that a fit body is the goal, not a thin body, has her mother in law telling her that she looks "bulimic"! In August I noticed I was crying a lot, then I thought well, maybe it's the Topamax, so I started drinking more water and it went away... so I've been very careful to drink A LOT of water and only decaf tea while on this med, but apparently that wasn't enough, because a few weeks ago my husband pointed out that I stopped showering every day. I have been crying at the drop of a hat for a couple of months again, and I have never been someone to cry in public, I have even started crying in front of my daughters friends' mothers and near tears in front of her teacher over the littlest things... then last weekend I found myself with four hours to myself in my house for the first time in months and I was thinking about how I might be able to use it for unspeakable things like running away, or worse... if those aren't signs of a pretty severe depression I don't know what are, fortunately I recognized them and put them together with the memory problems, etc. As for the memory loss, there have been problems with that for months as well, my daughter has been telling me I "have a bad rememberer" , This weekend everything culminated and other people were recognizing the memory issues that I had been keeping private until now (including my husband). Before that, I would be in the kitchen cooking and forget what I was doing, I went to drive to a party this weekend and forgot where I was going, so I called a friends husband and he had to tell me four times where to go before I could retain it (at first he thought I was joking) and then I still couldn't remember the name of the place, only the # and street, I haven't been able to remember routes to places I used to drive... I'll find myself sitting at a light not sure where to go, and making mistakes with our money because I forgot whether I did or didn't pay a bill (something I've never done, we have always had excellent credit). On Topamax I went from feeling like an attractive, successful, good mom,with a happy family... to constantly stressed, even by things I had previously enjoyed doing, and a completely depressed failure... but I had no migraines. I have now been weaning off the Topamax for a few days. I was playing phone tag with my neurologist... so due to the urgency of the problem I took myself down to 100 mg a day. I have since spoken with my neurologist and I am going off of it completely... by the way don't ever discontinue this med without ramping off of it, doing so can cause a seizure. I am unbelievably grateful that I put 2 and 2 together the weekend I had time to myself and got lost going to the party and I already feel more awake, less tearful and depressed... I know that things will be ok anyway. I hope that anyone reading this who is having memory or emotional issues on Topamax and just brushing them aside (because they don't want to risk going back to the migraines or whatever), will get off this med. Please realize that this med could have cost me, my kids and my husband a lot more than my migraines ever will. I have never experienced depression before Topamax, and I can't say that I'm completely back to myself yet, but I hope that when I am off this med I will find normal again, and I pray it will be without migraines, but I know that I wouldn't wish these past few months that I've put myself and my family through on anyone. Now, I need to go take a shower :) , then I'm going to my neurologist to pick up some 25 mg samples to continue ramping off! Good luck to you all!

I've been on Topamax for over a year for hormonal migraines, and it's working great for the headaches. I started out at 25mg twice a day and now I'm up to 100mg twice a day. I've lost 40lb (mostly due to the drug -- but my appetite is starting to come back) and have just recently started experiencing the anxiety and tingling in the extremities. I've always felt I've had trouble concentrating and "finding the word", but I attributed it to lack of sleep because I have two small children. My most recent side effect, however, is most worrisome, which is the reason for my visit to this website. I am experiencing severe abdominal pain, almost constant, and it seems to be increasing. I had abdominal pain and diarrhea when I first started Topamax last year, but it stopped after the first month or so. I'm just wondering if maybe long term use can cause ulcers or other stomach problems. Anyone have any experience with this? I know from experience that Topamax dosages have to gradually weaned up and down, so I'm considering decreasing my dosage to see if my stomach problems will stop. I'm just in so much pain, yet my migraines have almost stopped now with 200mg a day, that I'm reluctant to change my dose.

I started Topamax October 12 my Neuro said start at 25 mg and work up to 50mg in the morning and 50 mg at night. The first week I was tired like most people have mentioned. Almost instantly Diet Coke tasted terrible. I was a little dizzy and light headed. DC still taste flat but the other symptoms have gone away. I have never experienced the tingle or weight loss. I am on a low does. No stomach problems for me. One thing is my cramps this month were 2x worse than normal . I am 45 and on Topamax for migraines mostly I think hormonal. I am going to give this a fair shot. I really have not felt more energy. I really wish it would help in that way. I am also taking wellbutrin and prozac for depression that runs in my family all the way from my Great Great Grandmother. I too have have a mild headache off and on when I would normally have a migraine and a advil took it away. I had to take an imitrex last night, and am hoping that is the end of this hormonal headache for the month!

i have had seizures since 1998 first put on depacot after 3 years of no relief they put me on topamax, which at first felt like someone had climbed inside of my head and turned the light switch on. i couldn't believe how wonderful it was now after 4 years of being on it, i have experienced the same side effects as mentioned above. the one about dry eyes hits home too it has effected my eye sight more and more. i am now for some reason or another thinking about getting off of it however i never did experience any dark or strange dreams though. my depression goes to extreme highs to extreme lows if you know what i mean. all in all i would not want to go back to where i was before taking topamax it was literally like someone had shut the light off of part of my brain. joyce from texas

I took Topamax as did my sister, we both had unexplained depression, with bouts of crying and helplessness.

I have been on topamax for one week tomorrow! I will be increasing my dose to 50 mg in the morning *can't sleep when I take it at night* The first day I was sick as a dog no appitite at all, spaced out etc! My Dr. put me on it to loose weigt, im 104 pnds over weight and I suffer from depression. My appetite has shrunk and I have lost 4 pnds in six days. I'm happy with that at this rate i'll be where I need to be at in 6-8 months. :) I recommend that you DRINK DRINK DRINK AND DRINK WATER!!!!! and MAKE YOURSELF EAT! even when your not hungry because you will feel sick if you don't! Learned that the hard way. When I take my pill in the moring it's with 20-30 ounces of water! You have to chug it down. Please people before you say the drug doesn't work follow the instructions which is to "drink plenty of fluids" water.

I took Topamax about 6 years ago for migraines, and experienced no side effects. Just started it up again 3 days ago, and I feel like I am totally drugged and my head is spinning, can not drive, can barely hold a conversation, only started with 25mg, and can say that each day I feel a little better, but the only difference this time is that I am on Lexapro and my Dr. said the side effects could be worse till I get used to it..anyone else take this combination? And how long till I can function again?

I have just recently started taking topamax as of 4 days ago for severe migraines. Today was the first day I have actually had a soda and I was convinced that the pop I bought was flat but after reading this I now know that I am not crazy. I have also already experienced tingling in my hands, fingers, and toes, tightness in my chest, loss of appetite, one night of extreme anger, difficulty concentrating, and some depression. I am trying to figure out if this pill is actually worth it for me if I am already experiencing this many side effects this early. I am only on 25mg right now and I am supposed to increase to 100mg of the next couple of weeks.

I am so glad I found this site! I had thought that all of the sodas I was buying were coming from the vendors flat, but now I realize it was the Topamax. I started taking this medication on September 15th, only 25mg at night and just moved up to 50mg a night after seven days. I've suffered migraines for five years and asked my doctor for a preventative rather than having to take something after the onset that knocked me out for two days. I can't work like that. I haven't experienced any of the tingling sensations, but I have definitely noticed the loss of appetite and severe nausea after taking the medication if I don't fall immediately asleep. No problems with depression, but I do feel like I am floating all the time. Neck feels heavy sometimes. Words seem to disappear out of my vocabulary on a daily basis, and it takes me three days to think of something, which is very frustrating. Haven't actually stepped on a scale yet but I can tell I've lost weight (which is okay) because my clothes are hanging on me. One side affect I haven't read about is anemia - I have noticed that I seem to be bruising very easily; my chihuahua sat in my lap and left little bruises where his feet were. Does anyone know if this is normal?

I have been taking Topamax for chronic headaches migraines. I am really frustrated after trying Topamax for the second time. I tried it for about four months early in the year and here I am again trying the drug once more. I am using 100 mg both times and see no results even this time around. I have only been on it for about two months. My neurologist tells me to be patient, but it's really hard to when my life is ruined and I cannot work as a hairdresser (product fragrances and chemicals that trigger headaches). My career may be over and I am only 23. I just don't understand why I am on epilepsy medication. All of these problems have lead me into depression, which is a whole other topic. My neurologist keeps scheduling me for followups about once a month which seems pointless and extremely costly. I feel like I am getting taken advantage of money-wise. I want to stop taking my medication and try chiropractic care. I know better than to quit cold turkey... Should I just call my neurologist and cancel my appointment and ween myself off my medication???

Be careful, do your research before taking Topamax. I took Topamax for 5 weeks for severe migraines. The first 2 weeks were fine, a slight decrease in my appetite. The third week, my memory suddenly got really bad, really scary. By the 4th week, my memory was non-existant and I felt slightly depressed. My Dr. assured me these side effects would soon pass. By the 5th week of Topamax, I plunged into a horrendous, suicidal depression. I cried all the time, I woke at 4 am with irregular heart beats. I have never been so uncomfortable in my own skin. I became a stranger to myself.

I much prefer my migraines over the side effects I suffered from Topamax.

I have been on topamax for 2 months, just up to 100 MG. I am loosing my hearing, have blurred vision, still have headaches and have been told that they might be permanent. Lets just say I am not impressed. Not to mention all the other BS side affect, nausea, stomach pains, loss of appetite, Mental changes, confusion, Giving me ADD and cutting my IQ from 145 to 80, aphasia, headache, depression, too many to mention. I hate the stuff and am tapering off now.

Taking Topamax for 2 years started out at 25 mgs 3 times a day for a mood stabalizer (bi-polar). Had tingling in hands and feet sometimes in face. Lost waight, pop tasts nasty, sleepy, short term memory loss, slurred speach. Now I take 100mg at bed time have no symptoms except I still am able to controll my eating (had a problem with over eating) no more road rage but I still felf a little depressed and did cry so I was not to stable until Citalopram 10mg at bedtime and Adderall XL 10mg in the morning was added. Now I finally feel like a totaly normal person. No more anxiety, mood swings, crying, paranoia,or any other weird stuff. I feel pretty good. Rarely I get pins and needles in my hands or feet or I forget where I put something.

Chest pains, fatigue, mood swings, pins and needles feelings in hands and feet, nausea, depression, terrible terrible medication.....do not take this medicine.. I actutally sent a letter to the FDA telling them to re-evaluate this medication.

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 strange nerve syndrome in my neck where a nerve sends false pain signals doctors are trying to treat with topamax I am taking 200mg daily and have noticed a few major side effects. 1. a general feeling of displacement, 2, depression 3. severe mood swings 4. change of taste.

update....
i have begun to ween myself off topamax as of last week. i was taking 75 mg a day, now i'm down to 25 mg a day. i have noticed a HUGE change..i am pretty much BACK TO MY NORMAL SELF...i will continue until i am OFF THIS MEDICATION.
my depression has ceased, my fits of rage, GONE. i no longer have anger fits towards my poor husband (i feel so horrible for the way i had been acting towards him because of this medicine), and the whole sex drive issue, completely back to normal again (THANK GOD...my husband was about to go crazy..as was I! lol)
i am making an appointment with my doctor next week to see about another preventive, but until then, i have to keep a few hydrocodones on hand in case i get a migraine (and it's a definite that i will...). Hydrocodones are the only thing that get rid of my migraines...the Relpax and such make me feel like i'm about to have a heart attack and really dont relieve my migraines.
I just hope i can find a preventive that will work...WITHOUT these side effects (depression, etc). My migraines are so frequent that it is a must that i find some sort of preventive.
Best of luck to you all out there that are either still on this med, or getting off this med. i recommend the latter of the two.

I've been on Topamax for almost a year and a half now. I'm up to 300mg a day. My worst side effects are extreme tiredness, aches and pains, memory loss, poor concentration, tingling, and numbness in my face. I take it for migraine prevention, only it doesn't prevent them, it just keeps them from happening so often. I'd hate to see what would happen if I came off of it now. Depression is an issue too. I take Zoloft for that. Just hang in there and try to stay healthy. Shel

I have been on Topamax for a few months now. I can't remember exactly how long because, to be quite honest, I have the memory of a gnat since starting this medication. My neurologist prescribed this medication for me after I was finally put on medication for grand mals seizures. I had been having them sporadically since 1999. I also suffer from migraines and he said it would help with that, my weight and my depression. It sounded like a wonder drug until my dosage kept increasing up to the 300 mgs. he needed me to reach.

I became a lethargic, depressed and very detached, angry lump to describe myself best. I have had a difficult time doing housework and everyday activities like playing with my children. My depression was first improving but it took a turn for the worse and I have found myself feeling suicidal at times. I have suffered breast pain so severe I had to have a breast ultrasound done. Nobody ever told me that breast pain could be a side effect in women. My menstrual cycle has also been unpredictable as well since starting this medicine. I called my neurologist's office in inquire about this and they were unaware about this side effect.

My mental clarity is totally gone. My memory is so bad I have missed doctor's appointments for myself and my children. I have to write things down everywhere and have my kids remind me of things instead of the other way around. I find myself trying to form a sentence at times and it comes out like gibberish.

I stay on the medicine because my five kids were witnesses to my last seizure and it scared my oldest three so much they remember it as if it were yesterday. I made them a promise it would never happen again. The last medicine I tried left me with bruises all over my body and unable to get out of bed. If left with having to choose between the two medicines I have to pick Topamax. I can't be a guinea pig anymore. My kids need me to keep my promise and I have vowed to do so. If you could see what I deal with every night when I put my daughter to bed you would understand. She says she is afraid to leave me to go to asleep because she is afraid I will have another seizure. Being on this medicine is the reassurance I offer her to prove that everything will be okay.

I spent years on SSRI's trying to fight anxiety and depression and I suffered horrible side effects so I am at the point that I am willing to settle. Currently my dosage has been cut down to 250 mg. and my rage is pretty much gone. I am still depressed and somewhat lethargic. The good news is that I did lose 30 lbs. since starting Topamax. Unfortunately, Topamax doesn't do much for me in the way of migraine relief. Since my seizures are sporadic I honestly don't know if it is even controlling those either. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

My heart goes out to all of you taking this medication. I know how you feel right now. If you are lucky enough to get off of it and are able to find something else less stressful on your body then that is great. If you are in my situation and you feel as if this is as good as it gets, well, at least you know you are not alone. I know now that there are alot of us out there. I am not sure how much consolation that really is but it is something I suppose.

I've been on this for 2 days. My doctor said the trick to Topamax was gradual increase in dosage. My doctor is rarely wrong and is quite sensible with things. Not that he's perfect or anything. I have a good feeling about this medicine because I know a few people that have been on it including my mother. Perhaps some of you started on it too high? I already have some of these problems naturally... My memory is horrible, I doubt it coudl be made any worse by this drug. Anyway, I've also ready good things about Topamax. Different meds affect different people... differently. So hopefully it will work for me. I was put on it for depression, self injury, help with appetite suppressing to aid in my diet, and correcting my sleeping patterns. The research I've done said that this drug helps that. If it messes me up too bad, then I'll try something else. Until then, I'm staying optimistic. :)

I am a 36 year woman who has suffered from depression and migrianes. In the past couple of years, my depression has been much imporoved by stopping the use of alcolhol (duh) and finding a spriritual way of living. I have been managing it with Wellbutrin 300 mg a day, and have felt pretty well. My migraines, however, have been ever present and have continued to be a problem 2-3 times a week. My docotor suggested Topmax as a solution, and frankly, all heard was it could help with my migraines and one of the biggest side effects was weight loss. Yippee! Fewer headached and weight loss? Practically a miracle!

I am usually very careful about researching any new drug I take before I even fill the prescription. I have to admit I did not do this with Topmax. I sincerely wish I had.

The first thing I noticed was the lethargy. It was all I could do to crawl out of bed, go to work, and then come home only to crawl back again. I also got very angry and depressed right away. After 7 days, I went to speak to my pharmacist in tears on my lunch hour from work to ask her if this could be from the medication. I had just spent the morning in a rage over nothing, unable to think clearly and I just felt really out of control and in a fog. She said most of the side effects should pass in 2 weeks, and to give it about ten more days to seeif things improved.

I took Topomax 100 mg for nearly a month, and decided after that I would rather have migraines than suffer from all of the side effects I was experiencing. My side effects included severe depresssion, anger, confusion, problems with memory and concentration even my speech.I was lethargic, had aching joints and muscles, and generally I was exausted all of the time no matter how much I had slept. I had no energy to do anything. I was confused, had problems muli-taskng at work, and became suicidally depressed. Something that has not been a problem in years.

I have ceased taking the medication all together after consulting my doctor, and am feeling a little better after just a few days. I hope to be back to myself soon. It has been a horrible experience, and I will never take another drug again without fully researching it's side effects.

I´m spanish girl, I must take topamax for depression but I´m afraid of this effects... I´m studyng and perhaps topamax isn´t better to study...

I have been on Topamax since 5/2004 for depression. Currently down to 100mg/day

Negative side effects:
Memory loss
Aphasia
Weight gain (I actually began binge eating and gained 60 pounds on Topamax after having lost 120 pounds on atkins -pre topamax)
Sleep irregularity
Irritability
Leg cramps, stomach pain
Lethargy

Positive side effects
No more migraines, but I am not sure I have a brain left that can feel pain!
The depression is not crippling, but certainly not cured.

i was on topamax for migraines. I took it for 8 months . I had alot of side effects .Loss of taste tingling. numbness, sleepy all day long.crazy dreams depression. That is just a few and to top it off I lost my appetite and only lost 7 pounds. Thanks, Shellbug NC