Topamax and dopey

This is my third time on Topamax...and I am weaning myself off again...The first time I loved it! I don't drink pop so I could care less about the taste issues. I suffered some tingling so I took Magnesium for that, some fatigue, low blood pressure, etc. But, due to a rapid weight loss (I was already small) and low blood pressure my doctors took me off. Then when I put some weight back on and the severe migraines persisted, I was put back on. Then, lots of tingling, dry eyes, fatigue, NO weight loss (apparently it only works the first time for loss) and weird vision disturbances and feeling dopey and not being able to talk, teach to type. So, I stopped again. Well, I can't live with the headaches, so on again. Well, it's been over 2 and a half years total now and I am just now beginning to see the real effects of this nasty medicine. I have been "sick" for over a year and no doc (10 total) can figure out what's wrong!!!! I have been researching a lot and come to the conclusion that it very well may be long-term use Topamax effects...45 lb. weight GAIN in a year and a half, constant nausea, severe fatigue, skin rashes, female infections non-stop, dry skin, lips and hair, dental issues, muscle and joint pain, pins and needles in feet, eye twitching, constant cold hands and feet, metallic smell to hands, body odor,insomnia the list goes on and on...Some of these I just noticed when my neuro (who thinks Topamax is the only cure!) upped my dosage again due to daily headaches and I started researching. I am currently weaning off of 150 mg. (100 at night and 50 in the am). I have been on up to 250 mg before. Although it used to help my headaches, the side effects are just too much to bare.

Okay, my Dr. switched me to Topamax because I was taking my Relpax too often (3 x a week on average, but it actually stopped my headaches) which I did not realize meant that I had chronic migraines. So far I am less than impressed :(

I've experience a little tingling in one hand, the left, have no idea of why it hasn't occurred in the other. No weight loss. I am under great stress at work (I have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder that's being treated with 40 mg Paxil and 150mg (?) Buspar. The side effect that's killing me is the confusion and memory loss. You have no idea of how long its taken me to write this post. My mind will think of one word, but my fingers will type another. I will go back to correct and the same thing will happen. I can't really afford to be stupid at work. At home no one really cares if I'm stupid. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but at least I have some place to be stupid.

The worst thing is I still have the freaking headaches. I want my Relpax back and they can keep these Topamax (and yes, I see why they call it that). I'm just to the point where I'm supposed to up my dosage to 25mg in the morning and 50 at night and I'm not sure if I'm going to do it or step the dosage back down. How long is this stupidness supposed to last, on average. At what dosage do you know if its working or not for your migraines? I'm very frustrated and about to toss in the towel.

Thanks for any help,
Just call me Dopey

I took Topamax for a week about four months ago for migraine. I stopped because I felt so dopey. It did help with the migraines and I noticed it mellowed me and evened out my mood. Despite that I don't suffer from any mood disorder.

Three days ago I started again because I had been experiencing frequent migraines. I am only in the 25mg at night phase and have already decided to quit again. The side effects are just too much. I awoke this morning and my extremities were completely numb.

After I showered, I caught myself just standing in the closet spacing out. I find it difficult to concentrate and focus (I was just staring out the window a moment ago!). I sound like an idiot when I talk to people and try to explain things. I left work early today because I was feeling so uneasy and depressed that I thought I was going to shake apart. That is totally unlike me. (I'm a cop) And this is after only three days back on at a minimal dose. So, I'm glad it works for some, but it's definitely not for me. The migraines are actually preferable.

I started taking Topomax three weeks ago and have been feeling spacey, dopey and drowsy since. My sleep is interupted, my feet and legs are numb and tingely much of the time and I have a hrad time concentrating. My skin is very itchy, too. But, what disturbes me most are the postings about hair loss. My hair is thin and fine to begin with -- I can't stand to lose any hair. My doctor didn't warn me about this. Also, I've not lost any weight on the drug, although I did give up drinking sparkeling mineral water as the taste changed dramatically. I am about ready to ask to be taken off the drug, although I haven't had a single migraine since I started, and before I was getting 4 - 5 a week and they'd last 1 - 3 days (and some up to 8 days), so this is a big improvement.

I am 34 years old, and I have been taking Topamax for the last 11 months for migraines. I used to get about 1 or 2 headaches a week, and my daily dose is 50mg. I do not have these same side effects that a lot of other people have been having. I have not been dopey, lost weight, lost hair....sometimes - rarely really - my toes do tingle (kind of the pins and needles feeling after they've fallen asleep if you've been sitting on them...) But it's nothing to make me reconsider taking this medication. I just wanted to post this in case there's someone wondering if there is *anyone* who has had a good experience....and I have. I'm so sorry that there are people who have not found the drug to be as helpful as I have. I've been able to accomplish a lot in the last 11 months that I never would have if I'd been plagued by the migraines that I used to have. It's been a lifesaver.

Topamax? Did you mean "Dopamax"? That's what my new doctor said it is reffered to as in the mental health field. Dopey is exactly what I was while I was on it. I was prescribed it to help control weight gain while on anti-depressents. Hours after taking the first dose, I turned into a zombie. My head felt heavy. I could not focus enough to even read. I felt like everything was happening in slow motion and I wasn't able to drive. My family said I looked like I was constantly "doped up" and my eyes were always glassy. After a week of dealing with this and having to have my family drive me around, I decided enough-was-enough. The worst part was the withdrawl symtoms from it-constant ringing in my ears, sudden and frequent light headiness and the feeling of passing out. The cake-topper was the feel of a sudden electric pulse going through my head. My new doctor warned me before that I would experience that. Thank god, because I would have freaked out.