Topamax and losing weight

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

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 have been on Topamax for a little over a year. I've had most of the side effects; tingling, numbness in the fingers, dry mouth, forgetfulness, and weight loss - love the weight loss. All the side effects have sort of slowed down as I've been on the medication longer. The weight loss has slowed and I've even began to get my appetite back- I'm afraid I'm going to start gaining weight now! I've lost about 40 pounds and I needed to lose it, so that was wonderful. I've had a very hard time losing weight all my life so this was wonderful.

I was addicted to Coca Cola and this med also helped me kick that habit because I lost my taste for the carbonation.

Does anyone know if the weight loss usually evens out after about a year or a year and a half? I need to lose about 30 more pounds and was hoping that I would continue losing weight!

Anyway, I was on the Topamax for headaches and it has completely helped that! It has truly been a God-send for me. Other than monthly hormone headaches, I don't get migraines hardly at all!

I am wondering about having my doc up my dosage for the weight loss aspect????

Ive been on Topamax for almost a year now. I'm currently taking 150 mg. I have the normal side effects. the bad metal taste all the time. confusion, foods taste bad, weight loss. I have recently have been getting very depressed. also in the past year I've been having stomach problems. everything I eat makes me sick. Doctors don't know what it is. I am starting to think its the Topamax.

I've been on Topamax since just Tuesday, 10/9/07. I find that I get very tired a couple hours after taking it and I have horrible nightmares and very dark thoughts, too. Diet coke tastes so HORRBILE which is bad because I loved my diet cokes, but then again I guess that's good b/c I need to stop drinking them anyway. My worst side effect is that I have horrible mood swings. Is this normal? Is this going to go away over time? Because if not, I'm going to stop taking it now. This is not like me and I am not going to subject my family to this - losing weight is not THAT important to me. Thanks for any help. :(

P. S. I'm taking 25 mg in the morning, afternoon and evening.

Topamax has made my life a living hell for the last few weeks. I only started it three or four weeks ago but as of a week and a half ago (when I reached the dosage of 75/mg/day), I started getting anxiety attacks that lasted all day long. I've experienced mild anxiety before and this is nothing like it. I'm in college, and my parents finally got sick of the hours-long crying phone calls and drove in last night from 10 hours away to get me. Under this medicine, I get confused and have too much memory loss to take myself to the doctor. I'd rather have the daily pain of the headaches than the constant panic from this medicine. Did I mention that I weigh only a little more than 100 lbs before I started and I've been steadily losing weight from the alternating lack of appetite, nausea, and diarrhea?

I started on Topamax about a week ago after coming off Seroquel. I am bipolar and had a break through in June. My doctor had me on Seroquel to control any possible rapid cycling. Unfortunately the Seroquel made me anxious so after 7 months we agreed to try Topamax.

So far, my stomach is upset if I eat too much. Soday tastes like crap. I have minimal tingling at 150 mgs. Chocolate upsets my stomach. I feel ditzy. I can't sleep more than three or four hours. And I am having to pee all the time.

I am going to have a referenced EEG in three weeks. Hopefully at that time the neuropsychiatrist will determine what drugs I really should be on. I am losing weight but I don't think it's worth it.

I took topamax for about a year. I was slowly up to 200mg a day.I had a period for 28 days. I was 44 than, my normal cycle last 1 to 2 days.I ask my nero about it and he said it couldn't be the medicine. I talk to my family doctor, we lowered the does by 25 mg and my periods went back to normal. During this time, looking back now at what others saw I went through many personality changes. But I figured my headaches were gone, I was losing weight life was great. And than I started getting shortness of breath it was gradual and than it became severe. I seen so many doctors for almost a year. I had several test done was told I had pulmonary hypertension, told I had a Paient foreman ovale.
This was all new, I had an echo 3 years prior. I ask every doctor I seen could topamax cause this they said no. I finally got sick of going to the doctors , I quit going ,I also stopped taking topamax and guess what I can breath again. I have no pulmonary hypertension but the PFO remains. I am now afraid to take any new medicine. I would rather have headaches, my friends and family say I am back to myself and I feel so much better. I wish I would have listen to myself when I started questioning could it be the medicine. This medicine may work great for some, but my family and I went through hell. I truely thought I would not see my kids grow up.

Hi, I have been taking topamax for about 5 weeks now, maybe a little longer and only 25mg. I have to say my migraines are gone for the most part, except little what I would call headaches that don't last long now and then and I did have one migraine around my menstrual cycle. My side effects have been abnormal menstrual cycle, altered taste (especially pop), slight not hungry feeling, and urinary problems (UTI, frequent need to go, etc...) A couple of side effects that I think are from the medicine because I have seen them listed as side effects are sore throat, tongue has a burning sensation, but not all the time. Has anyone else had these side effects? I have read them as side effects (sore throat, burning sensations), but have never read anywhere of anybody actually having them, especially the tongue thing. Any input would be helpful. Thanks

I have been experiencing multible side effects loss of speech, word loss, memory loss, twitching of facial muscles around mouth, eyes, nose itching, facial skin feeling like it is moving and crawling. I need people to repeat information to me several times before I get things yet some other senses seem to be improving. I having serious problem with blurring vision I see no one has noted this problem and was wondering if it would go away too or would it do permanent damage? I am not losing weight from taking this medication either but I only take 100mgs afraid of an increase because of the blurred vision.