Topamax and mood swings

I have been on topamax for about 7 months now for migraines && im about to get off of it. Im 18 years old and "trying" to do college but ive had so many side-effects its crazy. I cant go to the bathroom w/out taking laxatives cuz i just cant go ne more i literally have to take something everyday or i will be stopped up for a week or more. Ive been depressed and my anxiety has gotten worse.I take 150 and they want to put me up to 175 but i refuse because ive heard of people losing their hair taking it especially when they have a b12 deficiccency...which i have. I have horrible mood swings i can be happy one minute then sad or mad the next and i never used to be like this. Ive now started getting my migraines back so im stumped on what to do. I cant word things right....i was trying to say i didn't like something and instead it came up "im not to high"... yea so its deff a crazy drug but it can work for others and not. Not for me!

I took Topamax 50 mg for about 2 months and experienced a change in menstrual bleeding. I wonder if Topamax effects progesterone levels. I had light spotting 5 days before period due for both months. This medication also made me very depressed and angry. I quit taking it about 5 days ago and felt the depression lift on the 2nd day after stopping the medication. This was my 2nd round for Topamax. My first time taking it I worked up to 100mg and lost 15 lbs in just a few weeks. I had no appetite. I also go very sick with a respiratory infection and dry coughing. I had menstrual problems with the first round too but didn't figure out if may be the Topamax until my 2nd round. It did help my migraines significantly. But I'm uncertain how if potentially messes up menstrual cycle. The warnings for the medication says "menstrual problems" but doesn't go into detail. Anyone else have menstrual problems.

I was put on Topamax for extreme migraines about 6 months ago... Started up slowly with 25mgs to 50mgs to 75mgs daily and now I am taking 100mgs (50 in the morning and 50 at night). Topamax did the job in taking my everyday headaches away but I still continue to get the very painful and extreme migraines that last 304 days.

I did have extreme tingling in the hands and feet for the first month but that soon tapered off. As far as my appetite - I never really lost that and my weight has stayed the same.

After reading all of your posts I can take a deep breath and believe that I am NOT crazy. I have begun to think so because of Topamax. I am constantly anxious (and being an over anxious person to begin with this is not good), my mood swings are horrible - I am a total bitch to my boyfriend, and my mind just does not seem as clear as it once was - struggling to come up with the simplest of words....

I feel like Topamax has made me very paranoid and has set me into a depressed state. It is just not worth it. There are many OTHER drugs out there that can deal with migraines - and trust me I know they are painful, but I am much more willing to get myself back than continue to deal with these side effects for the sake of getting rid of a migraine (which isn’t always the case for me).

After switching doctors (from the one who had put me on this drug to begin with) - she is helping me wean off Topamax and wants me to explore other options.

Has anyone experienced weaning off this drug before - how are the side effects? And will I ever be myself again?

Hello to All
I'm 33 yr old female who began taking Topamax 2 years ago, after diagnose with Pseudotumor Cerebri,(elevated intracranial pressure),doctors still don't know why i have PTC, it is common overweight women, certain medications, secondary to disease, which all did not connect with me as I was not overweight, have never taken any medication, other than OTC allergy or pain relievers, and all secondary diseases I was tested, and nothing, with a history of migraines headaches, that suddenly became unstable, with vision disturbance I was put on diamax, it lowers elevated intracranial pressure, finally help for this horrible headaches, , I had a side effect it elevated my glucose levels to dangerous levels, due to elevated intracranial pressure I was hospitalize, undergoing several lumbar punctures and eye surgery for decompression of my optic nerve, doctors still unsure of my diagnosis, but telling me I must have surgery for a spinal fluid shunt, I was terrified, I decided to try and consulted with another neuro ophthalmology who had a totally different opinion, I switch doctors and this is when I was prescribe TOPAMAX 25MG to start, now I'm taking 250mg daily, at first the fact that I was going to be OK, that I can continue my life without shunt, no more lumbar punctures, the fact I was not loosing my eye sight, I can go running, rock climbing, after been told I couldn't, I was convinced TOPAMAX was a miracle. The 1st side effects constipation; decreased sweating, drowsiness, dry mouth, loss of appetite I lost about 20 pounds, family friends were really concern, after a while I gain it back, numbness, tingling, I was ok with it, because I no longer had debilitating headaches, had perfect vision, surgery was out the question. and I was stable, but then I suddenly experience seizure, 3 different occasion, no explanation, severe joint leg pain, trouble with speech, bruising, light sensitivity, severe acne, irregular menstrual cycle, vaginal issues, anxiety, heart palpitations, and the worst one yet, the reason I began to search on line mood swings, I'm in the medical field and the people that I work with tells me I'm just getting older, depression, 1st sings of menopause, I'm very active healthy women, with normal daily stress 2 children and 16 years marriage, I have seen my family doctor, had blood work done, and all normal. I have told my neuro about my experiences, and he says is not topamax, my ob says take birth controls it might help, im just lost any one suggestions?

Hi there. A number of years back--maybe 8 or 9 years, I was prescribed Topamax for bulimia and mood swings. I was on a dosage that eventually went as high as 75 or 100 mg. At first it improved my mood and decreased my bingeing, which was very encouraging, but I began to have really awful side effects. First was the cognitive stuff: I couldn't remember people's names and even simple logic puzzles like how to fit a pair of shoes into a shoebox correctly stumped me. Soda tasted flat. Then my moods became somewhat erratic and I began to have intestinal discomfort. Then, even more oddly, my skin started having trouble healing from minor wounds. My hair became brittle and began to fall out. At that point I gave up and stopped the medication. It really felt like I was undergoing some kind of slow poisoning, like arsenic or something.

Now, I've developed migraines and my neurologist has put me on a small dose of 25 mg at bedtime. I've been highly reluctant to acquiesce after my former experience but nothing else has worked and I sometimes have headaches that last over two weeks at a time. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced side effects at 75 mg but not at 25?

Hopeful in NY

I am a 44 year-old woman. I have been taking Topamax for 13 years! I take 100mg at bedtime (would NEVER take it during the DAY--that's ASKING for sedation). I take it along with 400mg of Wellbutrin & 30mg of Lexapro!!! I've taken various doses over the years. It was initially prescribed as a mood-stabilizer for my bi-polar II, and so happened to control my migraines. Happy Days!

When I FIRST took Topamax I remember having the strange feeling of small miscroscopic "fish" (or something) swimming under my skin, across my cheekbones and over the bridge of my nose. I never got a rash or anything. I did not feel that this passing side effect was anything I "couldn't deal with" as the medication stablized my mood without the HORRID side effects of Lithium, Depakote, Valproic Acid, etc!!!

All this time I have done very well and have NEVER had any health problems from the Topamax. I am VERY confused by folks who claim it gave them "mood swings"--as its effect is to make your mood stable!!! I don't understand how that could happen. Also this is a LOT of people having MAJOR effects from VERY low doses of the drug (50- 75mg mostly). Perhaps folks are medication sensitive OR something else is going on as well???

I am a 24 Female that was prescribed 50 mg twice a day for my mood swings, migraines, and being overweight. I have been on topamax for two days now. My family physician prescribed this to me knowing that I am sensitive on medications at first. Well I had no idea that these particular side effects were from this drug until I found this website. I have had 24/7 nausea for 2 days straight, throwing up, BAD tingling in my legs (needle sensations), irritability, inability to concentrate or spell. It's terrible because my job AND FUTURE require me to concentrate, SPELL, and REMEMBER which are three things that I have completely lost while being on topamax. I cannot even type. The greatest impairment I have is what I call ZONING OUT which is - I will being doing something such as watching a tv show or reading an article and I must have dozed off in my brain for a few minutes and then came back. It literally feels as if I left my body for several minutes and then came back! It's a very strange feeling! I would only recommend this medication for someone that has tried EVERY OTHER HEADACHE medication!

I have been on Topamax for 2 1/2 years at 250mg for migraines and have decided to get off because of side effects. I have had all mentioned: mood swings, dehydration, not sweating,tingling, dizziness, loss for words, short term memory loss,numbness, fatigue, GI problems, anorexic weight loss,rage... And this all began from the starting 25mg dose!
The migraines decreased from 24 a month to 12, at best down to 6 or 7, but I seemed to hit a plateau then back to 15.
I saw three different doctors and all wanted to simply increase the Topamax or add another med (Depakote, beta blocker, etc.)
Finally, I found that a problem with my neck may be causing the headaches and treating that has reduced them enough for me to try and get off the Topamax. I still rely on the Relpax to get me through the bad days, but I'm hoping I can get free of the Topamax for good!
I just encourage anyone thinking of starting Topamax to investigate all possible migraine causes before starting!! Topamax doesn't cure the migraine, it only blocks the pain! And the side effects are not worth it if you can find another way to alleviate the problem!

I only started Topamax three days ago (25 mgs, but it will be increased to 100 mgs over an eight week period to help me adjust), and I've already experienced the loss of appetite, crazy mood swings, insomnia, eye aches, and head aches. I haven't had a migraine, though, so that's nice, I guess.

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've been on Topamax (150mg/a day) for 4 years for migraines. At the start I had some of the common side effects: dropping things, memory loss, mood swings, weight loss. The weight loss evened out in the first year or so, and the other side effects went away in the first few months-mainly after my Dr. had me take it as one dose only at night, and increase the amt. of water I drink. I am still on it, and they just increased my does to 300mg/ a day for chronic pain. So far, no weird side effects, but I'll wait and see. I'm sure anything is possible. But after trying everything before for migraines, this was the only thing that worked, and was worth riding out a few months of side effects. I was honest with family and coworkers when I did dumb stuff, or had off the wall mood swings and got through it. Guess I may have to do the same thing again. Reading on her some many bad experiences, I hope some of the people starting it or thinking about, will give it a chance to work. I was desperate and so out of options, I am so glad that I did.

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.

I have been on Topamax for about a month now. I take it b/c I have suffered from migraines since the age of three. I have not had a migraine since, and would normally have one five times a week. As for the side affects, the soda being flat was one that I noticed right away, and I had already done my research, so it was no surprise. Heartbreaking, yes, but expected. The tingling of the extremities is a big one for me, one of which I am slowly getting used to. I could stand to lose a few pounds, but have not seen if the weight loss thing really affects me; I think it really depends on the individual. Thankfully, I have not experienced any of the memory loss or blackouts. No major mood swings. My appetite has stayed the same. I have noticed that I seem to have some bumps on my lower leg that are not bug bites that I am going to ask the doctor about. I am a smoker, and wonder if this somehow could play a part with the Topamax and the bumps. Anyone? Overall, it's been a short time, but I have had amazing results for why I am taking it! I wish everyone well

Just one question I have been on this stuff at the beginning dose for less than a week. My eyes hurt, my head is about to explode, I am sick as a dog, I lost 5 pounds, I can't eat, constipated, can't sleep, can't function, ringing in my ears, and the ADD is unbelievable. I am a medical transcriptionist I kind of need to be able to work, no work, no pay. Topamax is going bye-bye for sure but how long till the side effects go away?

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.

I have been on topomax for about 10 days(50 mg for first week and 100 mg since then). I have severe hair loss, loss of apetite, memory loss, loss of words, confusion, not able to think clearly, mood swings and depression. I am worried at all these side effects. I sometimes think, if I have to chose between severe headaches and all these, is it worthy to continue Topomax? My Doctor only warned me of tingling effect on fingers and toes and nothing else. Today I had been to another doctor for second opinion and he actually asked me a few question as part of check up and the it struck me that all these things are happening to me. I was kind of ignoring these effects so far thinking they are part of post partum depression.

I have been on Topamax for only 4 weeks now and I have lost alot of my taste for many things like soda. I am also now having tingling in my fingers and panic attacks. Is this happening to anyone else?

I have been on Topamax for 6 years and the side effects that I have experienced have been dry eyes, dry mouth, muscle/joint aches, chest pain, memory problems, body odor, fluid retention, weight GAIN (not loss), head aches, mood swings, hallucinations, blurred vision especially at night, tingling/burning of the extremities, and the constant feeling of never being able to get warm. I was on 400mg twice a day, and since the hallucinations, I have been cut back to 100 mg twice a day. My headaches are worse, and I am now experiencing hair loss and hair breakage.

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.

It appears that this drug played havoc with me psychologically. It caused severe depression to the point of suicidal tendencies, mood swings, crying fits and severe anger and rages. It messed up my sleep so much that I am now severely sleep deprived. And all this has been building up for like 6-9 months. I have lost sao much in the past two-three months, what I feel is the peek of the build up of this med in my system, and I believe it is due to this med. I lost my job that until recently I loved so very much, a very important person in my life and all my support systems. Everyone said I was going crazy and I believed them. I stopped taking the med for two days and already am starting to feel a bit clearer.
I found some websites, including medical ones, that say pschological side effects, though not very common, are known to happen. The very ones that occured to me.

well, after reading all of these posts,
i have hit a harsh reality. my husband has been right this whole time. My sex drive has hit ROCK BOTTOM....my fuse is so short i snap at him at absolutely NOTHING....our marriage is SUFFERING...and coincidentally...it all started right after i started taking topamax...i am only taking 75mg a day...2 in the morning, and 1 at night...
i was so excited because my migraines, that i was getting every single day, were FINALLY gone....and i lost 10 pounds...and i only had to suffer the change in taste in my sodas, the slightly irritating eye twitch in my left eye, and the tingling in my feet. i just thought the sex drive and mood swings were purely coincidental. now that i have read every single post from you guys, i am now forced to go to my husband with my tail between my legs and tell him i'm so sorry for blowing up on him every time he begged me to get off the topamax and i absolutely refused because i refused to go back to the pain of my daily migraines...
as far as the hair loss, i have thick curly hair and i already shed like a shaggy dog so i dont know if mine has really increased or not due to taking the medicine. looking at it now, i can probably say it has, a little, but not much.
i have always shed like crazy..lol
but mainly, my side effects were the change in taste with sodas and beer (beer aquired a "sweet" taste, sodas lost it's "fizz" on the front of my tongue if that makes any sense), my left eye had a constant twitch until i upped my dosage to 3 a day instead of 2, i get the tingling in my feet only, none in my hands or face like i've read, i started getting slight nausea when i added my birth control patch back into the mix with the topamax but that subsided once my body got used to everything.
Sitting here reading this has made me realize a lot about this medicine.

I'VE BEEN ON TOPAMAX FOR ABOUT A WEEK AN DHALF NOW, AND I NOTICED SOME HAIR LOSS, IM VERY TIRED ALL THE TIME, I HAVE ALMOST COMPLETLY LOST MY SEX DRIVE WHICH I SUSALLY VERY HIGH, AND I HAV EMAJOR MOOD SWINGS. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND IT WORKED WONDERS FOR MY HEADACHES AND IT CURVED MY APPETITE TREMENDOUSLY.

began taking 25 mg about 3 wks ago for headaches. stepped up to 50 when headaches didn't cease and, eventually, 100 b/c I still felt a slight tinge of one (though certainly not that bad). I've been at 100 now for about 1 week and will probably step back down to 50 mg b/c I am starting to get the negative symptoms such as tingling fingers and face, slight pain in the legs, dehydration and "floaty brain."

I most certainly intend on staying w/this med. b/c, 1. it got rid of my headaches, 2. I've lost 9 - 10 lbs. so far and no longer eat everything in sight, 3. I SLEEP again, THANK GOD!!! 4. I have NO mood swings

It should be noted that I take no other meds - not even over-the-counter! (Might want to see what the doctor suggests for menstral cramps. My normal dose of excederin (sp?) did not work - I was in agony. Not sure if this was a result of Topamax or not. )

Oh, and be very careful when consuming alcoholic beverages. If you begin to feel abnormally agitated, stop. Be sure to drink plenty of water so as not to get dehydrated!

I've been on Topamax for over a year now for what my doc says were migraines. I went thinking I had sinus problems that caused confusion,and forgetfulness. Cat scans and MRIs showed cysts that docs say have nothing to do with anything and put me on topamax for headaches.I started 50 mg at night and stayed that way for a year. At first it seemed the headaches were better and I LOVED the weight loss. I was trying so hard for so long to shed the extra baby weight and over 15 lbs just like that. It caused me to over look what was happening to me. I was becoming an imbecile. Not saying I was a genius but I was a relativly smart woman who could hold a conversation. Now I can barely focus,I have to read things over and over again to try and comprehend them,my memory shot,I lose my words in mid sentence,spelling is horrendous,At times I stutter,my vision is worsening,my body gets achy,I have terrible mood swings ,thought about hurting myself. I cant believe I'm still on this med. All for 15 lbs that I'm gaining back anyway cause I quit smoking. I deserve it for putting my body thru this. I talked to my doctor and I'm weaning off. Nothing a little Tylenol and excercise can't fix hopefully.I just hope the side effects go away and this is not permanent. By the way be very careful drinking while taking this med. I had a very bad reaction to it. PRO-I sleep like a baby ,I will miss that.

100mg 2x's a day graving sugars...to help me lose weight..and level my mood swings..lol still graving sugars!!!!!!!! like crazy...i hate talking most of all...side effect.?? meeting people?? leaving the house?? effexor 300mg aday also. ..weird thoughts and day dreams...

I have been taking Topamax for 4 years; I take 300 mg for bipolar disorder, and except for initial mild side effects such as tingling in my hands, I have had no problems. For me, topamax has been the best drug I have ever been on as a means of controlling mood swings. I didn't know when I started taking it that Topamax also helped control migraines. I couldn't understand why my migraines were suddenly so few and far between - not to mention much less painful until my doctor told me that Topamax was a good drug for migraines as well. I thought I would add this as encouragement to anyone who reads these and thinks that Topamax is all bad. It does affect each person differently, so there are people out there who have been truly helped by it.

i began taking topax in oct 2004 due to migraines and seizes and have a serioues famliy history of brain aneurysm. I started taking smail dose 25mg at night working my way to 200mg a day. My head acheah where a little bitter and the seizes werent as strong and i could felt the medication working to control them . i have always suffered from depression and the medication control my mood i was at first happy. i work at a very stressful place and as my job became overly stressful during our yearly audit time i couldnt cope and i missed my does of medication i began to get all of side effects. weight gain : ( when at first i was losing a bit) mood swings, confusion, i couldnt put my words together right and my thought pattner was off. but, and during that time i wasnt sleeping and one of the things i enjoyed about topmax was the that i could finally sleep at night. i would call my doctor and he would add other things to my medication regain such as vim c for the tingels , iron, and for the headaches i was getting very strong pain medication which i wouldnt take. i was becoming very depressed and had to stop the medication so i did for a about 3 months but i realized that i do need it and now am back on it and try not to miss my doeses which cause my problems, but im facing the mood swings right now but all medication have side effect you just have to make a personal choice what your gonna choose for ou what most important. for me in 34 single mom of a 12 and a set of 5 year twins and ill all they have and so i have to ensure that im at healthly as i can be because they need me.so good luck

l take 100 mg a day . for depressipn. mood swings. now l get headaches. so will have to go back to dr and tell him. my other meds made me bloated they said topamax would take this away, still have it after 3 months. had tests on stomach there was no findings to cause bloating.l have no energy at all , my blood test all come back fine. so l sit here and wonder what l have

it has been quit a ride with this drug, the mood swings are qite a trip for my kids but they are adjusting and always willing to help no matter what. The stomach cramps are a bit much at times feel like i may have an accident out side, like i can't hold it. The confusion and not able to get my words out right is also fustrating at times. I hve lots of energy, like i am on some kind of uppers almost feel like i jhve to let my doctor write a letter to my job explain my new found energy level. My tingling also began the very same day it freaked me out, but i am dealing with it my migranes are now two in about three weeks as opposed to four to five in one week, for me that is great!

I've been taking topamax for about a month now. Started off with 25mg and just recently started on 100mg. I'm not sure if its worth it with all the side effects Ive been experiencing. From what I understand abrubtly stopping the medicine can be just as bad for you as starting it up, does anybody know how true this is? I've experienced sinus problems and mood swings real bad/tingling in the hands and coldness in the feet and hands. I don't know how long I can take it but afraid to stop.