Topamax and panic attack

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 posted this on Mar 15th regarding my experience with Topamax...

I took Topamax for only 4 days. I ended up in the ER on Feb 22nd because I felt like I was going to pass out, getting dizzy, couldn't concentrate or think, numbness, rapid heart beat, shortness of breath and this was intensified by anxiety from all this stuff going on. I stopped taking it immediately. I have had episodes of these same side effects since then. I had these side effects last week and missed 3.5 days of work. I have been doing pretty good this week but today I had to leave work because the same side effects came back. I had to have someone come pick me up form the side of the interstate half way on my way home because it got so intense I could not drive. My doctors have done blood work and I am waiting for the results.

Since then, here is an updated on my side effects and what has been found by my doctors. I really hope this helps someone since this was very devastating for me. It got so bad I had to go on Medical Leave from work due to the side effects.

I had 10 tests run on my blood and tests and pictures done on my heart and everything checked out to be normal. Apparently since this medicine messes with the chemicals in your brain, it also has the capability of turning on anxiety, depression, panic attacks, etc. My primary care doctor, my neurologist, my cardiologist and a stated licensed counselor/therapist all have diagnosed me with anxiety leading up to panic attacks. Basically what I was told by my counselor was that my level of anxiety in my brain was turned on so high, it didn't know to come back down after I stopped the medicine. Now anything can set it off and it's quickly escalates into a panic attack without control. I was so bad that I was having anxiety/panic attacks about merging into traffic, going to work, going through the drive thru at McDonald's, going to WalMart and just anything in general. I started a medicine that controls anxiety and I have been on it for a week. Although I still get anxiety, I am able to control it and it's not escalating into the panic attacks. The best thing is with this type of medicine is that it can take "a couple of weeks" before it's built up into my system, so this should take care of it. I was advised with some counseling to learn how to control my anxiety and some medicine, this can be taken care of. I just have to allow my brain to get the levels of anxiety back down to normal levels and then I can eventually stop taking the medicine.

I just started Topamax for Bi Polar. I replaced the Seroquel I was on with it. I have been having some really bad headaches before I went on it, and I am still having them. I have lost 6 pounds in a week. Can someone tell me from their experience does the headaches seem to go away with more dosage. I was on 50mg of Seroquel and with the Topamax I am only on 25mg right now.

I forgot to list my side effects.

My doctor put me on Topamax for migraines, but I can not handle the effects. I just started the 75 mg dose just as I was moving into a new college apartment with new roommates, and I felt like I was going crazy! I couldn't eat anything without feeling completely ill, I was spacing out, and I couldn't remember words.. for three whole days I couldn't remember the word 'tapestry.' I finally had to look it up in the dictionary.. not a good sign for a college student. The worst, though, was the overwhelming sense of panic that was getting worse by the day. I was no longer myself! The last straw was a panic attack, complete with hypernentilating. I have never felt so scared in my life. I actually had to go the ER to get something to calm myself down.

So, I decided to stop taking it. My parents talked to my pharmacist, and she told them that Topamax IS the type of drug you can stop "cold turkey." But after a week, I feel almost as bad as I did when I was on the drug! I still can't eat anything. Also, I wake up hours before my alarm goes off, completely sick at my stomach. I feel panicky and nervous. I have several bouts of diarrhea and this morning I almost didn't make it. I share a bathroom with three (normal!) girls, and it is getting to be embarrasing and annoying. Please, can anyone tell me.. when do the side effects go away?? I want to be a normal 19 year old again!

I too had chest pains!! That is something that they do no tell you.

This medication definitely needs to be re-evaluated by the FDA, to determine what damage it may do to your heart.

I was already seeing a psychiatrist for Panic disorder so I had valium at home. However, I still ended up in the ER for my chest pains after getting no call back from my dr for two weeks telling her that I was having all of the other side effects ( except the hair loss), tingling in the hands and feet, fatigue, moodiness, different tastes of things, especially colas.

Nevertheless, I was diagnosed at the ER with having a panic attack....DUHHHH, how could I possibly be having a panic attack when I had taken about 2 1/2 10 mg valium to try to get my chest to stop hurting. I explained to the ER dr. that I had started taking the topamax 3 weeks prior...There absolutely needs to be better education of this drug and its terrible side effects!!!

Im 39 years old I have been on topamax for 3 months now on 50 mg a day first and now for the past month it was increaded to 75 mg a day. I have begun to have panic attacks/ nightmares. I also suffers from memory loss and inability form my words ( I guess thats the best way to describe it) my neuro gave me topomax for what he calls complicated migraines where my left sarm and leg became numg along with headaches and neck pain. The pain has decreased although the occurrrences have not subsided and Im not sure if Im going to saty on the Topomax. I have lost 8 pounds. The panic attacks and anxiety and debilitating.

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 5 years. At first I believed it was a miracle drug. It was being used to treat bipolar 2. Over the course of 7 months I lost 40lbs, which at that time I did not know was caused from the drug. I was losing parts of my memory, and I worked in a high performance sales job, but was able to cover the mistakes. Over the course of the next year and a half things began to get worse. I believed at that point it was my illness. I began to have panic attacks and began to be more depressed. Eventually I had to leave my job 3 years ago. I was given other drugs with the topamax but nothing did anything, so they upped the dosage to 400mg, which put me in bed almost constantly. The dosage was taken back to 200mg. Over the course of this process I complained of back pain, losing the feeling in my left side of my body, vision loss (I had perfect vision before taking this drug) headaches, eye twitching, stomache problems ( which developed into diverticulitis)hair loss. I had nerve testing done, which came back negative. I had the first eye test done which came back with some eye loss. My doctor assured me that the topamax could not be causing any of these problems.
The last vision test from an opthmologist now says that I need surgery to correct my eyes, because of the problems that this drug can cause. He says I need lazer surgery.
Well, the fact remains, that this drug I believe has caused all of my problems. Most of all, my lack of motivation, my depression, and my lack of will to do anything. My sleeping pattern has been totally changed, and I suffer my panic attacks which I never had prior to taking this drug, and anxiety. I have no libido, which I believe has been a gradual thing, it was not immediate.
I am now weaning myself off, and it is not easy. The lower dosage has withdrawl effects, and the fear of weight gain has always been a problem. However I realize now after researching this drug to great extent the long term effects are not worth weight loss, and natural products maybe the better solution.