Topamax and sensations

Hello to all! I have been taking Topamax 200mg twice a day for eleven years for epilepsy. I have had all the symptoms previously mentioned. You will get your apetite and taste back! I still get the tingly sensations in my feet at times, but no longer in my face nor hands. I still have trouble remember really easy words; for instance, answering machine and sometimes have trouble explaining what I mean. About two years into the medication I developed anxiety, never corralating it with the medication. About three years later I decided to get treated by a physician and began taking xanax. I am begining to wonder however, if the topamax is the underlying factor. I am going to taper off the drug to see. I hoped this helped. Good luck to all.

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?

topamax = no more bubbles in your soda

that was the first thing i noticed, and i had trouble believing THAT could be a side effect from a medication. soda and beer and seltzer all tasted the same, but felt completely flat. it didn't feel like a mistake on my brain's part, it just felt like someone had sabotaged EVERY bubbly beverage i happened to try.

little did i know it was only the begining. i have tried many drugs, treating mood disorders, and after topamax i swore to only "treat" my "mood disorders" with time-tested mother approved drugs that make sense. ok thats a bit harsh, but topamax made me miserable.

after the carbonation episode, which never improved (until i stopped the drug), i noticed substantial mental dulling, inability to follow conversation, inability to form intelligent sentences, make connections, etc. sometimes my body would just burst into sensations of being on some psychedelic drug. was i floating? was i tingling? was i swirling? did i even care? nah... i began sleeping all day, or most of the day, or something in between. slowly my muscles and joints began to hurt. then they basically stopped working. i couldn't bend or stretch or do anything without feeling like i was 95 years old. i became an insane bitch (meaner than usual, but without the wit or speed to be an impressive bitch). i lost ANYTHING close to an appetite. my sense of humor turned into an uncarbonated mush.

i dont even remember stopping. i was 18 at the time, and im assuming one of parents noticed that i had aged 80 years in one month's time, and stepped in... offered me a soda pop... and gently guided me back to the doctors office.

definitely my favorite and most bizarre tale of side effects. too bad i can't remember all the hell that took place. i wish it had been videotaped or something.

ok so be careful with that stuff. it you NEED to try it, try it, but start slow... and take note of the side effects... and good luck : )

Started 50 mg Topomax a week ago and to help lose weight gained from my lithium. I'm already on a mood stabilizer lamictal so I didn't need it for mood - only appetite suppression. The first day I did notice that my taste for diet sodas changed - I thought something was wrong with the can and threw it away and got another, but no, it was the same. Oh well. My appetite is pretty much zero, which is fine with me since I gained over 30 pounds since starting lithium seven months ago. I don't feel any tingling or any wierd sensations - but I did feel lethargic/"stupid" the first day (and I'm definitely not that!) - so I switched to taking it at night only and that took care of that. I still feel tired when I take it at night and a little slow in the morning but by the time I get to work I'm good to go. As far as how I'll do when my psych ups the dosage I'll have to see - I'll be sure and post. I think everyone tolerates meds differently and you need to research any drug before you take it.

Does anyone know if the side effects increase after a peroid of time? I have been on Topamax for migraine prevention for about 4 years now. I had gotten over all the tingling sensations, confusion/memory issues however, they seem to be coming back. My dose has not changed--does anyone know if this could be normal?

Thanks

I was diagnosed petit mal epilepsy many years ago. My doctor thought we should try switching medications. I took topamax for about a month with no problems. I did experience the tingly sensations in my fingers and I also had to give up sodas due to the bad tastes. But once I increased my dosage to 150 mg, I started experiencing a new side effect that I have yet to find anyone else complain about. My doctor says it's not Topamax, but it only happens when I take this medication. My eye was twitching constantly. It would only stop for about 30 minute intervals every few hours. Once I stopped taking topamax, my eye stopped twitching. I thought perhaps I was just stressed or fatigued, so I tried to go back on it. Once again when I got back up to 100 mg I noticed it would twitch once the medicine was in my system. I suppose this is some sort of facial tremor.

Began Topamax/Relpax rx in Jan 05...had been increasing the Topamax dose to 75 mg total/day until 3/05 but felt irritable, not sleeping well; Dr. added Elavil at bedtime to help me sleep and it has really helped. I have just inc. to the next level dose of Topamax :total now at 50 mg in the am and 50 mg in the pm . Side effects are tingling /buzzing sensations in my heels- this seems to calm down after I get used to a dose level... Forgetfulness and trouble getting my words out,mixing up words and even occas. slurring. This does frustrate . BUT, my headaches are so much fewer.So , it is working well I'd say .I have lost a few pounds but I am watching my intake and exercising .I notice that exercise helps my headaches too !