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Has anyone experienced Topomax for binging? what about other SSRI;s?

Has anyone had any experience with Topomax for binging?  Any other meds?  I take celexa and only 10 mg and it's decreased my irritability but not my binging and purging.  I take it for anxiety, but I still am so so anxious and more like very keyed up and tensed up in my muscles and even at night I find myself tenseing up when thinking about whether I will or won't feel like binging and purging tomorrow.  I never know if I will feel the urge or not and so I obsess about it the possible outcomes i could have.  

I currently just do it anyway regardless if I feel the urge or not because i guess of habit.  I am totally out of hand and Im so exhausted ans tired and I hate myself and don't know how to stop.  I am in a program and see a councellor each week and psychiatrist and I still am strugling so bad.   Whatr can I do?  

I ca;t stop and I need your help anyone if you can rerlate in any way and if you know of a drug that can help me and is not too harmful.  Should |i stop celexa and take Prozac?  

Please help me I want to stop but Im mentaly addicted to binging and purging even though I started to recently realise that it is not serving it's purpose anymore.  I used to feel consoled by eating but I am dissapointed that now it's not helping my feelings anymore it;s just making me feel guiltyier and more ashamed and dissapointed in myself and I am hating myself lately!

Please help amyone with any suggestions who has gone through anything like this before!

thanks so much and god bless!

Marlane
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Avatar universal
Thanks Tamara,

That's good advice!  I heard alot about the cognitive affects of the Topomax too.  How does prozac work fro binging and purging though?  Would it work alone?  How does it affect the mental addiction to eat constantly and crave certain foods?  

I take celexa but only 10 mg but it doesn't help in any noticeable way.  Would Prozac be better?  

Thanks for your help

Mar
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi,
I took Prozac along with Topamax (100mg. twice a day) and it helped reduce the crazy middle of the night bingeing (like sleep eating).  If you are really intent on using meds I would try the Prozac first.  Topamax helped, but it really affected my cognitive functioning.  I had problems thinking, remembering words, and also tingling in my feet.  I would steer away from the topamax.  Hang in there.....don't give up ;)

Tamara
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
thanks so much for your oppinion and experience with this drug issue.  it really helps me get a better idea and more rounded view of what i neeed to consider.  

I agree that a 12 step program can work but i just don't know how to find one and what the steps are that I can work on.  What are the 12 steps?  I want to start now but need some info and perhaps a book recomendation.  perhaps messege me and let me know of any more info you can give me that worked for you and your emotional attatchment to food, as I have the same problem too!  

I respect that you are doing the work it takes to get well and not relying on the drug route.  i myself agree with you but am so so desperate I would do anything even a drug to help me stop binging .  

what can you recomend to begin to get more control with my eating?  

please write back ,

thanks and gof blessyou,

marlane
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
topamax did nothing for me, infact it made me gain weight, i am not a big fan of psyc. meds
i found one that did help, however,, i paid a heavy price for taking it
it caused me to have tyriod problems, i gained an extreme amount of weight, i almost became a diabetic, oh and the prescription was close to $300 a month
these type meds are over rated, and in my experience not a cure
i started working the 12steps in OE, i have noticed more change with this than any pill i have tried
i am currently taking reglan before each meal, and phenergan before dinner, phenergan is for nasuea so this helps me keep my food down and reglan is a good drug for acid reflux, and if you are anything like me heart burn and other stomach discomforts are a real issue and needs treatment from a GI specialist
topamax is actually an anti-seizure medication, when i worked in the er most of the medical docs would not prescribe this to their patients because it was very expensive and caused many patients to have "brain zaps"
HOWEVER!!!!! everyone is different, topamax can work well with some and cause others to have major problems with motor function and the patient may loose the ability to retain information
if you goto a psyc. doc, they will lean more toward the drugs you mentioned but if you see a GI specialist they will stick to medications that treat the physical issue vs. the mental issues, i prefer a medical doctor to work with me on physical symptoms and a self help program such as oea to work on my emotional attachment to food
good luck to you, the information provided is based on my personal experience, not intended to replace medical advice
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello!

First of all, I do want to say that I am not a doctor, but I'll give you my opinion and input. Personally, I take Topamax for bingeing and purging and it really, really helps me. However, I would not recommend it if you have a urges to restrict, or have struggled with restricting or anorexia in the past.

Also, I can really relate to where you are right now with everything. I've been there, and I feel for you. It's a rough place to be. Your anxiety seems to be pretty high. Have you ever taken anything for anxiety that has helped you? You said you are always thinking about whether or not you will b/p or not or when the next time will be, etc. I used to be the same way. Then somebody pointed it out to me that those thoughts were pretty much assuring me that I would b/p again soon. Just the fact that the thoughts were in my head pretty much set me up to do it. Does that make sense? For example, I used to want to stop the bingeing and purging all the time and would desperately say to myself "I will not binge and purge tomorrow" over and over. Well guess what? I always ended up doing it. Then I learned that I needed to refocus and make positive statements such as "I will follow my meal plan" or "I will make healthy choices for myself" etc. Make sense?

It sounds like it's also most definitely become a habit. You said it wasn't even really doing anything for you anymore, which tells me it's somewhat of a habitual thing at this point. If you can break this cycle just once, that will be the most difficult, and then you will see that you are capable of doing it. When you get an urge, notice what you are about to do, and intervene. Immediately, get out of the house, go for a walk, call someone, find anything to distract yourself.

Lastly, are you able to notice what you are feeling before, during, and after you b/p? Or are you ever able to pinpoint what you are feeling?

I hope you are doing okay. Hang in there.

Ashley
Helpful - 0
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