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Topamax and weight loss

I have digenerative disc disease and my neirologist just prescribed topamax,
he said it would help with the pain and tingling but could result in weight loss.
  I am wondering if prescribing topamax for ddd is common among neurologists? I can't seem to find any other information related to topamax as a pain med, only information I have is that it's a powerful drug with lots of side effects, most not so good.
The weight loss aspect is the only plus...also could this drug alter my brain function since I know it is used for bi-polar and seizure disorder... I'd like to know more about this med both from a neurologists view and from a weight loss specialists view. before I make a decision to take this medication
Thanks in advance for any/all responses
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Avatar universal
For all those using Phentermine and Topomax at the same time, be very careful.  After taking both for almost a month, the Topomax began to cause irregular heart palpitations and display many of the other listed  side effects.  I would definitely not take them both for long periods of time. The Phentermine 37.5 alone should suffice with diet and exercise.  Y
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Avatar universal
Best be careful with allender
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Avatar universal
been on 50mg for 6 months. Quit 2 weeks back. Still losing hair in clumps. Hope it grows back as my scalp is already visible. Do let me know if you find anything on this...
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Avatar universal
First of all, I would definitely get off of the Celexa. Been there, done that and it has some really nasty side effects. Secondly, the tingly feeling is coming from the Topomax but if you can stick with it, you'll lose the weight. Topomax is a great drug (I take it for MASSIVE migraines...I literally cannot live without it) but I dropped a crazy amount of weight and I wasn't even trying (not to say that it wasn't a wonderful little bonus!) Hang in there and give yourself a break. Two more things. 1. LOSE THE SCALES...they aren't your friend. Just pay attention to how you feel and how your clothes fit; and 2. Seriously, find another antidepressant. The Celexa is probably working against you on the weight loss. Good luck and Happy Skinny! :)
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Avatar universal
I feel hairloss is due to vitamin B12 . Topmax depletes it from your system.  Take B12 while on this medication!  Will help your hairloss.
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Avatar universal
Ive been on topamax since july 2015.I have a condition where the fuild around my brain doesn drain normally so I have alot of pressure(like my head is going to explode) my weight when I first started it was 236pds and I started at a low dose for a short period and after 3 weeks I was on 200mg. This was from my neurologist. My weight now is 165. I wasnt on it for weight obviously. But it has made my hair fall out, mostly in the shower is where I notice it. And it;s not alittle its alot. Handfuls! The balance, speech, memory and tingling are there. If I were to tell anyone to take this medication, dont. The side effects are horrible. And the serious side effects.... ask your doctor before taking this medication.  
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Avatar universal
Maybe a banana would help for muscle cramps especially during night but....not convinced its going to help tingling. Good luck with that!
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Avatar universal
I started  topamax in April 2015 25mg X2 a day weight was 450lbs seizures every day also taken Keppra.  Topamax has increased to 100mg 2x a day still with Keppra seizures  mabey  1 every  2 weeks weight down to 320lbs no hair loss some forgetfulness  but getting better
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Avatar universal
Hair loss has been an issue and I have gone off of Topamax. Has anyone gone off this drug and had there hair get thicker or improve at all? I would love to hear that it does before I decide to buy a wig.
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Avatar universal
Did it work the 2nd time around
CURIOUS???
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Avatar universal
I am starting topamax tomorrow for weight loss.  Have been going to gym regularly and watching what I eat, with no success.

Your comment about your breasts is scaring me!  I am already a 44 DDD!
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1 Comments
Wow. She wasn't talking about her boobs. She was talking about Degenerative Disk Disease.
Avatar universal
Hi, Wanted ask a question if you don't mind . I really need to take the Topamax . I  believe it will help me with mood swings, anxiety, also with my weight. I am 40 pds over weight this Is putting pressure on my bad knee and causing me really bad pain.. But I have read so many bad things about this drug that I am terrified to stay on it. I just started it about  days ago .I take 25 mg.. I have noticed my tummy feels distended doc says that will go away. I pray it does.. If you could help me to understand how this drug helped you and if it was a good or bad thing and why and  do you believe it could cause a mental breakdown that's is something else that I read. I am so worried about this medicine . Please help if you don't mind. Thanks. purplerose
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Avatar universal
Combination of 20mg amitriptyline + 50mg Lyrica have taken me from 2-3x/wk severe migraines, to 1-2x/month regular headaches that I manage with aspirin. This was after 20 years of migraines. Good luck to you!
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Avatar universal
Dont take so many drugs.  become your best health advocate, learn more about your condition and the drugs you take for them. there are natural alternatives that are not poison and actually have good side effects.  I wished I was warned about the debilitating mental confusion and memory loss from taking 200 mg of  "Dopamax"  for five years.  
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Avatar universal
http://www.************/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_WM9QcX5DP0%26fb_action_ids%3D10205284444224926%26fb_action_types%3Dog.shares%26fb_source%3Dother_multiline%26action_object_map%3D%255B231447463689958%255D%26action_type_map%3D%255B%2522og.shares%2522%255D%26action_ref_map%3D%255B%255D&h=6AQFhdU7E
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Avatar universal
Hi try mixing one part Castor oil and one part organic coconut oil and just top it off with avocado oil . here is a link and its used for growing eyelashes  and eyebrows so I'm thinking it'll work for the hair and it won't hurt actuallyhttp://www.************/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_WM9QcX5DP0%26fb_action_ids%3D10205284444224926%26fb_action_types%3Dog.shares%26fb_source%3Dother_multiline%26action_object_map%3D%255B231447463689958%255D%26action_type_map%3D%255B%2522og.shares%2522%255D%26action_ref_map%3D%255B%255D&h=6AQFhdU7E
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Avatar universal
The tingling in my fingertips for Topamax. I told my doctor didn't answer back.
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Avatar universal
this is for all of you. i had to have surgery and was in a hurry for it in such a hurry i drove my counselor nuts she finally helped me out by putting me on topamax.  i did as she said starting at 25 mg the first week then 50 the second week then 75 the third week and finally 100 mg the fourth week. three months later i was in surgery with a weight loss of 90 pounds, my surgery was a breast reduction. Oh boy after surgery i was struttin, and feeling great . weight loss was my only side affect. quess i got lucky after reading about wht all of you went through. nows 7 years has gone by and im going on topamax again. i gained a littleof it back but not a whole lot maybe 25 pounds is all. good luck toall of you and enjoy the weigjht loss.
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Avatar universal
To Anyone,

I just started the drug today, 50 mg but after reading all these posts, I decided I can't take the risk of the eye or memory side effects. I was prescribed it for the horrible migraines I've had since I was 17, I'm now 51, can't risk the memory issues. I hope just taking 2 pills and stopping cold won't matter, it shouldn't right?
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Avatar universal
Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice,

I'm in the UK where apparently not a lot is known about topamax so my gp is pretty much tied and just going with what the neurologist says. I started with daily headaches about 7 and a half months ago.

Been on the topamax 3-4 weeks now and seem to be having all the nasty side effects with none of the benefits.  Have the tingling in my hands and feet.  My face tingles, especially my lips and feels really sensitive, even my hair when it blows in the wind feels sore, I've reduced the dose slightly and that does seem to have to have helped.  Think we went up the meds too quickly and was just too much for my body to handle.  Had THE worst stomach pain I've ever had on Monday night, thought I was going to end up in hospital, I've never had a baby but could imagine it was worse than labour, thanfully it passed within about 20 minutes and touch wood I havent had it since then. All of this I could probably deal with if it was helping with the headaches but it's not, if anything I feel they're worse. I feel like I'm wearing a helmet thats 3 sizes too small for my head and is crushing my skull, a real pressure headache. It's not always that bad, usually on a night, from 5pm onwards but the last week it's never really gone away. I'm not convinced it's cluster migraines but have told we have to give the topamax 6-8 weeks before we can try something else.

So, my question really is when you all started on the topamax was the relief immediate or did it take months to have an effect?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.
Becky
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7790632 tn?1394217936
I've lost 129 lbs. If you drink cokes, I'm a Texan so cokes means EVERY soda there is. I weighed 300lbs. I was drinking a 3 liter Coca Cola a day. I was not on Adderall yet. I sold my car, started eating nutritious food and walked or rode the bus. I still do. Now I have a bike. I've been on Adderall for 5 years. In 2011 I was down from 300 to 155 until a LAME *** DOCTOR put me on Lyrica. I gained 40lbs in a month. I've still not lost that. Last January I had gotten back up to 198. I am now at (or was on the 13th of last month) 171. I just saw an article in Health magazine about Topamax and phentermine. But since I'm on the Add I landed here @ this forum from Google. I've got Topamax and will start it today after reading all of these great posts. Wish me luck! My next dr. appt is on the 13th - next week. I'll let you know what the scale says.
Now about drinking the sodas: The minute I quit drinking them I dropped 30 lbs. And for ya'll that drink diet cokes - STOP NOW - studies have shown that people who drink diet weigh more than people who drink regular ones. The brain cannot tell sugar from artificial sweeteners. STOP PUTTING THOSE AWFUL CHEMICALS IN YOUR BODIES! I have one every now and then and I feel bloated and a FART ALOT.
I'll see ya next week with the 'Results Of The Scale'. Sounds like a soap opera doesn't it?  
                                                    
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Avatar universal
Imitrex is not a preventive and you have to take it within 15 min of headache beginning, which sometimes is hard because you are not sure if it just a headache or a migraine. That being said I cannot take it anymore because it caused a migraine metamorphosis stroke, when I could take it it did wonders when I could take it on time,now I have to try and prevent them and topamax does not work for me, after ALOT of trial and error with my dr we finally found a combo that works for me the key is to narrow down what brings them on which for me is 1.stress and nerves followed by 2. different smells so my combo won't necessarily work for the next person, also with the way everybody has come down on dr.'s for certain meds it is hard to get one with an open mind. Which is because so many people abuse meds these days which makes it very hard and unfair for those of us who needs it
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Avatar universal
Imitrex is not a preventive and you have to take it within 15 min of headache beginning, which sometimes is hard because you are not sure if it just a headache or a migraine. That being said I cannot take it anymore because it caused a migraine metamorphosis stroke, when I could take it it did wonders when I could take it on time,now I have to try and prevent them and topamax does not work for me, after ALOT of trial and error with my dr we finally found a combo that works for me the key is to narrow down what brings them on which for me is 1.stress and nerves followed by 2. different smells so my combo won't necessarily work for the next person, also with the way everybody has come down on dr.'s for certain meds it is hard to get one with an open mind. Which is because so many people abuse meds these days which makes it very hard and unfair for those of us who needs it
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Avatar universal
I have been on Topamax on and off since Feb of 2011 I really have mixed feelings about it.

Pros:
Weight Loss: I started at 305 lbs, I am now at 240 and still dropping.
Headaches: Without it, I have almost constant head pain, on then, I am able to control the pain, even able to go some days without taking a narcotic.

Cons:
Memory issues: I have memory loops, sometimes I speak or even type like a broken record, so I have to read what I write before I press send because I have even typed things 2, even 4 times (like the same 4 exact words right in a row over and over again) and I do it when speaking too. So I have to be careful that my train stays on track because it derails VERY easily.
Taste:  Sada tastes like someone vomited in it, right from the first pill and gets worse with each dose until by the second week, I can no longer stand it, I can't drink soda anymore. And GOD FORBID I grab the wrong cup (someone else's by mistake and grab a big swig of if, YUCK!!!)
Tingling: Hands, feet, face, especially my nose and lips.
Lightheadedness: this is the best I can do to describe it, though this is not exactly accurate. It is more like I am on a roller coaster at any one point in time and no one told me.


I go on and off of my Topamax as I can handle it, but my GP is aware of this fact, however. I LOVE my Mountain Dew, HOWEVER, I hate the headaches as equally as much as I love my Mountain Dew. If I could find a drug that I could drink my Mountain Dew on, yet be headache free on, I could compromise on the weight lose. Really I could, since that is just a happy bonus for me. When I am off of it for the 4-6 weeks that I take a Vaca from it, I still lose weight, just not as quickly. I think my body has adjusted to the new eating habits by now, since I was never really a big sweets fan to begin with.

By my big issue with the Topamax is not just with soda, it is ANYTHING carbonated. It does NOT taste flat, as some have stated, it tasted like someone vomitted in it. It is like taking a drink of soda after you have thrown up and you still have some vomit or stomach acid in your mouth. Like you are trying to wash that taste out, but that taste never goes away. Hubby even got a soda stream machine, thinking if he added carbonation using CO2 that it would work and I could drink THAT kind of soda. NOPE!!! Even that tastes off.

So, if anyone can think of a cure for this, I would be happy:(
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