Topomax, Weightloss,SideEffects,Pros

[Maxie3]

Hello,
I've been on TMax for over one year.  I suffer from TMJ. I am very happy with TMax.  My headaches were every single day.  I thought I was going insane.  I also was given Lexapro and another med (can't remember), but during the summer I decided to get off all meds except for TMax.  When I don't get enough sleep I feel horrible all day.  I now only have headaches once a month and if I get a lot of stress the tension  goes not my jaw causing the severe headaches.  It feels like someone hit me over the head with a pan.  I did find a fantastic myofacial doctor and I wear a splint in my mouth full time which has helped 98% control my headaches.  Some people don't realize stress can go to your jaw which is connected to your skull creating headaches.  When this happens I usually put a warm towel around my jaw and it really helps relieve the symptoms of the head hurting.  In addition, I take frova a migrane pill which helps and doesn't cause heart PPT.  ....God Bless all of us.

[barb2clem]

I went to a diet doctor in Cary who prescribed this for me and I found it to be like a placebo; totally noneffective.  It does nothing to control appetite which is what it is supposed to do.  I am diabetic and I find that I am hungry all the time.  I have been this way my whole life.  The only way I can control my appetite is to simply find something else to occupy my mind so that I do not think about food.  Topomax (topamax) is totally useless.

[girrl88]

Hey y'all, I hate to break it to you but Topamax is not an appetite suppressant. The weight loss factor is a side effect - that means you may or may not get it. Just like the kidney stones and the odd forms of glaucoma that Topa can cause, you may or may not get those as well. The taste perversion is also a side effect but it actually CAN help you lose weight since sodas taste icky and (at least for me) lots of sweets taste too sweet so I don't want them anymore.

If you get the tinglies in your hands and feet go eat a banana or drink some Gatorade, this will take care of it. The tinglies will eventually go away after your body has become accustomed to the dosage.

Now granted that I haven't looked up any recent clinical trials but last time I checked it had failed 2 separate trials for weight loss. The reason it had failed was because the test subjects couldn't handle the side effects. Many left due to the cognitive side effects. There is a reason that this med is nicknamed Dopeamax and Stupimax.

I am bipolar (aka manic depressive) and I take Topamax as a mood stabilizer. I'd hoped for the weight loss side effect but unfortunately I wasn't that lucky. I often recommend Topamax as a mood stabilizer or as an antiepileptic med or even as a migraine med but I would never offer it up as a weight loss med. I would never get someone's hopes up when what they're hoping for is a side effect. It's a dangerous game to play, picking a med for it's side effects, hoping that you get a particular side effect (weight loss) but that you don't get other side effects (depression or glaucoma, etc.)

So please, before you hop on the Topamax train. Take a minute to really delve into the info with your doctor. Make sure your doc tells you about all the side effects, not just the "nice" ones. If you want more info ask your pharmacist for the PI sheet. It will show you the statistics about "adverse events" during the drug trial. You can even find the PI sheet online if you want, just search for "Topamax PI sheet".  

Just be careful. You only get one body to live this life in.

[Janie416]

In December I posted this, now I would like to clarify it....
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I had a CBC done again and my liver enzymes are perfect.  Found out that I was taking too much TYLENOL for the headaches and that was the cause, not the Topamax.  

We assumed it was the Topamax b/c that was the only new med that I was taking.  I totally stopped it and Tylenol at the same time, then started taking Topamax again as a controlled experiment, so I wanted to clarify that for all of you in case you were worried about it.
Janie