Topamax?

lilmisscrabby

swole_elsa wrote: »

Hey y'all. I wouldn't consider myself a n00b to the whole diet and fitness business by any means, but when it comes to meds and my mental state I have zero idea what I'm doing.

I currently am fighting a losing battle with my BED, depression, and anxiety. While most days I do well with my stress relief techniques and actively work on preventing triggers, I still have been having problems. My BED has been slowly slipping into bulimia territory and it's terrifying me. Yes, I am getting help, but I feel like therapy is just not helping me anymore. I'm just.. At a loss, you guys. I know you guys aren't doctors (well, most of you) but it would be nice to get some feedback.

I've heard about Topamax a few times and I do not take the decision to get on medication lightly. I've read both sides of the story, the pros and cons of taking this medication. I'm still somewhat on the border about it. I've never taken any medication of this kind so it's completely uncharted territory for me. Does anyone have any experience with it? Good or bad, I'd like to hear it all. Thanks in advance!

I took that for 5,years for migraine and I lost 30 pounds , no side affects went up too 100mg but it stopped helping me , so I went off it , I didn't know it treated anixity and depression , in fact my anixity is bad maybe I should of stayed on it , I'm going to ask the doctor about that , just ask your doctor about what you been hearing about the drug , it was actually for seizures but was given also friend for headaches

pander101

I am currently on a pretty high dose of Topamax for seizures. I went through terrible mind fog for about the first 6-8 months. I was also extremely tired all the time and had no appetite at all. I have been hearing that it has been used to aid in weightloss, but it has almost completely destroyed my appetite. My migraines have improved which is nice, but I sometimes drop off in the middle of sentences because I can't remember words. Doctor says that it will go away if I were to ever come off the medication. I also notice that I am more forgetful and less aware than I use to be. I have been on this medication for about a year and will probably be on it for life.

cheshirecatastrophe

swole_elsa wrote: »

cheshirecatastrophe wrote: »

swole_elsa wrote: »

Yes, I am getting help, but I feel like therapy is just not helping me anymore. I'm just.. At a loss, you guys. I know you guys aren't doctors (well, most of you) but it would be nice to get some feedback.

So...not BED, but this is something I know a little about. I am *horrible* at therapy. Therapists of MFP, I am your nightmare. And on purpose, too--I sabotage the sessions because deep down something in me doesn't want to get better. Here's what helps:

-There are different types of therapy. CBT, traditional psychotherapy, psychodrama, DBT, dynamic, blends of styles, psychoanalysis, and so forth. I really like CBT in particular because it focuses on actually changing destructive thought patterns=>behaviors, rather than being squishy and "tell me about your feelings." A lot of people are the opposite. Maybe it's time for a change.

-I need (NEED) a therapist who is as ballsy, pushy, loud, and stubborn as I am. Someone who will swear right back at me and get me back on track for our session. My best friend, on the other hand, could not be more different in what she needs out of someone. Maybe you would work better with a different type of therapist.

-At the same time, I need to understand the what and the why of therapy and advice. It's easy to say "accept this," but I need to know what it *means* to accept something in order to do it. There are a lot of therapeutic code words that aren't so obvious. Maybe this is something to hack at.

Therapy that WORKS is brutal and slow and filled with more stumbling and setbacks than a lifetime of yo-yo dieting. When I was working through compulsive exercising issues, I ragequit about once a month.

And always went back. Because in the end, it's worth it.

ETA because mornings are almost as hard on my spelling as Topamax

I think you are me, lol. Every therapist I've been to is a squishy touchy feely kind of therapist. No one has had the balls to tell me like it is/yell back at me. I'm not sure how to go about finding a therapist like this, however. I guess I'll ask my GP for a referral with those specifications while I'm there, lol.

And to the person telling me not to go on it looking for weight loss.. I'm not. Like I said, I don't take medication lightly and I wouldn't consider going on meds just for funsies. I have a serious problem and I'm just willing to try different paths to see what might get me to recovery other than traditional routes. Just like most things in life, there's no one size fits all for recovery.

Yup, finding a good therapist is tough. Each time I have to start over (moving and such), it takes me 3-4 initial visits to different therapists before I find a good match. I always ask my doctor for a list and then work through it until I find someone. First appointment, I test them out to see if they let me push them around and direct (deflect) the session away from the hard things to talking about, like, dinosaurs. If they do, I won't go back, because there's no point. I don't need to spend $$$ to talk s--- about dinosaurs once a week.