Stopped Tompamax for Migraines...weight is comig back!

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  • healthyKYgirl
    healthyKYgirl Posts: 272 Member
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    Sometimes, it can take a while for your body to adjust to a change or reduction in medication. It could be storing water or changing metabolism or any number of things.

    A large percentage (20%-25%) of calories (base metabolism) burned each day is by the brain. Since this definitely impacts the brain and changes brain chemistry, your body/brain could be adjusting still. I would stick with what you are doing for another month and see if the weight gain plateaus and then adjust from there. I don't know how long it takes for brain chemistry to return to normal after weening off this type of medication; I think it could take several months even though you may not visibly notice the changes after a few weeks.
  • RunionX4
    RunionX4 Posts: 190 Member
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    I was on Topamax for about a month and couldn't handle the side effects. They should not be scripting that out for weight loss. That is a serious drug.

    But I can see where being on a drug like that for a while and it causing some weight loss can cause you to gain some of it back when you get off the drug. I have no answer for you other than keep working at it. Hopefully you will find a good answer. Best thing would be to talk to your doctor about it.

    Good Luck.
  • madworld1
    madworld1 Posts: 524
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    Sure have. But, I took Zonegran. Same type of medicine. It's called the "thin and stupid" drug or something like that. I know why too. I was dumber than a box of rocks on it & pencil thin. I stopped taking it when I started college. I need to be able to think to pass my classes. Zonegran would have resulted in disastrous grades.

    I've put on at least 10 pounds since I stopped taking it. It decreased my appetite and cravings for carbs/cokes. I am slowly regaining control.
  • Adw7677
    Adw7677 Posts: 201 Member
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    I was on it for Migraines - MIRACLE DRUG, I must say. For the first month (until I adjusted to the side effects), I noticed a sharp decrease in my appetite. I had to close my eyes and hold my breath and just force myself to eat. Never amounted to any weight loss though.

    I've been off of it for about a month or two. Exercise (and avoiding caffeine) has helped tremendously with the migraines (and relieved the high blood pressure and depression). I haven't noticed any change at all in anything - which is weird since I didn't even taper down, I just ran out of pills.

    I don't think Topamax does anything to affect your metabolism, but rather has the effect on your appetitie. You might be eating just enough extra that you don't notice it - even drinking 1 sugary soda everyday will add up. You could stop into any pharmacy near you and speak to the pharmacist. A good pharmacist will be willing to look up the drug and see how it would actually affect your weight after you stop talking it. Best to try a Mom&Pop type of pharmacy rather than the chain pharmacies, as the chains run on a skeleton crew to increase profits.

    Even if you do gain some weight, you should go back to "normal" after everything wears off. It's better NOT to have all the manmade crap in your system.

    Good luck!
  • allaboutthecake
    allaboutthecake Posts: 1,533 Member
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    . That and the fact that i was up to 300mg a day and my hair was falling out in chunks! You can see in my pics - the hair pic in my black halter dress is when it was at its worst....i had bald spots. The pics of me now....i have hair extensions to 'fill in the blanks'. I've been off for a month and i pray my hair comes back....just not the weight.

    For your hair: I take GNC Skin/Hair/Nails Formula for Women vitamins. But honestly what is working waaay better for my hairless head? Nioxin: Nioxin Shampoo, Nioxin Conditioner, and Nioxin Scalp Treatment. If you have viable hair follicles, this stuff is very effective. I have little tiny baby hairs coming in,whoohoo!
  • sharonfoustmills
    sharonfoustmills Posts: 519 Member
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    FDA has not approved topamax for weight loss, but it is a side effect for most who take it, that's true. Topamax can make eating disorders worsen, so it is not good for those who binge eat to take it nor for anorexic patients.

    I took it for migraines for a year or so, and it began to make me obsess about things it seemed. At any rate, if you don't need it for the migraines anymore, then look for better alternatives to control appetite like high fiber/ high protein meals.
  • mama2redhead
    mama2redhead Posts: 132 Member
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    I was on topamax for migraines for a year or two, at a fairly high dose. I intentionally lost weight during that time, and kept it off for several months using weight watchers. I gained 10 or 12 # in a month after stopping the med. I think my weight leveled off there, but it is hard to be sure, because soon after I got pregnant (which was the reason I stopped the med).

    The only side effects for me was that soda tasted flat and it changed the taste of my favorite beer, so that I didn't really care for it anymore.

    This was all about 2 years ago now.
  • Bearbrat
    Bearbrat Posts: 230
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    YES! Same thing happened to me. I was on Topamax for two years and while I definitely don't credit the medicine alone for my weight loss as I made lifestyle changes that had me losing weight already- it most certainly accelerated it. I didn't feel like it helped my migraines enough to deal with all the side effects (the ringing in my ears and numbness in my fingers and toes drove me nuts!) so I went off it about 9 months ago. BAM! Hello 15 lbs. Now that too wasn't completely the medicine, I had to stop running due to injury BUT my very slow weight gain due to the injury became very quick (15 lbs in 3 months) when I went off the Topamax. The thing i noticed the most was when I was taking it, I didn't have as much of an appetite- it really worked as an appetite suppressant for me- so as soon as it was out of my system, my appetite came back and I felt hungry all the time.

    The good news is that sticking with a plan has helped and for me personally, finding a way to stop snacking so much and work on my self control. I am losing, but with nowhere near the speed I did on the Topamax. However, I also don't want to be on a medication for the rest of my life, so I just had to figure it out.

    As a side note- I started doing Bikram Yoga at the end of May, and I have only had one migraine since then. Normally I would have had at least 5 in that period of time. Works for me way better than Topamax and no crazy side effects!

    Good luck!

    OMG! SAME THING WITH ME!!!!! The numbness in my fingers and toes....was the worst!!!! My doctor didnt think it was due to the Topamax, but now that i dont have ANY of that anymore, i guess he was wrong! Esp now that i know you had the same thing happen to you.
    Agreed - i was never really hungry taking that med - i could and would sometimes go all day without eating. And yes, now - appetite is back - full force. I have to stick to exactly what i was doing while i was on it and not fall back into the bad habits and routines i was in before i started the diet (and meds).
    Im going to look into a yoga class in my area - of course all the ones i looked at were during the day, so i have to keep looking, but thats def. something Id be interested in too. For the mental and physical results.
    Thanks for sharing - good luck with getting that 15 back off, sounds like you're right on track....it'll be gone in no time, keep at it :)
    It makes my fingers and toes tingle, too. It is listed as one of the side effects, strange your doctor didn't think that was the cause. I'll deal with it because, for me, the benefits far out weigh the feeling I've been sitting on my hands for hours lol. :) As far as the weight loss, my first neuro who put me on it did say that it's been known to cause weight loss. In my case, like others....I can go all day and not feel hungry and my food tastes strange. The only other side effect is the feel of flightiness, if that makes sense. I feel like I'm going from one thing to the next without really finishing anything. That drives me nuts.
  • bpmichael
    bpmichael Posts: 28 Member
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    I was in a medical drug study a couple of years ago and it was the clinical trial of Topamax and Phentermine. It has been approved now for about 1 year under the name of QSYMIA. You may have seen ads on MFP :)

    Unfortunately I was unable to stay in the study. I did not feel well and was very forgetful. My blood pressure also went up (probably due to the Phentermine). Topamax has also been nicknamed dopamax due to the side effects on the brain. I don't take any meds so it may have hit me harder than most but I couldn't tolerate the side effects. I did hear many people in the study were quickly losing 70 to 80 pounds (less than 6 months)
  • ravenstar25
    ravenstar25 Posts: 126 Member
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    Topomax absolutely has weight loss as a side effect for some people, it is a well known side effect. It is not known how or why this side effect occurs, but Topomax is now being used in combination with some other medications as a weight loss drug for this reason. It also can have, for some people, other very undesirable side effects. I take it for migraines and am lucky not to have the undesirable side effects - I am fond of saying it saved my life! However it has not, for me, made losing weight one bit easier. I wish it had. Therefore I can see how stopping it can have a slight rebound effect on your weight. You'll have to really tighten up your program, I suspect - but if it was having a very negative effect on your health, I wouldn't go back on it just to keep the pounds off.
  • zombiesalad
    zombiesalad Posts: 123 Member
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    I've been on a few different anti convulsant medications, including Topamax. I think it was Topamax that made my weight drop down to 108 very, very quickly. I had to stop taking it because I was at the point of gasping for air during any physical exertion. Couldn't even do house chores.

    I'm on Zonegran now and it works quite well for me. It does make my weight drop if my other meds are lower, but they seem to balance each other out.
  • miranda_mom
    miranda_mom Posts: 873 Member
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    I was on Topomax for migraines and lost weight as well, although for me it really suppressed appetite so I was eating more when i went off. (I had to go off due to trying to get pregnant). My neurologist told me I would gain weight when I went off so to not even stress about it. I was able to get back on track soon. Good luck!
  • WendyL525
    WendyL525 Posts: 14 Member
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    I was on Topomax for migraines and lost weight as well, although for me it really suppressed appetite so I was eating more when i went off. (I had to go off due to trying to get pregnant). My neurologist told me I would gain weight when I went off so to not even stress about it. I was able to get back on track soon. Good luck!

    I went off for the exact reason :) Thanks for saying the part abut your doctor telling you that you may gain, cuz i had no idea and panicked since ive been losing steadily for a year, then all of a sudden, 5lbs went on real quick and i didnt really do anything different. I think im good tho - im saying at the 5lb mark....and REALLY keeping myself in check now, knowing that it was the Topamax that kinda kept the weight from coming back on.


    Thanks for the response :)
  • WendyL525
    WendyL525 Posts: 14 Member
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    Thank you all for all the responses! It makes me feel so much better to know I'm not alone and that so many of you are going/have gone through similar issues with this.

    Thank you all for the support!!

    Wendy

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  • WendyL525
    WendyL525 Posts: 14 Member
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    . That and the fact that i was up to 300mg a day and my hair was falling out in chunks! You can see in my pics - the hair pic in my black halter dress is when it was at its worst....i had bald spots. The pics of me now....i have hair extensions to 'fill in the blanks'. I've been off for a month and i pray my hair comes back....just not the weight.

    For your hair: I take GNC Skin/Hair/Nails Formula for Women vitamins. But honestly what is working waaay better for my hairless head? Nioxin: Nioxin Shampoo, Nioxin Conditioner, and Nioxin Scalp Treatment. If you have viable hair follicles, this stuff is very effective. I have little tiny baby hairs coming in,whoohoo!

    That's great!!!! So happy to hear that you have started regrowth!!!! Honestly, one of the most depressing things....watching my hair fall out and get thinner and thinner....ugh!!!
    I started taking prenatal vitamins, along with a Biotin supplement i got from Whole Foods. I definitely can tell its getting longer in the back, but its hard to tell entirely whats going on because I have the extensions in there right now.
    Thank you for sharing!! :)

    xo
  • talaysia3
    talaysia3 Posts: 84 Member
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    I was prescriped Topomax along with Adipex for weight loss. I did lose weight very fast with it, but I eventually stopped taking it because of the side effects I had. I became a zombie. I was only able to sleep 3 hours a day if that. I was forgetting everything, and I still do, I had a hard time concentrating, and had numbness in my toes. Since going off of it, I've only gained about 5 of the 30 lbs lost.
  • dreamer12151
    dreamer12151 Posts: 1,031 Member
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    Wow! reading through this thread made me realize I must be a lucky girl!

    I, too, an a migrainuer, and have been taking Topomax for years. I'm up to 200 mg per day now (have my yearly app w/neuro tomorrow, we'll see if that stays the same or changes...) and other than keeping my migraines at bay, the only side effects I had with it were the tingly hands and sodas tasting flat at the very beginning. They both went away though.

    Can't say that any weight loss of my ease in quitting smoking was due to the medication. I think quitting smoking was because I just decided I didn't wanna do it anymore. The weight loss was because I'm working damn hard at it!
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    Topiramax is a migraine medicine that they recently mixed with phentermine for a weight loss drug that starts with a Qy.
  • sharonfoustmills
    sharonfoustmills Posts: 519 Member
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    I was prescribed it one time for my binge eating and my migraines. One of those 2 for 1 drugs.

    I should add...the fact that it cut down my migraines was frickin awesome, but I didn't lose any weight because I quit taking it shortly after I started because it made my face tingle in a weird way

    it is not recommended or anyone with any kind of eating disorder because it increases the obsessive natures that come with those
  • AynzL
    AynzL Posts: 40
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    I didn't read through all the posts but wanted to share that my best friend suffered through this as well. When she and her husband started trying to get pregnant I mentioned that she might want to talk to her doctor about the medications she was on for her migraines. She decided to go off of them and she struggled mentally with the weight gain. She did eventually get off of them by gradually decreasing her dosage. Good luck!

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