Topamax for Weight Loss

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  • snowflake1010
    snowflake1010 Posts: 1
    Im taking topamax for my epilepsy and epilepsy related migranes and since ive started taking it last july (7 months ago) I have lost 2 stone. Entirely due to topamax. For the first 5 months I had less appetite and I was eatimg less and smaller portions but now - frustratingly- ive lost too much weight (I know thats not what you want to hear), I cant afford to keep buying new clothes and its startkng to look stupid! Thing is, for the last two months ive had my appettite back and ive been eating more than ever. Ive just been on holiday for a week eatimg cook breakfasts every morning, huge lunches and 3 course dinners, not to mention the copious amounts of wine and im still losing about a lb every week. So I think its not just the appetite suspressant aspect of this drug, but that it alters your metabolism as someone has mentioned on another site. How ever just in case I am going to the doctor for a diabetes test. Starting to get freaked out when I eat 3 mc Donald s in a week and still lose 2lb.
  • tehawe85
    tehawe85 Posts: 1 Member
    I am on 100mg once per day, have been for years. It's the only thing that works for my migraines. I tried everything in middle-high school. Tried to back off to 50mg but migraines came back... :(
    I haven't had any major side effects. I don't remember it ever effecting my appetite either.
    I can't believe a doctor would prescribe topomax for weight loss only. Way to many possible side effects.
  • Driealice1105
    Driealice1105 Posts: 3
    Me too I was just put on it today and know where does it say dont eat. So to those that dont eat lf course there will be more adverse affects. Do what your doctor says to do and I think you will be fine. So I am trying it out too and like you I also eat right and exercise so I think we will be fine.
  • tmaryam
    tmaryam Posts: 289 Member
    Topamax can help you lose weight; however, it is a powerful drug that is nicknamed "Dopamax" because it makes you airheaded and stupid. I took it for about a week (for my seizures) and people thought something was seriously wrong with me or that I was mentally retarded. I wouldn't recommend taking it for weight loss purposes.

    My friend had the same experience and it really affected her career. I was prescribed Topamax once for migraine prophylaxis and had the same side effect. I took the pill, initially felt fine, then later on I literally FORGOT how to drive while I was on the highway with my child in the car. I put my window down to put my turn signal on, I confused the gas and brake pedals. It was terrifying. (We made it home safely.) It also made my hands and feet go numb, and anything carbonated (like pop) tasted disgusting. This was all after ONE dose and I never touched it again. I use holistic methods for migraines now, stress relief, adequate sleep, avoid triggers, etc. I definitely think this world would be a better place if people stopped medicating and started eating well, sleeping well, and avoiding drugs/alcohol.
  • melissajane83
    melissajane83 Posts: 54 Member
    This isn't about Topamax but I take another seizure med and have for well over 10 years. When i first started taking it, I weighed about 190 and i lost weight super fast. I mean to the point my doctor almost took me off of it. I got down to around 120 within about 6 months. I kept the weight off until i got pregnant. It doesn't have the same effects as far as weight loss on me anymore but i am still seizure free. :)
  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
    Topamax can help you lose weight; however, it is a powerful drug that is nicknamed "Dopamax" because it makes you airheaded and stupid. I took it for about a week (for my seizures) and people thought something was seriously wrong with me or that I was mentally retarded. I wouldn't recommend taking it for weight loss purposes.

    My friend had the same experience and it really affected her career. I was prescribed Topamax once for migraine prophylaxis and had the same side effect. I took the pill, initially felt fine, then later on I literally FORGOT how to drive while I was on the highway with my child in the car. I put my window down to put my turn signal on, I confused the gas and brake pedals. It was terrifying. (We made it home safely.) It also made my hands and feet go numb, and anything carbonated (like pop) tasted disgusting. This was all after ONE dose and I never touched it again. I use holistic methods for migraines now, stress relief, adequate sleep, avoid triggers, etc. I definitely think this world would be a better place if people stopped medicating and started eating well, sleeping well, and avoiding drugs/alcohol.

    I am now terrified that doctors prescribe this off label. Or possibly at all to anyone.
  • RaeLB
    RaeLB Posts: 1,216 Member
    Whoa zombie thread came back from the dead. I suggest people start new threads rather comment one ones from 2.5 years ago.

    That being said, I hold to my original comments on this thread, I would not recommend Topamax to anyone who doesn't experience seizures and even then I would recommend find alternatives. I was on Topamax for 1 year and stopped, that was almost 3 years ago and I still experience mental laxity from time to time. I think these meds did permanent damage to my brain.
  • GretaGirl8
    GretaGirl8 Posts: 274 Member
    It has been many years since i tried topamax--not for weight loss in my case. i remember being sort of loopy while on it as others have commented.

    just an FYI (if applicable)...it happens to be one of the few drugs that interfers with the effectiveness of hormonal birth control. not all docs make a point of telling their patients that.
  • letissaclark
    letissaclark Posts: 1 Member
    Hi I was just prescribed topamax today for weight loss. I've had gastric bypass surgery and have been gaining back but faster. My Dr put me on this today but only at bedtime to prevent me from getting up all hours of the night eating cookies. She also said that this would help throughout the day as well. I can't wait to see what the results will be along with stopping the snacking and eating the right things with exercise.
  • Backpainisabitch
    Backpainisabitch Posts: 1
    Whoever keeps posting "try diet and exercise" has not had chronic pain that prevents exercise. If that alone worked for these people, they would not be looking for a pill. Some pain meds cause weight gain. You don't know what others are going through. Stop the simplistic and/or judgmental remarks.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    ^ strange first post - nobody had made any remarks, judgemental or otherwise, for 6 weeks .:indifferent:
  • emmooney235
    emmooney235 Posts: 85 Member
    I haven't read all the responses, but I feel I need to put my 2 cents in. Back in 2006 when I was 22, not only did I get blood clots from the pill, they were in the veins in my head. I was put on Topamax to help with the constant migraine from the pressure build up. I was on it for 2 months and it F***ed Up my liver!! I was left with Cirrhosis and an enlarged spleen. It also made my finger tips completely numb. I still have numb fingers on occasion.

    If you start feeling really weird when you eat (pain/discomfort/it just doesn't feel right), especially if it's something higher in fat or oil demand a liver panel from the doc. If your skin starts getting yellow, or the whites of your eyes start turning yellow, demand a liver panel. I can't stress this enough. There is nothing I can do about my spleen or my liver or the numb fingers, but I have to live with the consequences for the rest of my life.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,028 Member
    Personally I can't believe a doctor offered a drug to you for weight loss. Goes to show that lots of doctors may still be just treating symptoms and not directly attacking the problem causing the symptoms.
    Disappointed.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • kellymac518
    kellymac518 Posts: 132 Member
    i was on topamax for a few weeks. i don't remember a weird taste, nor do i remember losing weight. i do, however, remember wanting to KILL someone. i didn't really care who. myself, my husband, my kids, random strangers, whoever. please be careful with it, mine was not a "one off" experience. i've heard this before from others as well.


    i was on topamax for a few months for migraines and it was a similar experience to this poster's... i didn't lose any weight or have any change in appatite, but it made me very very irritable and it made my face break out in painful cystic pimples. it was an awful experience.

    edit to say just goes to show how medications can effect different people in different ways! it's just a matter of finding what is right for you.
  • Minnesota_Vic
    Minnesota_Vic Posts: 2
    Been on this or something similar since the end of April, prescribed from a weight management doctor at my local VA medical center. Like other post, it is a drug primarily prescribe for severe Migraines and or someone with mid epilepsy or seizures.

    I have been working with same doctor for 10 years, so he knows my weight issues and has my frustration with all the different diets over the last 10 years.

    When i first started this new drug, the dose was only 25mg, then a week or two later 50mg, once i hit 75mg i notice i big difference in my appetite.

    I talk to someone else who has been on the drug for over a year and they are 150mg, they said they have to stop taking it for 3 days to be able to go shopping, as they went from 300lb to 160lb, and when they go off they go right back to bad impulse control and gain weight and over eat.

    That is what i told my doctor I have been experiences, I can literally be thinking about ice cream and cookies before going shopping, and when i go to the store i see the ice cream or cookies or cup cakes and i do not wish to buy them i just pass them by.

    If i stop taking the meds I would have no problem buying the items above. I'm not sure how this medications works on a over eaters brain, but so for in a month an a half i'm down about 30 lb and I still think about the same foods, but I just do not buy or eat them, seem weird, not sure how this drugs targets that part of the brain.
  • Minnesota_Vic
    Minnesota_Vic Posts: 2
    I also see alot of post, I just wanted to add, in the 6 weeks, my Doctors Team has been calling me and asking me the above type of questions

    1 nulling feelings in fingers or toes or arms , or so on
    2. weird dreams or thoughts.

    They have made it clear this drug is or was not meant to treat or aid in weight lost, but is has shown to be a adverse side effect

    anyone going on this, hopeful has a doctor that monitors them as my doctor has been/ at first I read some post, and read what the drug is for, and thought, hummm, not sure about this, but so far it seems to be working better then i had thought it was going to.
  • kvmulholland
    kvmulholland Posts: 1 Member
    Dear Coniconstance - some of these unsupportive posts bother me. First off, I Googled Topamax and weight loss because I just started the medication for chronic nerve pain after gaining a fair amount of weight on Neurontin (mostly water). I read the side effects and was thrilled to see weight loss as one of them. And if I didn't have nerve pain, and I knew there was pharmacological help to change my relationship with food, I'd take it, as long as it was on the market for a long time and I could tolerate the side effects.

    Obesity, being 30lbs overweight, is an illness for many people. It is for me, going back to when I was five. I hid my adorable size 10 body from every camera and scowled in the mirror my whole young life thinking I was an ogre (thank you weight obsessed mom). Now I love my size 14 self, even though I have to work every day at balancing my diet because I want to eat carbs all the time.

    We all have our own journey, and we all do it in a way that works at that moment in our lives. In times of low stress, diet and exercise alone works great. At other times help is needed. Good luck! And you didn't mention whether or not the Topamax helped with your back pain...
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  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    I used to take topamax for bipolar disorder. I would NEVER encourage someone to take it for just weightloss. The "lowest possible dose" at 25mg, is not high enough to really make a difference. You have to SLOWLY increase your dosage. I put emphasis on that because if you go up too quickly you can have seizures. Even if you have never had them before. Same thing for when you come off of it. You have to decrease slowly, under medical supervision because again- you can have seizures (even if you've never had them before). This is not a medication to take lightly. I actually had to come off of it and be put on something else because even though it was a wonderful mod stabilizer for me, the cloudy sensation was too much to handle. It got to the point where my employer drug tested me because they thought I was under the influence of narcotics. When my dr wrote me a note to explain, the restricted me from working at all until I was stable on something else.

    It can be a dangerous drug. Please consider another alternative. It really is not worth it.
  • AliciaM456
    AliciaM456 Posts: 2
    edited October 2014
    I take Topamax for headaches, and my dr did say they may have a weight loss effect. No luck there. I've actually gained.
    Plus, taking pills to lose weight won't solve the problem.
  • anniemeal
    anniemeal Posts: 11
    Minnesota_Vic wrote: »
    If i stop taking the meds I would have no problem buying the items above. I'm not sure how this medications works on a over eaters brain, but so for in a month an a half i'm down about 30 lb and I still think about the same foods, but I just do not buy or eat them, seem weird, not sure how this drugs targets that part of the brain.

    In my research about this drug, I've read alcoholics, drug addicts, and bulimics say the same thing... something about being on this drug lets them take a pass on the impulse. For that I am thankful.

    I've personally had all of the above problems. And I am thankful and willing (for now) to put up with all of the side effects for just a little relief from the impulses (although I've been clean and sober for over a year on my own, control over food still alludes me).

    I've been taking topamax for bpd for a month (control around food is a nice bonus - I've lost 13lbs). The side effects for me are big and bad. I've got brain fog. In the first week of taking it, I got lost in my small town trying to get home from the grocery store! I can lose track of what I want to say in the middle of talking. I have extreme anxiety that I did not have before. I am much more irritable and I've lost confidence, questioning everything I do.

    I was supposed to take 100mg twice a day (which seems ridiculously high to me). But I couldn't stand it, so I backed myself down to 100mg in the morning and it's much more manageable.

    I've read that the side effects abate over time. I plan to give it another month. If they do not go away or become something that is livable then I will discontinue.

    In the mean time (because I suspect I will not want to stay on this medication - it's pretty rough), while I have this interesting and rare freedom from compulsion where food is concerned, I'll be doing everything I can to make sense of it.
  • chole4lyfe16
    chole4lyfe16 Posts: 1
    Im on topamax 50mg for migraines and it doesnt work for my headache but i have lost 42 pounds since august. I have where my arms and toes go numb. Im hoping to lose more weight, but get something to control my headaches. :(
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    I took Topamax for a while for vertigo. I do think I lost a couple of pounds, but the biggest effect is that I became temporarily the most stupid person on the planet. One day I left my purse at school. The next day I left my laptop at home. I sat in my classroom at the beginning of the period thinking, "what is it that I am supposed to be doing here?"
  • amcook4
    amcook4 Posts: 561 Member
    I was on topomax for migraines....for 12 days. It did not mesh with me at all, it literally made me dumber, I almost got in a couple of car accidents and it took me a long time to put words together to form sentences. It also made any carbonated beverage taste super weird/horrible. Not saying everyone gets these side effects, but they are pretty common, so just be careful and keep an eye out for yourself, side effects like I got would make a very unhappy life.
  • skinbyrd882016
    skinbyrd882016 Posts: 1 Member
    So many judgy people. Topamax is first and foremost a seizures medication then used for migraine disorders... it was discovered that it helped people lose weight as a side effect. Some of us don't have a choice on whether we can or can't take it. I have been on the dam medication for over 10 years and don't have any issues .... my weight is healthy. I set timer to remind to drink. And I eat before I take my meds. The tingling feeling that is a common side effect is because the medication is stealing your potassium. And if you all went to a neurologist they would have told you take a dam supplement. No eating a banana isn't enough.
  • Wendyanneroberts
    Wendyanneroberts Posts: 270 Member
    Zombie thread 5.5yrs old. Strange 1st post from new member, why open old thread.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    Old thread but don’t see that I have posted in it before. I was taking topamax for migraines in 2018 I think. It made me stupid. Way stupider than the word dropping and slow thinking my slow thyroid already does some days. Feet and hands would go numb even on high dose mag and potassium. Then my nose and upper lip. Horrible feeling. But it worked for the migraines for about 6 of those 12 months. Then we upped the dose to get them under control again. No go. Symptoms were way, way more than I could deal with. And just getting worse month to month. Never lost weight on it either. Though I had no appetite for about 4 hours after my morning dose. Came off it always and went through more drug trials. Turns out my diet controls my migraines better than anything.
  • peggy_polenta
    peggy_polenta Posts: 325 Member
    threads come back to life because the topic was likely googled and this this thread came up in a google search. the poster likely wanted to say something about the topic and can only say something if they create a profile. which is how most forums work. you have to create a profile to comment. so no, not really strange at all.
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