Topamax for Weight Loss

This is probably worth a read:
http://pro.psychcentral.com/topamax-weight-loss-plus/001638.html#

It discusses side effects and effectiveness in fairly reasonable terms. Topamax can be helpful as an add-on drug to people who are bipolar and in a manic or mixed state; it doesn't seem to help with depression. It does have weight loss as a side effect, but it has many other side effects at fairly high rates, many of which cause people to stop taking it.

Note that one side effect that I hadn't seen mentioned before but this calls out strongly is this:
" Also, Topamax is a weak 3A4 inducer, and can decrease the levels of oral contraceptives dangerously."

jomariewill wrote: »

To answer a few questions, yes it was my psychiatrist that prescribed the Topamax with my bipolar medication. He started me on the lowest dose and is seeing me back in a week. If I see any problems I will discontinue it. I have a food scale and use it religiously. I have not lost weight in almost 2 weeks. My thyroid has been checked and is normal. I also had an EKG and blood work to check my liver as well as check for PCOS and I am heathy. Thanks everyone for your opinions on this. If it helps me with no side effects then lucky me, if not, no harm done.

Two weeks isn't that long of a time to have a bit of a stall.

Weight loss stalls can happen with even the most meticulous loggers for no apparent reason. There's a well-known pattern of weight loss known as stall/whoosh where you stall out for a bit, then have a big drop in weight.

I had my first stall and it lasted three weeks, and I was logging meticulously. There was no apparent reason for it. It ended one day with a nice satisfying loss. A few months after that, I settled into that stall/whoosh pattern and my weight loss stayed in that pattern. I lost 40 pounds stalling and whooshing!

aneedforchange wrote: »

If you have already list 25 per month using MFP and not polluting your body with whatever is in that drug lol then I would continue. On a serious note.. sometimes these drugs have serious side effects and I would be cautious if you do decide to take it! Personally weight loss drugs freak me out.

Topomax isn't a weight loss drug. It's an antiseizure medication and it's also very helpful for migraine sufferers. It has immensely improved the quality of my life, and I'm not polluting my body with anything. I'm living pain free more often than not thanks to it and the other parts of my extensive migraine protocol.

I used Topamax for over a year for weight loss and lost about 100 lb. If you start at a very low dose and taper the dose up, there really aren't a lot of side effects. The ones that are the most common are some numbness and tingling in the extremities IF you have then crossed, leaning on them, etc. This goes away as soon as you move the limb. The other one is an issues with finding words. This is a temporary problem and as the level becomes stable, this problem goes away. Generally if you know it can happen and are aware of it (don't think you are having a stroke), it is manageable. Using a supplemental green tea or Ginseng can help with that as well. Good luck! If you really have 140 lb to lose, I think it could be very helpful. In general, it changes the way food tastes so that you don't like the taste of sweets, carbs. BTW, I am a medical professional and have researched this med thoroughly and prescribe it for my own patients.

Yeah, I know for some people it really is a great med -- but I know other people who experienced crushing side effects (and weren't taken seriously by doctors when they reported them). IT's definitely a drug to be watchful in taking, and it deeply concerns me that it's now being marketed explicitly as a weight loss drug (I understand that in this case, the OP has mental-health conditions for which it is correctly indicated). There are going to be way too many doctors throwing it at people without understanding the neuro issues that may arise.

Another side note. I just got a word and a new diagnosis from this thread for something I knew happened but didn't know was anything beyond general cognitive impairment! My aphasia is just from generally being mentally ill, though I wouldn't be surprised if my time on quetiapine exacerbated it a bit.

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

Edit: This is why you'll see frequent edits on my posts. I often type the wrong word.

Same problem, and I won't even know I've done it until I go back and read what I've written. It's bizarre.

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

TheGaudyMagpie wrote: »

I get aphasia (forgetting and substituting words) from my current med (Nortriptyline) but the cognitive impairment on Topamax was profound. I'm talking about forgetting the next step in tasks I had performed millions of times, being unable to form sentences, not being able to reach logical conclusions, difficulty driving or responding to emergencies, etc. I was as impaired by the Topamax as I was by the daily chronic migraines. I gave it a considerable amount of time as I went on disability for about six months. It did help the migraines, but I was also a shell unable to complete more than the simplest of tasks. My hands burned and tingled pretty much randomly, no matter what I was doing.

That said, I've met a number of people that tolerate it well and I've met people that don't tolerate the nortrip well, though I have very few side effects other than the very mild and tolerable aphasia. There's nothing wrong with trying it to see if it can be tolerated, but the potential significant side effects are well known and suffered by a lot of people that use it (and are known to be sometimes long-term or permanent), and should not be minimized.

Interesting side note: I have aphasia from a benign brain tumor, so... eh, Topomax? Hardly noticed the difference

Edit: This is why you'll see frequent edits on my posts. I often type the wrong word.

I do a lot of editing too and I have no excuses! You're good gottaburn!

Dalceridae wrote: »

With any medication, you'll always hear more about the people who took it and had problems than the people who took it and found it helpful. No one can predict what side effects you might have or how much they might affect you, so it's worth taking the advice of your doctor and trying it.

First time poster here who feels it is important to chime in and say that I am one of the ones who is taking topiramate and finding it helpful. Currently 250mg a day. I've been around MFP for years but only recently serious since around Sept/Oct. In the fall I was 245lbs and am currently 180lbs -- Female, 5'2" with no goal weight, just a goal of being fit and healthy. I drive, yes there are side effects but they are worth it so far, no there is not an alternative rx for me (we've tried), yes there has been a bit of touch and go with taste perversion and appetite fluctuation (that stabilizes). It's important to note that I have also done a major lifestyle overhaul and eat AIP to help heal my gut and injury symptoms (will switch back to Paleo soon) which means I have cut all grains, dairy, sugar and processed foods alongside CICO, weighing food, meal prepping and adding cardio. It's about lifestyle too I've learned... wellness yo. I have plateaued in various stages as well.

Don't give up after a plateau that lasts a few weeks. It might go on for two or three times that or maybe it'll end tomorrow, it doesn't mean that you are done losing weight (for what it's worth I'm currently in a plateau of 2.5 weeks that feels like FOREVER). On the flip side of that, just because a side effect is a listed side effect, it doesn't mean it's going to be an issue for you. There are good drugs and bad drugs and drugs that are good for some people and bad for others. You don't know why I take this medication and you don't know why it is working for my health just as we don't really know what is going on with you and your specific symptoms so it's important to get as much information as possible and review it with your own wellness team before you make a decision to continue/discontinue.

I realize I'm late to the game but wanted to make sure future readers know that not all prescriptions are awful for everyone.

Using a supplemental green tea or Ginseng can help with that as well.

According to Mosby's 2012 Nursing Drug Reference, ginsing decreases the effect of topiramate.

Common side effects include:
dizziness, fatigue, memory loss, tremor, anxiety
vision abnormality
nausea, anorexia (which is why some use it for weight loss)

I'm on a fairly low dose for migraine prevention, and it's worked well for me, though I have seen some less than great side effects. (I'd say anorexia would be a good side effect, since I need to eat less, but haven't experienced that.)

A short-term plateau isn't worrisome. If it continues, change something. Do sprint intervals, try a different more challenging form of cardio, decrease calories 50-100 a day & see what happens in 2 weeks.

jomariewill wrote: »

I need to lose 140 pounds. I'm 5'11 and 287 pounds. I have bipolar I disorder but I am already on a medication for it. My weight loss has stopped. I actually gained 4 pounds. I'm eating 1600 calories per day. I do 30 minutes aerobics in the morning and walk/jog 2 miles every evening 5 days per week. I have not slipped on my diet. Even Thanksgiving I didn't exceed my calorie goal. He thinks the medicine will make me want to eat less and get me out of the slump.

If u are bipolar and take Quetiapine for example (not sure if u do) it is not uncommon to be prescribed topamax for weight control