Topamax for Weight Loss

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  • mayamagallanes
    mayamagallanes Posts: 85 Member
    edited December 2016
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    I tried it along with another medicine (can't remember the name) I completely lost my appetite and lost about 17lbs in a month. The weight loss was great, but the foggyness and feeling 'stupid and slow' all the time was not great. In the end I ended up gaining it all back + some. Totally not worth how I felt- I still feel like it permanently changed my thinking as far as ability to react and think fast
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    edited December 2016
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    mayamagallanes wrote: »
    I tried it along with another medicine (can't remember the name) I completely lost my appetite and lost about 17lbs in a month. The weight loss was great, but the foggyness and feeling 'stupid and slow' all the time was not great. In the end I ended up gaining it all back + some. Totally not worth how I felt- I still feel like it permanently changed my thinking as far as ability to react and think fast

    I'm sorry you experienced that. I am going to look for a few of the threads on this topic. There are others who have posted similar stories. I wish people would really consider if the risk of messing with their brain chemistry is really worth the weight loss. I know for some it may be, but the prescribing physician and the pharmacist really need to take a stronger role in patient teaching.

    ETA: Sorry, running low on time tonight. If you use the search for qsymia (topimax-phentermine combination) or topimax several threads will come up, pros and cons shared.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I read this as "Tampax for weight loss"

    Carry on. Apparently I need a nap.

    Looks like you and Noel are peas in a pod on this one! :laugh:
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    Please do not get behind the wheel of the car while taking the medication. It can have deadly
    consequences.
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,767 Member
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    You've only been stalled for two weeks - is it your TOM? Some people see stalls/slight gains during this time.
  • tena1028
    tena1028 Posts: 80 Member
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    elphie754 wrote: »
    I have used this medication as a mood stabilizer, not for weight loss.

    I quickly had to come off of it. The brain fog that is associated with the medication. It was so bad I couldn't remember the names of common objects. There is a reason it is nicknamed "dopamax".

    If you are already losing weight without medication, why risk the side effects of a medication that can mess with your brain?

    This....The same thing happened to me. I was put on it for migraines. I took it around 2 days. I had to come off. I felt like I had a hard time talking and I couldn't remember anything. I also had a bad metallic taste in my mouth and weird feelings of little shocks in my head. It scared me. I would not take it and do what you are doing.

    Add me if you like. :)
  • jomariewill
    jomariewill Posts: 35 Member
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    Thank you for your replies. I have been on it for two days with no symptoms at all so far.
  • Ming1951
    Ming1951 Posts: 514 Member
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    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.

    My close friend is BP also. She is 5'7" and was 120-130 lbs prior to being put on anti psych drugs. She is now 200 lbs. She is so much better mentally and can now function normal except she feels hungry and wants to eat all the time. I think once your in a "good place" and can function you just have to retake control and lose weight on your own. Taking medication to make you well is a good thing but hopefully weight can be controlled on your own. Sounds like you can do it. I am hoping my weight journey will be an incentive for my dear friend.
  • Dalceridae
    Dalceridae Posts: 81 Member
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    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.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
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    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."
  • aneedforchange
    aneedforchange Posts: 75 Member
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    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.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    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!
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    savithny wrote: »
    Watch for side effects. Some of them affect cognitive function. Some of them affect your ability to taste certain flavors.

    Some of the cognitive side effects can be permanent.

    There's a reason one of it's nicknames is "Dopamax."

    I've been on it a while. I'm on 200 mg, so a decent dose. I'm one of the lucky ones and have found that even the Dopomax side effects wore off over time.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited December 2016
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    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.
  • becky10rp
    becky10rp Posts: 573 Member
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    I took Topamax for years for migraines. This is a VERY powerful drug - please be careful. I was told by my Dr. to take it at night before you go to bed - ALL doses at night. If you take this during the day - depending on the dose - this can 1) make you VERY sleepy 2) make you disoriented 3) forget about driving - I tried - very foolishly - to drive after taking a dose - I was on a major highway and literally did NOT know where I was - nothing looked familiar. A lot of people call this drug 'stupid-max' - you can't recall the names of things, people, places. It leaves a metallic taste in your mouth. And - forget about drinking anything carbonated - leaves a HORRIBLE taste in your mouth. I lost weight while on Topamax because all food tasted like cardboard. I'm off it now, and basically migraine-free. I'm going to stress again - this is a VERY powerful drug - if you are on it or plan on taking it, please follow your Doctor's directions.
  • karenlynnlarson
    karenlynnlarson Posts: 9 Member
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    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.
  • TheGaudyMagpie
    TheGaudyMagpie Posts: 282 Member
    edited December 2016
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    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.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
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    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.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited December 2016
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    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 :p

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

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