Topamax
jvw317
Posts: 25
Has anyone been prescribed Topamax for their eating disorder? I was bingeing and purging multiple times a day. Finally I stumbled upon a New York Times article (I think it was the NYTs) that said Topamax can help with binge eating. My doctor prescribed it to me the next week. Since it kicked in, I have binged and purged once (in an entire month!). I'm so happy with it! I was just wondering if anyone else has tried it. If not, maybe you should look it up:)
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I actually just started it today.. I have been having really bad headaches. And my doc prescribed it to me as a preventative.. I have noticed that I am not as interested in food.. So I feel like I am very unlikely to binge and to need a purge.. It actually took a lot to get myself to eat dinner... Had I not been at a friends house, I probably wouldn't have eaten... I am liking it so far.. A lot of people say that food tastes bad while on it.. the only thing that tasted different to me so far has been the coffee... But it didn't taste bad, just different. Let me know how it goes for you...
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Today I started to notice more changes in food tastes. I tried a beer and it tasted flat. I tried a mango and it had no flavor. I'm at a friend house and he's making us steak. I Hooper I can taste it...0
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prozac helped me.
my doc wouldn't prescribe topomax...but that was like 5 years ago.
let us know how it goes!0 -
Topamax helped me for about a week but then I couldn't tolerate the side effects--as the previous poster said, the food taste changes were horrible (especially coffee and soda--stuff tasted metallic), but the worst was the cognitive slowing (felt I was in a fog) and the constant tingling in the fingers. I just couldn't operate normally on it. Prozac (the heavy 80 mg does for bulimia) has been the only thing that has helped me and not given me side effects. I won't say it's "cured" me at all; I still struggle with bingeing but it has helped me cut way back on the purging. Hope this helps. Let us know how Topamax turns out for you.0
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I have heard that they have been using it for this and have had a lot of success. Also prozac is helpful to some too0
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How has the Topamax been working or you?
I have been up'd in my dosage to 50mg twice a day. I have no desire to eat. But I have a large support system here and they all make sure i eat my three squares each day.. Sodas still taste flat, and many foods still taste dull. Unless it has an extreme flavor, I can't taste it. But those are the only side effects I generally have. The cognitive slowness only lasted a few weeks for me, and ended fairly quickly.0 -
I'm doing amazingly on Topamax at 25mg twice a day. I have to keep my stress levels down or the urges will return (they did during finals week), but I've been really successful with it. I think the combination of that and CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) really helps. What I have noticed though is every time I go out to eat or binge drink (I am in college, after all), my urges will come back the next day. I really have to ask for support on those days and let people around me know that those are triggers and that I'm struggling. If I do reach out, usually I get back on track within 24 hours! I wouldn't really know about the taste differences of soda or coffee... I'm not much of a caffeine drinker. I did have the tingling of the hands, but that is rare. I'm not aware of any cognitive slowness either. Maybe I just got very lucky by not having very many side effects compared to other people. Hope it is working for you!0
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Just playing devils advocate here.. but what happens when you go off this drug and can taste food again? Or when your body gets used to the drug and you're at max doseages?
Sorry, I'm just very against drug use as a long term solution for something with so much emotional magnitude like depression and eating disorders.
I'm glad you are finding success with it, and it's nice to see you're doing the CBT along side it. Good luck ladies.0 -
Thats pretty cool that it helped you like this. Isn't it such a great difference everyday not throwing up?
I know myself from 23 years of it. You do feel alot better for it. : ) Its like not beating yourself up everyday. Thats a good thing. I just got tired of beating myself up daily. I didn't go on any drugs specific for the ED. And in 23 years never diagnosed... Always tried to keep that a secret you know.
But I was put on pain meds for my spinal, bone, arthritis issues. And by having less pain I was able to do more physical therapy, and eliptical, and doing that with drinking water, is really what helped alot. And keeping my food down of course. I can't imagine how my pain would be today, If I was doing that multiple times a day, like I used to before Jan 2011. I'm going on a year and 7 months in remission from bulemia.
Hey! That's really great you went a month without. Congrats! Keep Going!!
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