How Long Do Topamax Side Effects Last? (Page 6)

I began Topamax a week and a half ago as a migraine prevention. I am experiencing random facial, hands, and feet numbness. Mental fogginess, dull headaches, and tiredness. For those of you who have had success with migraine prevention and have taken this medication for a long time: How long did your side effects last? I have heard only a few weeks. I'm not sure If I can deal with this constantly much longer. I am contemplating which is the lesser of the two evils side effects vs. migraines. I have lost 10 lbs. though. Any advice?

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CanCan,

I pray for YOU. I believe there is much wisdom in your generation and have very much respect for people your age. I am 30. I am sorry you have suffered so much. I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder when I was 22 and I also suffer from migraines. I couldn't even begin to count the number of drugs I have been on but things are getting better for me. It's been a long 8 years. They do the same thing in pharmacies with anti-anxiety drugs as they do with pain medication. I am dependent on both or I cannot sleep or function. I cannot have children because it would take me years to ween off the drugs and by that time, it wouldn't be safe for me to get pregnant. I cannot tolerate birth control, it makes me extremely depressed so my sex life is very tricky and gives me a lot of anxiety. I am engaged to a wonderful man. I hope you can find a way to live the rest of your life pain-free. You are very strong for tolerating the pain. God Bless.

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I have been on Topamax for four years now. My dosage is 100 mg two times a day. I experience all the side effects everyone has spoken about already. I have tried many other medications for my migraines, finding nothing that had helped prior to four years ago. I just recently got married and obviously we want children in the future and Topamax is not something you can do that with. What do you take while being pregnant, before and after?

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I only took Topiramate for a few months for migraine prevention. Started at 25mgs a day for a week then up to 50mgs then six weeks ago my consultant put me up (via 25mg increments) to 100mg. However I only got as far as 75mg as just prior to the increase & apart from some more tolerable side effects, I started to get confused episodes, memory & cognitive problems which got worse with the increase and after consultation with my GP I stopped taking it. Right from the start I had a bad metallic taste in my mouth and assumed this would ease when I stopped taking the medication but five weeks after cessation I still have it. Has anyone else had this experience? I have visited a dentist but no problems were found.

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Hello to all members,
I need some help because I think I developed some kind of neuropathy. Can you help me with this doubt? I took topamax during one month and during this time I started to feel burning and pain like needles in my shoulder, neck, in the hips. and ankles. I stopped the medication one month ago, and I still feel this pain, I´ts minor during the day but at night it´s to strong, I turn to left. to right, my shoulders burn and feel needles in the neck and shoulders. The doctor said that after the medication this will disappear in 2 weeks, but it passed one month and the pain is getting worse. Does someone know what kind of problem i´m having? It´s some kind of neuropathy? Does someone know some histories like mine and if this will pass? How long it takes to disappear all this effects after stopping the medication? I would appreciate if someone could give me some feedback. (in reply)
Thank you.

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You mention supplements, and then warn against a medication, but you never specify what the medication is.

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How long do side effects from Topiramate last after discontinuing the drug? I have not taken it for several days now and still have difficulty articulating some words, which was a side effect from it.

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I am sorry to tell you that I took Topomax about ten years ago for a couple of months. It immediately affected my memory, and it never returned to normal. I still have trouble with words, names, and things people told me. I hope you fare better than I have.

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I have been taking topamax for over 10 years the doctor said I had migraine & seizures. I used on have such a great memory that my friends called me walking directory. Now, I have memory fog & can only remember things prior to taking this crap. Last year I finally went to Santa Barbara Samsung clinic & was told per my testi have no signs of epilepsy. Theses damage doctors just want to keep the pharmaceutical in business. For migraine or headache I now take salmon oilily pills by Neo Life just helps me so 3& I think I'm getting my memory I used to have. I went off topamax 1 week ago today & feel so much better. Thank God I found neo life products.

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Same here. I was prescribed Topamax and Elavil for a few months while I was finishing my teaching degree. It was horrendous. I forgot how to get around my college campus, I couldn't find my car or remember where I parked, and I almost burned my apartment down because I forgot I was cooking. I didn't care as long as I could keep teaching and finish my degree. Then it got worse.
I would be teaching and forget my lesson plan. It would take everything I had to give a lesson half as good as before. Finally I pulled out of the program when I couldn't remember my kids' names anymore. My college couldn't grant a medical withdrawal and my vocation ended before it even began.
It's been two years, and my cognitive function has improved a lot, but it's nowhere near what it was. I blank out on words, names, and numbers sometimes. And if I'm tired, it goes right back to forgetting my car and having panic attacks because I can't remember anything.

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The side effects most complain about were my symptoms before taking this medicine, perhaps the medicine isn't too blame. For me, I had debilitating migraines every day, was in ER 2-4 times a week, I haven't been to the ER since starting topimax 1 year ago. The dizziness & a few other annoying symptoms took about 4 months to subside, but I had those before taking topimax. I have had all of your symptoms fly 6 years now and doctors still don't have a diagnosis. Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, loss of appetite, daily migraines, dizziness, inability to work or drive, overwhelming body pain and back, tingling & numbness in face, hands, feet, skin.....the list goes on. I've been on 100 mg topiramate for 1 year now. I tried switching to gabapetin and within a month I was in the ER with a debilitating Migraine. Now I'm on both, 1600 gabapetin for body aches & topiramate. We will see if this works, if not then it's time for the experiment. Maybe look into antibiotics instead, maybe you were floxed!

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This medicine has my brothers severely messed up he's been in a mental ward for almost 5 days he was having side-effects he went to the doctor every time they increased his dose by 25 milligrams he had a nosebleed which was the dangerous side effect he also increased it by 25 milligrams until two days after his last increase in dose he went missing for 20 hours and we found him an hour and 45 minutes away from his home in the woods after we had to call on a search team we were told by the doctor at the emergency room that this drug could not cause psychological problems so he administered medication to sedate my brother which made it worse then they locked him up in a mental hospital it took me four days of calling every hour and driving 2 hours everyday for the doctor to even return my call to get a little bit of history on my brother now they have him on any antipsychotic medicine my brother has never been psychotic he went to the doctor with feelings of anger and depression we still have no sign of him getting well yet :( we are scares to death

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I have suffered from migraines since I began my period at 11 years of age and started having cluster headaches 4 years ago. I have oxygen at home, am on Verapamil, Lopressor, Amitriptyline and Imitrex. I was started on Topamax last Monday and am having shortness of breath, cognitive issues and changes in my taste and my hair is coming out in clumps but the cluster headache finally broke! I don't know whether to keep taking the Topamax or not. My significant other tells me he would rather have me headache free and buy wigs than see me suffer through the headaches so much. The first time I had a cluster, it lasted over 30 days before the doctors could break the cycle. I have them weekly. I even had a cervical fusion because the neurosurgeon was sure that the discs in my neck were causing the headaches. Not! Anyway, praying for all of you in my cluster family. God Bless!

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Also I forgot to mention that since I started taking topamax it worsened my eyesight! I too had bad taste in my mouth lost weight that people always told me I looked sick not healthy. I have loss of memory episodes! I am glad to be off dang medication! Try neolife it works Natural whole food supplements

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Google "clusterheadaches batch's remedy" it is a natural way to send the beast packing - and get a vitamin D test done. Helped me a lot w/my chronic cluster headaches. FYI I still have issues with memory from "dopa-max". I lost 65lb on it and the ability to remember simple words like "cabbage". Lol.

I hope you can tame your beast - all the best in your pursuit of relief.

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I am so sorry for everything you have gone through! How terrible! I started taking it in September around November is when I started having abdominal pains and loss of appetite, diarrhea. I didn't even put it together that it might be the Topamax. I scheduled a colonoscopy and an upper GI. Had lot's of blood work done. I started noticing a lot of hair loss when I washed my hair, memory was terrible along with word retrieval. By Easter I was so thin everyone was wondering what was wrong with me, I looked so sickly. Not long after that I put it together. Just the other night on the news there was a warning about the dangers of Topamax. I started out on 200 mg., I've been reading that you should taper up by 25 mg. increments and taper off the same way. My doctor told me the other day to just decrease by 100 mg. every two weeks. I'm really nervous about doing this because everything I've read says differently. If anyone could give me some advice on this matter I would be extremely appreciative. Thanks so much!

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I am so sorry for everything you have gone through! How terrible! Topamax has awful side effects. The more stories I read about the more I can't believe I ever started taking it. Just the other day in NJ, there was a report on abc news about the dangers of Topamax. I wouldn't be surprised if it were taken off the market! My heart goes out to you!

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Hi, Allison! I've been taking Topamax 200 mg. Per day to prevent Migraines. I have been on many prophylaxis in the past and Topamax, Cymbalta and amitriptyline have been a great combo. Is it possible that the side effects are from migraines? I routinely get numbness etc when I actually have a migraine, particularly if it lasts a long time. I did have increased sleepiness and fog. That lasted about a month for me. For me, no contest!! I'll choose the Topamax!

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If it were me, I would stop taking the drug and look for a natural solution for your migraine headaches.

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My life was unbearable until I discovered Propranolol for prevention and sumatriptan nasal sprays for pain relief, both have no side effects and seem to work for every sufferer I know. Try asking your doctor for those.

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Hi . I feel for you as I have tried all the preventative drugs throughout my 50 years of being a migraine sufferer. One of them was Topomax and it it did nothing to help only gave me horrible side effects. One of which was hair loss. It didn't all fall out but a lot did and what was left went frizzy. I would have put up with that if it had worked for the migraines but it didn't. I advise you to ask your Neurologist for Candesartan tablets. They are a blood pressure tablet but are also the newest prophylactic for migraines. I am on them and they are helping. You have to research and suggest things in this game! Good luck.

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