Topiramate for Seizure Prevention User Reviews (Page 2)

• Ann...
• November 23, 2016

Topiramate "I've been on this for over a year. Works very well. I have one side effect, tingling in my feet. I eat a lot of greens and bananas to help with that. I lost 45 lbs because of it as well. I take Vitamin B-12 to help with my memory because of the seizure meds... like every seizure med can affect your memory."

• Diz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 29, 2020

Topiramate "I was prescribed the Topamax 25 mg 2 times daily as a result of severe and disabling attacks of vertigo. After 3 days of taking this, my memory got so bad that I could not remember if I had even taken my medication 5 minutes later. My mental thought process was totally negative to the point that I was in belief life was over. By the 5th day, I realized that I had become very defensive, aggressive, verbally abusive, and had no empathy nor regard for others. My PTSD was in the danger zone and I had become the monster I had fought daily for decades to control. Two days after totally quitting, which I can't say is recommended for everyone, my head is clear, my memory is normal again, and I am in disbelief that I allowed such a dangerous medication to even be prescribed to me."

• Mic...
• November 12, 2015

"Okay, up front and to be fair, I have a very sensitive reaction to many medications. I was on this medication for just over 36 hours, and I think it made me more sick than any medication I had ever been on. My neurologist gave it to me as an anti-seizure medication. Within just a few hours of taking it, I was feeling quite sick but was not entirely sure that that was the reason. After well under 24 hours of being on it, I felt nearly catatonic, very ill, and ultimately had to stop taking it altogether. I ended up falling in the bathroom because I was so uneasy on my feet. The upper part of my legs went numb, and at one point, I was having difficulty even speaking. I was afraid I was going to end up in the ER."

• Rob...
• January 19, 2014

"Amazing. I've been on Topamax/Topiramate probably 6 plus years. Granted, it's not the most cost-effective medication. For me, it has been a true blessing. It has allowed me to get and maintain a full-time job, get a driver's license. And I have a beautiful, understanding girlfriend who knows what I deal with. Thankfully, I have wonderful insurance that I only pay $20 a month for my Topiramate. Prior to not having insurance, I was in a real pickle. I found a program through Johnson & Johnson where they paid for my Topamax for two years. Saved me about $890 a month. But honestly, great medicine if your doctor gets you on the correct dosage. I'm on 300 mg a day. And I feel great."

• cam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 9, 2021

Topiramate "I switched from Keppra to Topamax because of my seizures, and I lost around 25 lbs. I went from 147 to 120 in only 2 months. It was working for my seizures, but I was eating so little that I ended up in the hospital. I collapsed, and I was throwing up for 4 days straight. I was so weak I needed help to brush my teeth or even walk. Every morning was terrible. I don’t know how this medication is approved. I was in the hospital every day for four days getting fluids. After that, I was basically forced to eat. It was hard, but I was so weak due to lack of food that I had to eat every 2 hours. I've been off Topamax for about 2 weeks, and I still have a hard time finishing my food. I get nauseous. I'm getting better, but when I was on Topamax, I literally could not smell food without gagging. Unless you’re extremely overweight, I do not recommend this medication at all."

• LAR...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 18, 2015

"I've been on 50 mg twice a day for two weeks. Started on 50 mg once a day. My seizures are only once a year, but my last one was so severe, my neurologist said it was time to treat. I also suffer from chronic migraines, so this medicine is serving a dual purpose for me. I was reluctant to start this medicine, as I've read about all the terrible side effects. For me, the side effects have been minimal. The biggest side effect I have experienced is fatigue, but it is nothing I can't manage. From time to time, I feel a pins-and-needles sensation in my feet/toes, but it's nothing more than annoying. Sometimes, I feel a little 'brain fog,' but that seemed to diminish after the first two to three weeks."

• myg...
• May 6, 2017

Topiramate "Switched to this after getting a nasty mouth rash from Lamictal-and would rather have that than all the stuff I have to deal with from Topamax... 24/7 exhaustion, breakthrough seizures daily, horrible, horrible memory loss (will have taken my medication and no more than 10 minutes later have to count all the tiny things to see if I've taken that half day's dose). Living a miserable life on this medication, cannot wait to get onto something else. Tried to give this a chance, and it gave me nothing but a terrible time, almost like being unmedicated with a constant dead leg and arm, UGH. I'm a small person in general, so the weight loss was not a welcome change either. Topamax does nothing!!! for my complex partial seizures or epilepsy."

• Nat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 28, 2015

"I just started Topiramate Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Before, I had a severe migraine I couldn't get rid of, and my seizures were out of control! It's only been a couple of days, and I feel a huge change. I get a tingling feeling in my hands and feet, and I've lost a bit of weight, but I'm not complaining, lol. I'm 22, 5'8, starting weight was 180, now I'm 177. My head feels so much better, a little cloudy, and I'm extremely tired, but I think that's normal."

• Nan...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 3, 2017

Topiramate "Topamax is not for me. I only take 50 mg and have side effects, word retrieval issues, sleepiness, balance issues, etc. But it is the only one I can take that my stomach can tolerate! Seeking other avenues to control seizures, like reducing the radiation around me, particularly at night...appears to be working!"

• Ash...
• June 27, 2015

"I'm happy with this drug. I've tried many epileptic drugs over an 18-month period, which did not work for me. My doctor prescribed me Topiramate for my seizures. I've been taking 25 mg per day for 2 weeks, then increased to twice per day for 2 weeks, and now I'm on 50 mg, twice a day. I've not had a seizure in over a month, which I'm very happy about! The negative side effects I get are blurred vision, clumsiness, headaches, and tingling in my hands and feet. I was hoping to lose some weight, as I read some reviews on the Internet on how Topiramate helps with weight loss, but I haven't experienced any weight loss yet. Maybe it's because I'm on a very low dosage. I'll have to wait and see."

• Rog...
• October 21, 2015

"I have been on Topiramate for several years in combination with gabapentin for seizures and migraines. Then my neurologist put me on 400 mg topiramate to stop the breakthrough seizures. It works great. I lost 60 pounds. But I do have side effects of tingling, confusion, loss of words. However, all that is better than seizures."

• Spe...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 27, 2020

"Warning! I was told that I was depressed and having seizures in my sleep. I was given this medication to help control this condition. I began to lose my memory and was told that I had short-term memory loss. They wanted to put me into a nursing home."

• But...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 5, 2018

Topiramate "My doctor put me on Topamax because I could no longer afford Lamictal for my bipolar disorder. It was the worst experience of my life. It gave me a severe headache, loss of coordination -- if I was walking forward, I would suddenly start walking on my tiptoes in a sideways direction. I couldn't spell or form sentences. I had slurred speech, and my eyes were glazed over. I also had mild anxiety the whole time I was on it. The only good thing was that I literally had no appetite and lost a lot of weight. I only took it for about ten days a week and went back to Lamictal. I'd rather be poor than have to be on Topamax."

• con...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 30, 2015

"Well, I can say that I was taking Keppra, which made me psychotic. I now take topiramate 25 mg twice a day and am increasing it until 6 weeks. I started last week Tuesday and have already lost 15 lbs. I have to watch this because, being in the medical field, I know there are different side effects, but the main two are diarrhea and anorexia. The diarrhea I maybe can deal with, but I'm not made to be anorexic. I like a little meat on my bones. So just watch your weight side effects."

• sid...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 2, 2017

"I am a 23-year-old female with partial complex seizures. I was on 100 mg of Topamax while on 2400 mg of Trileptal. After two months, I started noticing the endless side effects. Now Trileptal makes me drowsy enough, and I have never had an issue with caffeine and stress before; but out of nowhere, I got a horrible under-eye twitch that lasted for 3 to 4 days. It happened every week throughout the 6 months. So I knew it was related to the medication. Next was the trouble in speech, not being able to find the right word, stuttering, or repeating myself. My short-term memory was gone. I would have random pins and needles throughout my legs, which was probably the only tolerable side effect of the symptoms I had."

• Ket...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 2, 2017

Topiramate "Topamax, I’m not sure what a decade of using Topamax has or has not caused. It is NOT reliably controlling seizures until I started a ketogenic lifestyle. In fact, the high-fat diet has totally taken away my tremors in my head that I felt on a daily basis. My clinic had me in for 5 days in the hospital testing and determined to lower my Topamax level upon leaving by 100 mg. I was on 400 and lowered to 300. Today I have depression, fibromyalgia, and most of my ligaments hurt. Joints feel like they are rock-hard, swollen, and painful. I can barely use my thumbs anymore, but I refuse to go to the doctor for fear of more medication. They never find anything wrong, but the proof is in the pudding: bulging Achilles and wrists, right-side pain, and every joint I have hurts."

• Ban...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 12, 2018

Topiramate "Not sure about this drug. Started at 25 mg 2x a day for 2 weeks, worked up to 50 mg 2x a day. Still having seizures 1-2 times a day. Had it upped to 100 mg 2x a day, and now I don't have seizures, but there's so much pressure in my head I feel like it's going to pop. It also makes my 2 mg Xanax ineffective. I've gone from sleeping 12 hours straight to maybe 2-3. I've lost 10 pounds, but it's horrible to say I'd rather have a seizure to release the pressure and be chunky. Calling the doctor in the morning."

• Mon...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 24, 2013

Topiramate "I have been on Topiragen since about 2004/2005. It is now 2013. I have been on 100 mg and just recently been increased to 150 mg. I have been epileptic most of my life. Topiragen is fantastic. As long as I take care of myself and take it properly, I hardly have any issues. It was increased, but only because I am overly stressed, so I am having more issues with my myoclonics. Also, and very important... I took this while I was pregnant. I did slack off on taking it since it was a new drug at the time. My son does have Aspergers (not medically diagnosed, he was diagnosed by the state of Iowa - AEA). I did try to breastfeed, but after 2 weeks, my breasts stopped producing milk. I don't know if it is connected."

• KPa...
• May 19, 2020

"I have sleep-related seizures, which result in me screaming out, jumping in fright, shaking, and biting my tongue/lip/cheek. Since even taking the lowest dose as the starting point of 25 mg, my sleep is totally calm. It’s so nice to not wake in fright during the night with blood in my mouth or to be screaming so loudly my voice is hoarse all morning. I used to awaken some nights thinking that someone was shaking my bed to shut me up, but it must have been my shaking which vibrated the bed. Also, my appetite is greatly reduced (bonus!), and I have no interest in that sneaky afternoon glass of wine to relax. My afternoon coffee is just fine! The medication takes a few weeks to adjust to, and you must start on the lowest dose and very slowly increase over time - you are much less likely to get that foggy feeling. I think it’s a miracle medication, and I love it!"

• wut...
• March 1, 2011

"The neurologist prescribed this for me one week ago at 25 mg twice a day. I've been extremely dizzy before and after taking this, so not sure I can include that as a side effect, but the rest... well, I could not stop crying, had extreme thirst, 'pins and needles' feeling in my hands, feet, and lips, and was confused. I guess the plus side of this medicine is that it works right away. I've stopped taking it today on the advice of my doctor and am starting to feel better. I hope this helps someone out there. Good luck, everyone!"

• Sha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 17, 2018

Topiramate "No problems the first four weeks at 25 mg. Later at 75 mg, I began to have cognitive difficulties. Felt like I was becoming a drug-induced moron. Trouble developing thought formation, loss of words, lethargic. I was on lithium for 15 years, developed chronic kidney disease. Looking for something for bipolar 1 (mixed manic) without damage to body and shutting off the brain."

• Ale...
• March 25, 2017

"Took plenty of epilepsy medicine for epilepsy since I was 12, and most of them were useless within a month or a few. Started taking topiramate at 20 with a dosage of 25 mg while increasing by 25 mg every two weeks for 8 weeks to 100 mg. A pill every morning/night. While going from a casual 5-20 seizures a day to 0-5 seizures a day, I shouldn't be complaining regarding the medicine itself actually being effective, although the side effects are noticeable. Especially the memory/studying-related ones all of a sudden. Not sure I would recommend a student to take this while going to college or high school."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 4, 2016

"I was put on Trokendi XR after being taken off of topiramate post-brain surgery in April of 2014. I was on Trokendi XR for a total of eight months and just got off the medication this week. I had a lot of the severe side effects. After the first three weeks of being on this medicine, it caused a drastic change in my mood, depression, thoughts of suicide, dramatic increase in memory loss, tingling in the hands, legs, and feet, could never get enough sleep, and was very aggressive and irritable. I did not have a seizure while on Trokendi XR, but the side effects I was having with this medication were not worth it for me. However, it could work great for someone else, and you might not have any of them!"

• May...
• September 26, 2011

"I like this medicine. I don't have many of the other problems that others have had. I was on Dilantin for years and was up to 1000 mg per day until my body had gotten used to it and was still giving me grand mal seizures. My neurologist, after trying many other medicines (a certain combination he gave just made me stumble around like I was drunk and made the police in my area look like a bunch of monkeys after I had a blood alcohol level of 0.0), still, I have bright flashes and small dark spots and little halos, but not full-blown grand mals. Just remember to drink lots of water."

• Cba...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 9, 2019

"If you are on topiramate, then to keep feet from tingling, drink lots of water! That will take care of it! I took it for seizures, but it also helped me lose weight. I went on the keto diet at the time to help with epilepsy, and I think it made it a little easier. I’m not sure how it helped seizures. I took it for a year, having seizures 2-3 times a month, then switched to a different med, and seizures are extremely rare now. It really dumbed me down and made me exhausted. I feel so much better off it. I had forgotten what life was like!"