Migraine

rsream,

A friend of mine was prescribed topamax several months ago for weight loss and she has lost a ridiculous amount of weight with minimal side effects. When I told a couple other female friends of mine about the weight loss I've experienced on topamax they both said they were jealous and wanted to go on topamax.

I reminded all that as far as I know, topamax hasn't been approved by the FDA for weight loss. Clinical trials were discontinued because people just couldn't hack the side effects.

I think this topamax/weight loss hype (and the fact this topic has so many views!!) is a testament to how brainwashed women in our country (and throughout much of the world) have become in terms of equating thin with lovable. Either that or it demonstrates that we need to eat more sensibly and exercise more. I used to have anorexia and still have body dysmorphic disorder, so I'm as much in the mix as others.

Anyway, it's just a darn shame that so many women put so much value on attaining a physical ideal, as opposed to making improvements in other areas of their lives. Again, I'm not excluding myself from the "so many women" category. Not too sure why I'm on this soapbox this morning! The numbers (of views) don't lie though!

Beth

Welcome to MyMigraineConnection, rsream. Do you also have Migraine disease?
Taking topamax for weight loss alone is a very personal choice. However in clinical trials, weight loss didn't continue, but leveled off at an average loss of 2.3% of starting body wieght.
There are some serious potential side effects with topamax that ought to be considered if you are taking it soley for weight loss.
Anyway, welcome again, and we hope to hear more from you.

quote:

Originally posted by rsream:
my doctor recently put me on topamax just for wieght loss...go figure

rsream,

I'm sorry if my comment seemed like an attack on you. If so, that wasn't intended. I obviously don't know your situation, and you and your doctor are certainly free to make whatever decisions about meds you want.

Maybe I should have gotten on my soapbox about body image, etc., if at all, in a different post.

Anyway, I hope you will feel welcome here!

Beth

rseam,

Hello and welcome! Is the Topamax only for weight loss? Just curious. Although the clinical trials of weight loss for Topamax were discontinued, I've heard of some doctors prescribing it off-label. Off-label prescribing is certainly common. Most of the meds we use for Migraine prevention are prescribed off-label.

As you would taking Topamax for anything, do let your doctor know if you have any side effects. Did he mention that you need to be sure to drink enough water? Topamax does somewhat increase the risk of developing kidney stones, so you want to keep drinking enough.

Welcome again!

quote:

Originally posted by rsream:
my doctor recently put me on topamax just for wieght loss...go figure

Beth,

I agree with your comments about body image, but have to admit that I fall into it too.

You're right that the clinical trials for weight loss were discontinued. That can be a bit concerning, but I've been trying to remind myself that almost everything that's prescribed for Migraine prevention is prescribed off-label. Out of over 100 meds, only 4 are FDA approved for Migraine prevention.

You know, a thread about body image, etc., could be really interesting. Want to start one?

quote:

Originally posted by porquipine:
rsream,

A friend of mine was prescribed topamax several months ago for weight loss and she has lost a ridiculous amount of weight with minimal side effects. When I told a couple other female friends of mine about the weight loss I've experienced on topamax they both said they were jealous and wanted to go on topamax.

I reminded all that as far as I know, topamax hasn't been approved by the FDA for weight loss. Clinical trials were discontinued because people just couldn't hack the side effects.

I think this topamax/weight loss hype (and the fact this topic has so many views!!) is a testament to how brainwashed women in our country (and throughout much of the world) have become in terms of equating thin with lovable. Either that or it demonstrates that we need to eat more sensibly and exercise more. I used to have anorexia and still have body dysmorphic disorder, so I'm as much in the mix as others.

Anyway, it's just a darn shame that so many women put so much value on attaining a physical ideal, as opposed to making improvements in other areas of their lives. Again, I'm not excluding myself from the "so many women" category. Not too sure why I'm on this soapbox this morning! The numbers (of views) don't lie though!

Beth

hi everyone, im new to this website=)

I've been on topamax for about a week...let me get right into it haha..well, Ive have a severe problem with depression, binge/compulsive eating and anxiety. Therefore, I was on celexa for awhile, ganining 8 pounds all the while..According to my doctors my depression has taken a turn for the worst and they think the only way that i will be able to be normal again, or so they say haha, is ot get down to my natural weight. Ultimatly to lose about 20-25 pounds..ive been on topamax, 25 mg for a week and havent noticed a difference at all. Im supposed to bump up my dosage to 50 on thursdday but i think im going to bump it up today, maybe if i see results ill be a little happier? I have a few question for you guys though! Has anyone taken topamax for eating disorders, and if so how long did it take for you to lose weight...and how much was your dosage? answers would be greatly appreciated! thanks alot!

Hi,

I am on this board because I have migraine disease, and I take topamax for that. If you've read the earlier posts in this thread, then you know that there have been 2 attempts at clinical trials using this drug for weight loss and both times they've been discontinued because people couldn't handle the side effects. 25 mg is a small dose, and you're unlikely to see the weight loss at that dose. The best way to avoid the side effects associated with this drug is to titrate up *slowly* So I would strongly advise you to stick with the dosing schedule your doctor gave you and not to speed it up. Individual responses to meds really vary, so it's hard to say when you'd see the weight loss. And not everyone experiences that side effect, although a lot of people do.

Ok, now I'm going to put on a different hat. I'm also a clinical psychologist who happens to specialize in eating disorders. I've never heard of topamax being prescribed to anyone with an eating disorder, unless they have a comorbid psychiatric or medical disorder for which topamax would be appropriate. I know from personal experience how miserable being overweight and struggling with out of control eating can be, but in both my personal and clinical experience, I have found that losing weight isn't a cure for depression and anxiety - there are typically other issues underlying the problems with weight and eating that also contribute to the depression and anxiety. Are you in regular psychotherapy? Generally, that's considered an important component of treatment for someone with the problems you describe. Also, if you have not been evaluated by someone who specializes in eating disorders, I would suggest that you consider this.

I hope this is helpful. I really hope you get some relief from your depression.

Robin

Hello and welcome!

I understand your desire to lose weight. However, PLEASE do not alter your taper instructions on the Topamax. There are good reasons to increase it slowly. Increasing it too quickly can actually cause seizures, and it makes it more likely that you'll experience negative side effects.

You need to understand that weight loss is not a primary function of Topamax. It's a potential side effect. Statistically, most people do not experience that or other side effects. In the clinical trials, if people did lose weight, it generally tapered off and stopped when they'd lost an average of 2.3% of their starting body weight.

Do you also have a problem with Migraine disease or headaches? I'm not saying that you're not welcome if you don't. You are, but I'm just trying to see what we can do to help.

welcome again,

quote:

Originally posted by innerStrength:
hi everyone, im new to this website=)

I've been on topamax for about a week...let me get right into it haha..well, Ive have a severe problem with depression, binge/compulsive eating and anxiety. Therefore, I was on celexa for awhile, ganining 8 pounds all the while..According to my doctors my depression has taken a turn for the worst and they think the only way that i will be able to be normal again, or so they say haha, is ot get down to my natural weight. Ultimatly to lose about 20-25 pounds..ive been on topamax, 25 mg for a week and havent noticed a difference at all. Im supposed to bump up my dosage to 50 on thursdday but i think im going to bump it up today, maybe if i see results ill be a little happier? I have a few question for you guys though! Has anyone taken topamax for eating disorders, and if so how long did it take for you to lose weight...and how much was your dosage? answers would be greatly appreciated! thanks alot!

Nancy, Thank you for the welcome. This is such a great forum. So much info here!

I do agree that utilizing Topamax "off label" for weight loss may be risky due to side effects, etc.

However, in thinking about this, I do wonder if at some point down the road, Topamax might have a place in not only weight loss therapy, but perhaps eating disorders such as binge eating. I find that I literally can't eat large portions of food when I take Topamax. I fill up very quickly on maybe 1/4 to 1/2 of what I used to eat. It's almost like it shuts off a switch and food becomes less appealing. (And I am an "emotional" eater by nature, so this is HUGE for me.)

I wasn't expecting this side effect, I am a RN and am embarrassed to say until the Neuro told me I might lose weigh on Topamax, I didn't know it was a side effect. So far, the most annoying issue I've had for me has been short term memory/expressive issues, and tingling in hands and feet. But I can live with those to lessen the headache pain.

I just started taking Topamax and now I am up to 100 mg. I am having such severe tingling in my feet in brings me to tears, I am also in Karate and it interfers with my passion. I have called my new neurologist and she said it should subside in a few weeks. Well it has been over a month and nothing has changed. I have experienced problem breathing and my neurologist said it had nothing to do with Topamax. She would like me to be up to 200 mg, but I am taking my time. My headaches have not improved at all.

I would like to know what is in Topamax that makes your legs/feet tingle?

I really appreciate all your postings.

Thank you.

Hello and welcome!

I'm not a researcher, but I really doubt that topamax will have much of a place in weight loss or treating eating disorders. Twice now, the series of clinical trials of it for weight loss have been discontinued because of other side effects.

At this point in time, some doctors are prescribing it off-label, despite the failure of clinical trials, but I really don't foresee more clinical trials for this purpose. Millions of dollars have already been spent on the failed trials. The last I heard was that there might be some research into a medication similar to Topamax to be used for purposes such as weight loss, and that a primary goal would be to reduce the side effects profile.

welcome again!

quote:

Originally posted by mbkb12:
Nancy, Thank you for the welcome. This is such a great forum. So much info here!

I do agree that utilizing Topamax "off label" for weight loss may be risky due to side effects, etc.

However, in thinking about this, I do wonder if at some point down the road, Topamax might have a place in not only weight loss therapy, but perhaps eating disorders such as binge eating. I find that I literally can't eat large portions of food when I take Topamax. I fill up very quickly on maybe 1/4 to 1/2 of what I used to eat. It's almost like it shuts off a switch and food becomes less appealing. (And I am an "emotional" eater by nature, so this is HUGE for me.)

I wasn't expecting this side effect, I am a RN and am embarrassed to say until the Neuro told me I might lose weigh on Topamax, I didn't know it was a side effect. So far, the most annoying issue I've had for me has been short term memory/expressive issues, and tingling in hands and feet. But I can live with those to lessen the headache pain.

Hello and welcome!

If the tingling is so severe that it brings you to tears, IMO, it's unacceptable that your neuro has done nothing. A doctor who conducted some of the clinical trials of Topamax told me that a potassium supplement will often stop the tingling. You might ask your doctor abour that.

What kind of breathing problem did you experience? There ARE respiratory issues listed in the possible side effects of Topamax: bronchitis, rhinitis, dyspnea, upper respiratory tract infection, sinusitis, pharyngitis, pneumonia, coughing, asthma. They're all plainly listed in the prescribing information.

Increasing the dosage is supposed to be done slowly, increasing by no more than 25mg per week. It's also supposed to be taken in split doses, 1/2 of the daily dose twice a day.

I really hope this is all helpful, and am looking forward to talking with you.

welcome again!

quote:

Originally posted by NS:
I just started taking Topamax and now I am up to 100 mg. I am having such severe tingling in my feet in brings me to tears, I am also in Karate and it interfers with my passion. I have called my new neurologist and she said it should subside in a few weeks. Well it has been over a month and nothing has changed. I have experienced problem breathing and my neurologist said it had nothing to do with Topamax. She would like me to be up to 200 mg, but I am taking my time. My headaches have not improved at all.

I would like to know what is in Topamax that makes your legs/feet tingle?

I really appreciate all your postings.

Thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by Teri Robert:
Hello and welcome!

I'm not a researcher, but I really doubt that topamax will have much of a place in weight loss or treating eating disorders. Twice now, the series of clinical trials of it for weight loss have been discontinued because of other side effects.

I agree, and I would also argue that for the vast majority of people with weight loss and eating disorder issues it *shouldn't* have a place. In both my personal and professional experience, a drug is a quick and temporary fix for a problem that is a complex mix of emotional, social, and lifestyle components. Insurance companies would *love* to have a drug for it, rather than paying for the long-term psychotherapy that many people need to address these issues. A drug that suppresses your appetite will potentially bypass or postpone the opportunity to work on the difficult emotional issues that go along with disordered eating. I always have clients who tell me that they'll work on the emotional issues once they've lost the weight, and I always tell them that they're putting the cart before the horse, because they will gain the weight back if they haven't worked through a good chunk of the emotional stuff first.

That being said, I do think drug therapy can have a place for people who are morbidly obese to a point that their health is seriously and imminently threatened and possibly for people whose health problems make exercise very limited or impossible. I know I've been grateful for the weight loss side effect of topamax since my headaches have become chronic and I can't exericise, because my exercise is a huge part of what keeps my weight under control. But I would much prefer to be off the meds and doing my exercise routine.

Robin

I agree that no weight loss drug should ever be handed over to a patient with a "call it good" attitude. However, being an emotional eater myself, and seeing so many women with the same problem (eating to fill a void in our lives, or to feel good, or to resolve stress, etc.) I can't help but wonder of somewhere down the road a pharmacutical medication could be an AID to weight loss. Not the holy grail, mind you, because nothing ever is. But something that actually makes you see results and not feel ravenous while really, really trying to eat healthy.

I get so sick and tired of seeing diet and fitness experts on TV sit there and tell us "The answer is simple: eat right and exercise." Well, that works great for me at 25. At 42? Perimenopausal and with insulin resistance? Not so much. I could drop 20 lbs giving up dessert for 2 weeks when I was in my 20's. I was 5'10 and weighed 120 lbs. I weight 175 now.

I try, I really do. I know what I need to eat/do to lose weight. But it's very hard to run a household of five, work night shift, volunteer and do it all while my stomach is groaning, and I'm getting irritable because I am "eating healthy." And STARVING. (Or at least my brain thinks I am.)

As I mentioned before, I wasn't aware of the weight loss issues with Topamax before I went on it, so I hadn't expected what happened next. I found myself able to eat a small, normal portions of food and it would stay with me. I did not feel "hunger pains" nor did my mind obsessively wander to food within an hour of eating. For me, this is HUGE.
For the first time in many, many years I felt like I could treat food like a "normal" person does. Eat at regular intervals, but it didn't rule me. I am in control. I am that person I usually envied. The one who could eat half of what was on the plate and take the other half home. The one who could drive by Krispy Kreme and not give a hoot. The one who passed up birthday cake at work without a second thought.

18 lbs. lost without any angst or anguish. And I am going to the gym doing cardio and weights. I have the energy to do so. I didn't before. (Mostly because of the headaches. But I was also sluggish due to eating wrong.)

I guess my perspective is different on this. I wish others could experience this as I have. There are down sides. I've had some expressive aphasia and that scares me. But I suppose it's a trade off.

No, this is not any sort of wonder drug for weight loss. And some of the side effects are pretty uncomfortable for certain individuals. But I can't help but wonder if maybe whatever it is in Topamax that makes me feel "normal" about food might actually be a good thing for some of us. It's pretty liberating to not feel I should reach for the Oreos after I get off the phone with my Mother.

IMO (?) Yes the tingling is that bad. And like I said it interfers with my lifestyle. When I called the doctor about the tingling and the breathing her nurse said nothing about potassium or that there were complications of respitory problems. I feel really mislead. I have been trying for so long to get the right kind of help. I am now 41 and have been dealing with this since I was a child. I once let a doctor inject something into my neck, which triggered a migraine that night, then he wanted to inject botox, I was out of there as quick as I would. I do acupuntunture, which has not made the migraines or the daily headaches go away either. At this point I am at my wits end. Thank you so much for responding to my question.
Do you know what ingredient is in Topamax that makes the tingling?

quote:

Originally posted by Teri Robert:
Hello and welcome!

If the tingling is so severe that it brings you to tears, IMO, it's unacceptable that your neuro has done nothing. A doctor who conducted some of the clinical trials of Topamax told me that a potassium supplement will often stop the tingling. You might ask your doctor abour that.

What kind of breathing problem did you experience? There ARE respiratory issues listed in the possible side effects of Topamax: bronchitis, rhinitis, dyspnea, upper respiratory tract infection, sinusitis, pharyngitis, pneumonia, coughing, asthma. They're all plainly listed in the prescribing information.

Increasing the dosage is supposed to be done slowly, increasing by no more than 25mg per week. It's also supposed to be taken in split doses, 1/2 of the daily dose twice a day.

I really hope this is all helpful, and am looking forward to talking with you.

welcome again!

quote:

Originally posted by NS:
I just started taking Topamax and now I am up to 100 mg. I am having such severe tingling in my feet in brings me to tears, I am also in Karate and it interfers with my passion. I have called my new neurologist and she said it should subside in a few weeks. Well it has been over a month and nothing has changed. I have experienced problem breathing and my neurologist said it had nothing to do with Topamax. She would like me to be up to 200 mg, but I am taking my time. My headaches have not improved at all.

I would like to know what is in Topamax that makes your legs/feet tingle?

I really appreciate all your postings.

Thank you.