Has anyone taken the medication Topamax? How were the side effects?

I am currently about the start the medication Topamax and read the user reviews... it seems there are a TON of bad side effects. Loss of sexual desire, sever depression, hair falling out??





But are these people already semi depressed to start? Have a so-so sex life? I am 24 - pretty healthy... NO depression what so ever. In a Very healthy relationship (meaning quite active sexually) So i'm wondering if these reactions were caused by people who were already on the verge to begin with?Has anyone taken the medication Topamax? How were the side effects?
Are you Taking Topamax for migraines or epilepsy if not a psych issue?





I took Topamax for over 1 1/2 years. About 16 months of that time I took 200 mg twice daily, a VERY high dose. I was having terrible migraines and the Topamax did reduce the number.





At a dose I took (400 mg/day) there will almost certainly be side effects. Some doctors will actually refuse to prescribe a dose that high. The biggest side effect people have is tiredness, hypersomnia, and memory/concentration problems.





The reactions Topamax can cause really vary from person to person. Some have few if any problems, other can not tolerate it. It can cause a massive amount of side effects for some people. Over all, I would say that Topamax is a very black and white drug. It either is great or a disaster.





Topamax will interact with voltage gated ion channels which slows the brain down. It also has effects on GABA, a neurotransmitter, but it does not work with GABA like benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax), barbiturates, or alcohol do- so it is not addictive. But it is the slowing of the brain that causes most problems for people.





It can cause severe cognitive problems from memory loss to aphasia. But when a drug impacts the brain, especially the temporal lobe so profoundly problems tend to occur for some people.





It can cause weight loss, a unique characteristic of Topamax that similar drugs do not share. It typically does not take huge amounts of weight off but certainly some. Part of that could also be that people can become so sedated and numb they forget to eat. And when the maker of Topamax did a study to see if Topamax could be approved for weight loss they could not finish the study because the vast majority of people quit because of side effects.





Some people respond (for migraines) to a dose of 25 mg (very small). But typically 25-50 mg twice daily is the best dose. And side effects are very dose related so as the dose goes up the likelihood of side effects and the severity of them goes up. But I have scene people take 25 mg at night and sleep for 12 hrs.





I don't completely understand your last question but I can tell you that a perfectly healthy person like you has a risk like any others do for having side effects. When I took 400 mg/day I was always tired, sleep a lot, and I never connected it to Tompamax because Topamax was very subtle for me. So even if I would always be tired I would not feel like I just took a sleeping pill.





It comes down to what you are taking it for, have you tried other alternatives, and are you willing to give it a try?





I think it is a good medication but the dose should be as low as possible and some people can not tolerate it at all. Other think it is a God send. So if you started at 25 mg and SLOWLY increased the dose and felt OK then stick with it. If you take 25 mg and sleep for a day and have memory problems then Topamax might not be for you.