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What is Topiramate?

Topiramate is an anti-convulsant and is used with other medications to treat certain types of seizures in patients with epilepsy or Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. It is also used to prevent migraine or cluster headaches.

Reported Purpose & Efficacy

Reasons and Efficacy
Purpose	# of patients	# of patients with evaluations Efficacy
Migraine headaches	465	126
Epilepsy	400	135
Treat my mood condition(s)	104	27
Headaches	94	34
Fibromyalgia	87	32
Other	80	17

See all 151 reasons taken ▼

See all 1422 patients currently taking Topiramate

Mouse over the table for more information

Reported Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe	99
Moderate	134
Mild	104
None	124

Commonly reported side effects, conditions, and hospitalizations associated with Topiramate

See all 216 reported side effects ▼ See top 6 reported side effects ▲
Hands Tingling	53	53
Feet Tingling	50	50
Brain fog	44	44
Weight loss	42	42
Word fishing	42	42
Sleepiness	21	21
Nausea	20	20
Memory problems	20	20
Tremor in hands	16	16
Head Tingling	15	15
Mood swings	13	13
Fatigue	13	13
Loss of appetite	12	12
Headaches	12	12
Numbness and Tingling with Pins and Needles	10	10
Taste changed	9	9
Hair loss (alopecia)	9	9
Dry mouth (xerostomia)	7	7
Excessive daytime sleepiness (somnolence)	6	6
Cognitive impairment	6	6
Loss of short term memory	6	6
Hospitalization	6	6
Numbness in hands	6	6
Cognitive Confusion	5	5
Memory Loss	5	5
Memory and cognition problems	5	5
Decreased appetite	5	5
Tiredness	5	5
Kidney stones	5	5
Suicidal thoughts or urges	4	4
Short term memory problems	4	4
Face Tingling	4	4
Numbness in feet	4	4
Unintentional weight loss	4	4
Diarrhea	4	4
Problems concentrating	4	4
Drowsiness	4	4
Ringing in ears (tinnitus)	4	4
Numbness and Tingling	4	4
Fingers Tingling	4	4
Metallic taste in mouth	3	3
Yeast Infection (candida)	3	3
Burning sensation	3	3
Slurred speech	3	3
Speech problems	3	3
Depressed mood	3	3
Forgetfulness	3	3
Word finding difficulty	3	3
Numbness in arms	2	2
Heartburn	2	2
Vision loss	2	2
Dizziness	2	2
Balance problems	2	2
Blurry vision	2	2
Hearing problems	2	2
Memory lapses (brain blinks)	2	2
Feeling of heart pounding	2	2
Rage	2	2
Excessive anger	2	2
Visual disturbance	2	2
Eye Twitching	2	2
Abdominal pain	2	2
Dry throat	2	2
Paresthesia	2	2
Nervousness	2	2
Urinary frequency	2	2
Poor Concentration	2	2
Bad taste in mouth	2	2
Slowed thinking	2	2
Migraine headaches	2	2
Mental confusion	2	2
Numbness in legs	2	2
Forgetting Words	2	2
Insomnia	2	2
Numbness and Tingling in Hands and Feet, Worse When Cold	2	2
Glaucoma	2	2
Loss of sense of taste	1	1
Rash on stomach back and legs	1	1
Acne	1	1
Dry skin	1	1
Confusion	1	1
Numbness and tingling in hands	1	1
Cachexia (Unintended Weight Loss)	1	1
Pins and needles in feet and legs	1	1
Eye pain	1	1
Rash or skin problems	1	1
Frustration	1	1
Psychotic symptoms (anxiety depression fear)	1	1
Bumps on face	1	1
Joint stiffness	1	1
Low potassium (hypokalemia)	1	1
Exhaustion	1	1
Difficulty with orgasm	1	1
Double vision (diplopia)	1	1
Feeling hot	1	1
Poor working memory	1	1
Diarrhea during titration	1	1
Dry eyes	1	1
Weight gain	1	1
Shakiness	1	1
Anger and irritability between doses	1	1
Dizziness and feeling faint	1	1
Shooting pain in left hand	1	1
Excess ammonia smelling discharge	1	1
Visual hallucinations	1	1
Kidney damage	1	1
Inconsiderate behavior	1	1
Skin rash	1	1
Scared for no known reason	1	1
Loss of sex drive (libido)	1	1
Buzzing electric sensation	1	1
Emotional changes	1	1
Unsteady gait	1	1
Redness in right eye	1	1
Allergic reaction	1	1
Difficulty making decisions	1	1
Dizziness (vertigo)	1	1
Vision distortion (ie warped objects)	1	1
Increased energy	1	1
Intoxication	1	1
High feeling	1	1
Vision difficulty	1	1
Unexplained itching	1	1
Light sensitivity (photophobia)	1	1
Hands shaking to relieve anxiety	1	1
Sjogrens syndrome	1	1
Seizures	1	1
Rashes (redness, swelling)	1	1
Cloudy urine	1	1
Spaced out	1	1
Shivering	1	1
Overwhelming emotions	1	1
Erectile dysfunction	1	1
Rhinitis (nasal inflammation)	1	1
Apathy	1	1
Feeling of insides shaking	1	1
Problems with coordination	1	1
Difficulty doing daily activities	1	1
Major Depressive Disorder	1	1
Withdrawal effects with missed dose	1	1
Craving salt	1	1
hives/swelling of lips and tongue	1	1
OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)	1	1
Outburst of anger	1	1
Body tremor	1	1
Skin problems	1	1
Constipation	1	1
Feeling out of it	1	1
Sexual dysfunction	1	1
hypersensitivity to barometric pressure changes	1	1
Loopy feeling	1	1
Suicidal thoughts (emotionally backed)	1	1
Suicidal thoughts (free floating)	1	1
Loss of right words to use	1	1
Cramps in calf muscles	1	1
Depression with suicidal thoughts	1	1
Absent minded	1	1
Agitation with irritability	1	1
Cognitive decline	1	1
Depression with anxiety	1	1
Whole body shaking	1	1
Ovarian cyst	1	1
Feeling medicated and distant	1	1
Temporarily increased depression and anxiety	1	1
Loss of balance	1	1
Numbness in knee	1	1
Anorexia (appetite loss)	1	1
Vertigo	1	1
Acidosis	1	1
Kidney problems	1	1
Out of control	1	1
Myoclonic jerking	1	1
Constant dizziness	1	1
Eye pressure	1	1
Borderline Mild Depression	1	1
Inability to problem solve	1	1
Sexual side effects	1	1
Itching (pruritus)	1	1
Trouble spelling	1	1
Cramps	1	1
Paresthesia in feet	1	1
Stupidity or "stupids" effect	1	1
Hallucinations	1	1
Fuzziness	1	1
Heavy sensation	1	1
Mild Depression	1	1
Alternating constipation and diarrhea	1	1
Twitching	1	1
Constant tremors	1	1
Dizziness/walking like I'm drunk	1	1
Anxious mood	1	1
Body Hair Loss	1	1
Cloudy thinking	1	1
Neuropathy	1	1
levitating feeling	1	1
dissolved/not solid feeling	1	1
Pins and needles	1	1
Seizures (grand mal or tonic-clonic)	1	1
Jerks with higher dose	1	1
Social anxiety	1	1
Uncontrollable crying	1	1
Night cramps in legs and feet	1	1
Suicidal	1	1
Nightmares	1	1
Excessive dry mouth	1	1
Vivid dreams	1	1
Joint pain	1	1
Fear	1	1
Lack of motivation	1	1
Sex drive (libido) decreased	1	1
Stuttering	1	1
Lethologica (word fishing)	1	1
Auditory hallucinations	1	1
Loss of coordination	1	1
Neck and shoulder ache	1	1
Muscle fatigue	1	1

Reported Dosages

Frequently reported dosages based on patients currently taking Topiramate. See all 60 dosages ►

25 mg daily	50 mg daily	75 mg daily	100 mg daily	125 mg daily	150 mg daily	200 mg daily	300 mg daily	400 mg daily	600 mg daily
118	203	62	368	21	65	311	78	124	35

Reported Stop Reasons

Why Patients Stopped Taking Topiramate (multiple reasons could be selected)
Reason	# Patients	Percentage of patients
Side effects too severe	179
Did not seem to work	110
Doctor's advice	102
Other	55
Expense	22
Personal research	15
Course of treatment ended	14
Change in health plan coverage	6
Not indicated	5

See all 353 patients who’ve stopped taking Topiramate

Reported Duration See details about how long patients take this treatment ▼ Reported Duration Hide details ▲

Currently Taking Topiramate

A bar graph

0-1 month	1-3 months	3-6 months	6 months-1year	1-2 years	2 years or more
5	6	20	45	116	363

Stopped Taking Topiramate

A bar graph

0-1 month	1-3 months	3-6 months	6 months-1year	1-2 years	2 years or more
51	66	61	53	46	74

Reported Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Adherence of Topiramate

Always	392	85%
Usually	50	11%
Sometimes	9	2%
Never	10	2%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Burden of Topiramate

Very	28	6%
Somewhat	37	8%
A little	63	14%
Not at all	333	72%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

Cost of Topiramate

$200+	8	3%
$100-199	7	2%
$50-99	20	6%
$25-49	59	19%
< $25	221	69%

See more information, including instructions, precautions, side effects, and interactions.

Patient Evaluations

See all 461 patient evaluations

catchmeifyacan

Sex: F

Pain: Some

Fatigue: All

Sleep: All

Stiffness: Most

function: Some

external_stress: Most

Stickman: most
Description:F44y
FM:4y Dx
catchmeifyacan

75 mg daily

since Apr 08, 2009
Efficacy Slight for Migraine headaches
Side Effects Moderate
Advice/Tips I will ask to quit this because for me it hasn't prevented the migraines enough....ended up at doctor's office yesterday for a shot for one.....and the side ... See full evaluation

literature lover

Data Quality: 0 stars
- Sex: F
- Age: 41y
- Diagnosis: FLE
- Duration: 5 yrs
PRO survey: PRO 0
Quality of Life:
- Social: Unreported
- Mental: Unreported
- Physical: Unreported
Seizures:
- 0 GTC
literature lover

200 mg daily

since Feb 19, 2010
Efficacy Major for Epilepsy
Side Effects Moderate
Advice/Tips I have been taking Topamax since 2007 and I noticed many side effects that I was told about by my Neurologist. First was the tingling in my hands, feet and f... See full evaluation

dsseak

Sex: F

Pain: Most

Fatigue: Most

Sleep: Little

Stiffness: All

function: Little

external_stress: Some

Stickman: most
Description:F43y
FM:3y Dx
CFS:3y Dx
dsseak

200 mg daily

since Mar 01, 2010
Efficacy None for Fibromyalgia
Side Effects Severe
Advice/Tips Made me very tired and gave me diarrhea. See full evaluation

See all 461 patient evaluations

Report created on February 11, 2012.

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