• Effectiveness

  None (for headaches)
• Side effects

  Mild (for Overall)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Somewhat hard to take

• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for epilepsy)
• Side effects

  Moderate (for Overall) (weight loss)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 400 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: Talk to your doctor about the weight loss affect, appetite loss. It can be a problem. Especially if you are small to begin with.

Cost: < $25 monthly

Side effects: weight loss

• Effectiveness

  Major (for Treat my mood condition(s))
• Side effects

  Severe (for Overall)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Somewhat hard to take

Dosage: 100 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: Topamax was a good new stabilizer for me for about 10 years. In the last two years the side effects were too burdensome for me to continue taking it. I looked and felt drugged on this medication. Other people reported that I had a flat effect in my face looked blank with no expression. I am now taking Zyprexa for my mood stabilizer and for sleep aid.

• Effectiveness

  Slight (for Treat my mood condition(s))
• Side effects

  Mild (for Overall) (burning sensation, numbness and tingling)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 200 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: I think the drug works better for migraines v as a mood stablizer

Cost: < $25 monthly

Side effects: numbness and tingling, burning sensation

• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for epilepsy)
• Side effects

  Moderate (for Overall)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  A little hard to take

Dosage: 300 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: the positive side effect of this med. is that I have lost some weight from it. But that is the only good part. I waqs on another med and gained weight because of it until my body became sick even though I was on a diet. Ever since I was put on this med about 10 months after I started having seizures after being seizure free for almost 10 years. A side effect I noticed right away with this med. was tingling in hands and feet, which even 3 years later I still get that. Itjust resurfaced about 3 weeks ago, when the last time I had them was when my dr. put me on the med. & when he upped it. He has not upped it and I don't have poor circulation. It can happen when you are walking like it did me. Of course there are the normal drowsiness,etc. But I did notice this med. does mimic the same symptoms as menopause, which I might be dealing with. My dr. that put me on this med. has hard time thinking that is true & didn't want to investigate my other symptoms I was having around the time of my seizures. Instead he just upped the med. which didn't help. Made my headaches even worse. Now I have a different dr. who is running alot of tests my other dr. didn't. I also have to investigate the fact the this med can cause a decrease in white blood cells. I don't know if that is true in my case, but it might help understand why some of my hormone levels might be coming out normal when I know there is something going on or wrong. I found that out in a book about side effects to meds. This med. currently doesn't control my seizures by itself, so I do not think it is very effctive for grand mal seizures like I have. I also have a very active life and it just doesn't fit in with my life, because I would and currently have to take more med. to try and control the seizures. That's not good for myself or my family. And my Family comes first. They rely on mom for everything.

• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for epilepsy)
• Side effects

  Severe (for Overall) (acidosis)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 25 mg Daily

Side effects: acidosis

• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for migraine headaches)
• Side effects

  Moderate (for Overall)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 500 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: The reason for taking this medication in the beginning was to prevent/treat migraine headaches...I was taking topamax. Then the dosage was was increased gradually by my neurologist until I reached the 500mg I am on today to also treat the seizures. I was admitted to the hospital for testing in November 09 and released with a prescription that it could be filled with the generic and I have had headaches, break through seizures and literally felt as though I have had "bugs" crawling in my head!! I and my epileptologist have tried to work with my insurance company to get me back on the brand name topamax but obviously they aren't budging on this one so I guess I will be taking generic and dealing with the side effects of this... anyone have any suggestions I would love to hear from you . I don't understand how they can approve me taking the brand before I went in the hosital and because the prescription was signed in the wrong blank they won't approve it now...!!

• Effectiveness

  None (for fibromyalgia)
• Side effects

  Severe (for Overall)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Not at all hard to take

Dosage: 200 mg Daily

Advice & Tips: Made me very tired and gave me diarrhea.

Cost: < $25 monthly

• Effectiveness

  Major (for Chronic Daily Headaches and Migraines)
• Side effects

  Moderate (for Overall)
• Adherence

  Always
• Burden

  Very hard to take

Dosage: 50 mg Daily

Cost: < $25 monthly

• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for bipolar disorder)
• Effectiveness

  Moderate (for epilepsy)
• Side effects

  Moderate (for Overall) (memory problems, rhinitis (nasal inflammation))
• Adherence

  Usually
• Burden

  Very hard to take

Dosage: 200 mg Daily

Side effects: rhinitis (nasal inflammation), memory problems