What is topamax taken for

One small study found Topamax to be similar to gabapentin Neurontin in its ability to treat nerve pain. Gabapentin is widely used for nerve pain. Topamax is a brand-name drug that contains the active drug topiramate. This active drug is also available as a generic medication.

A generic drug is an exact copy of the active drug in a brand-name medication. The generic is considered to be as safe and effective as the original drug. Generics tend to cost less than brand-name drugs. They can tell you if it comes in forms and strengths that can be used for your condition.

Topamax can cause mild or serious side effects. The following lists contain some of the key side effects that may occur while taking Topamax. These lists do not include all possible side effects.

For more information about the possible side effects of Topamax, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. They can give you tips on how to deal with any side effects that may be bothersome.

These side effects may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks. Call your doctor right away if you have serious side effects. Topamax is approved for treating certain types of seizures in children ages 2 years and older.

Side effects of Topamax in children are similar to those in adults. One clinical study looked at children ages 6 years and older who took Topamax alone for epilepsy. The most common side effects were:. In other clinical studies , children ages 2 to 15 years took Topamax with other medications for epilepsy. The most common side effects in these studies were:. In clinical studies involving children ages 12 years and older who took Topamax for migraine, the most common side effects were:.

Children who take Topamax are less likely than adults to have speech problems, slow reactions, and trouble concentrating. One possibly serious side effect is more common in children than in adults. Children taking Topamax are more likely than adults to have fever and reduced sweating.

These problems can lead to hyperthermia high body temperature , which may need treatment in a hospital. If they sweat less than usual or develop a high temperature, call your doctor for advice. You may wonder how often certain side effects occur with this drug or whether certain side effects pertain to it. As with most drugs, some people can have an allergic reaction after taking Topamax. A more severe allergic reaction is rare but possible. Symptoms of a severe allergic reaction can include:.

Call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction to Topamax, as the reaction could become severe. They may be able to suggest ways to help manage this side effect or suggest other treatment options.

Topamax can raise the risk of developing kidney stones. In clinical studies , kidney stones were reported in an average of 1. Topamax was compared with a placebo in some studies. But people treated with Topamax had 2 to 4 times more kidney stones than people in the general population. If you have any of these symptoms while taking Topamax, call your doctor right away.

You may need treatment to help your body get rid of any kidney stones. This can reduce your risk for developing kidney stones. Kidney stones can be a sign that you have metabolic acidosis a high level of acid in your blood.

If you have metabolic acidosis, your doctor may lower your Topamax dose. Topamax may cause eye side effects. These may include vision changes, such as decreased or blurry vision, and secondary closed-angle glaucoma sudden raised pressure in your eye.

Glaucoma can lead to permanent blindness if not treated. In clinical studies of people ages 16 years and older, they were given either Topamax or a placebo. This was in addition to one or two other epilepsy drugs. Abnormal vision, such as blurry vision, occurred in:. In clinical studies of adults with migraine, they were given 50 milligrams mg or mg of Topamax, or a placebo.

Blurry vision occurred in:. But eye side effects typically occur within the first month of Topamax treatment. If you have symptoms of eye side effects while taking Topamax, talk with your doctor. They may refer you to an eye specialist , who can check the pressure in your eyes.

If you have glaucoma, you may need treatment for it. However, eye side effects usually get better after you stop taking Topamax. If you have eye side effects, your doctor will typically recommend that you stop taking Topamax and switch to a different treatment. Ideally, Topamax should be stopped gradually.

Your doctor will explain how to do this. Topamax can sometimes cause personality changes that affect the way people behave, react, feel, or interact with others. For example, the drug may cause agitation, aggression , or other behavior problems. Topamax may also cause mood changes, such as anxiety , mood swings , and depression. In addition, the medication may raise your risk for suicidal thoughts or behaviors. All antiepileptic drugs medications used to treat seizures due to epilepsy are known to slightly raise the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Clinical studies looked at people taking an antiepileptic drug for any condition. The people had about twice the risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviors than people taking a placebo. In these studies, suicidal behavior or thoughts occurred in:. These symptoms can include:. If you have any symptoms of new or worsening depression while taking Topamax, talk with your doctor right away. They can suggest ways to ease this condition. They may also recommend that you switch to a different medication.

If you need to stop taking Topamax, your doctor will explain how to taper off the drug gradually. However, weight gain has been reported with some anticonvulsant drugs that are in the same class as Topamax. A drug class is a group of medications that work in a similar way. Topamax can cause weight loss. However, the drug may reduce your appetite, which may lead you to lose weight. This depended on the dosage and condition treated.

One review of studies looked at the average weight loss in people who took Topamax. It also looked at how long it took them to lose weight when they took the drug. People who took Topamax for at least 4 months lost an average of But your doctor might recommend Topamax for preventing seizures or migraine if you would also benefit from weight loss. You should take it as prescribed by your doctor for seizures or migraine. Note: Weight loss is an approved use for the brand-name medication Qsymia.

Qysmia contains topiramate the active drug in Topamax with another drug called phentermine. The drug is also approved for use in people who are overweight and have an increased risk of health problems.

These can include conditions such as high blood pressure , high cholesterol , and type 2 diabetes. Typically, your doctor will start you on a low dose. Your doctor will ultimately prescribe the smallest dose that provides the desired effect. The following information describes dosages that are commonly used or recommended. However, be sure to take the dosage your doctor prescribes for you.

Your doctor will determine the best dosage to fit your needs. The usual recommended dosage is 50 mg taken once in the morning and once in the evening. Your doctor will gradually increase your dosage to this level over the first 4 weeks of treatment. This allows your body to get used to the medication and helps reduce the frequency and severity of side effects. Topamax is used to treat epilepsy a condition that causes repeated seizures in certain situations.

The dosage of Topamax is gradually increased over the first few weeks of treatment. Topamax can be used on its own to treat partial-onset seizures and generalized tonic-clonic seizures. The usual recommended dosage for treating these types of seizures is mg twice per day. The drug should be taken once in the morning and once in the evening for a total of mg per day.

This is the dosage for both adults and children ages 10 years and older. Topamax can be used with other seizure medications to treat partial-onset seizures, generalized tonic-clonic seizures, and seizures linked to Lennox-Gastaut syndrome LGS. LGS is a rare form of childhood epilepsy that causes several different types of seizures.

For the first week of treatment, the starting dosage is usually 25 mg to 50 mg per day. After this, your doctor may increase your daily dosage by 25 mg to 50 mg each week until the recommended dosage is reached. The usual recommended dosages for treating these types of seizures in adults ages 17 years and older are:. The recommended dose per day is split into two equal doses. One dose is taken in the morning and the other is taken in the evening.

Topamax is used to treat certain seizures in children ages 2 years and older. The usual recommended dosage of Topamax in children ages 12 years and older is the same as it is for adults. For children ages 10 years and older, the usual recommended dosage of Topamax is the same as it is for adults.

Below is information for treating children ages 2 to 9 years. For the first week of treatment, the starting dosage is 25 milligrams mg taken every evening. If your child tolerates this well, for the second week of treatment, their doctor may increase the dosage to 25 mg twice per day. This is a total of 50 mg daily. This will take place over the first few weeks until the recommended dose is reached.

After this, their doctor may increase their daily dosage by 25 mg to 50 mg each week. This is done until your child is at the minimum recommended dose for their body weight. This increase will continue until your child is at the maximum dose for their body weight. For children ages 2 to 9 years, the usual recommended dosage of Topamax is based on body weight as follows:. Do not stop taking topiramate even when you feel better. With input from you, your health care provider will assess how long you will need to take the medicine.

Missing doses of topiramate may increase your risk for a relapse in your mood symptoms. Do not stop taking topiramate or change your dose without talking to with your healthcare provider first.

In order for topiramate to work properly, it should be taken every day as ordered by your healthcare provider. People living with bipolar disorder who wish to become pregnant face important decisions. It is important to discuss the risks and benefits of treatment with your doctor and caregivers. Topiramate has been associated with an increased risk of oral cleft birth defects.

There may be precautions to decrease the risk of this effect. Do not stop taking topiramate without first speaking to your healthcare provider. Discontinuing similar medications during pregnancy has been associated with a significant increase in symptom relapse.

Typically patients begin at a low dose of medicine and the dose is increased slowly over several weeks. The dose usually ranges from 25 mg to mg. Only your health care provider can determine the correct dose for you. Sprinkle capsules: Swallow whole or sprinkle onto food, such as applesauce or pudding and eat immediately. Do not chew the sprinkle capsule or contents.

Use a calendar, pillbox, alarm clock, or cell phone alert to help you remember to take your medication.

You may also ask a family member or a friend to remind you or check in with you to be sure you are taking your medication. If you miss a dose of topiramate, take it as soon as you remember, unless it is closer to the time of your next dose. Discuss this with your health care provider. Do not double your dose or take more than what is prescribed. Avoid drinking alcohol or using illegal drugs while you are taking topiramate. They may decrease the benefits e. If an overdose occurs call your doctor or Common side effects include:.

Paresthesia is an abnormal sensation, often a tingling or prickling of the skin, that most commonly affects the arms and legs. While usually painless, it is one of the most common reasons why people discontinue the drug. Any persistent, severe, or worsening side effects should be reported to your doctor immediately. Less commonly, Topamax may cause serious complications that require you to either stop or avoid treatment. Among them:. Certain drugs are known to interact with Topamax, either by reducing or increasing the availability of Topamax or the other co-administered drug.

This is especially true when used with other anticonvulsants such as Tegretol carbamazepine and Lamictal lamotrigine. Dose adjustments may be required to compensate for this effect. Other co-administered drugs that may require dose adjustments include the diuretic Microzide hydrochlorothiazide and the diabetes medications Actos pioglitazone and metformin.

Among the drugs to be avoided are those classified as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, which include:. Estrogen-based contraceptives may also be compromised if taking Topamax, increasing the risk of pregnancy and breakthrough bleeding. Dealing with racing thoughts? Always feeling tired? Our guide offers strategies to help you or your loved one live better with bipolar disorder. Sign up for our newsletter and get it free.

Topamax topiramate tablets and Topamax topiramate capsules sprinkle capsules. Updated June Ask your doctor for advice straight away. Taking too much topiramate by accident can lead to serious side effects. Like all medicines, topiramate can cause side effects, although not everyone gets them. These common side effects may happen in more than 1 in people. They're usually mild and go away by themselves.

Keep taking the medicine, but talk to your pharmacist or doctor if these side effects bother you or do not go away:. In rare cases, it's possible to have a serious allergic reaction anaphylaxis to topiramate. You could be having a serious allergic reaction and may need immediate treatment in hospital. You can report any suspected side effect to the UK safety scheme. There's no firm evidence that topiramate is harmful to an unborn baby. But for safety your doctor will only advise you to take it in pregnancy if the benefits of the medicine outweigh the risks.

If you become pregnant while taking topiramate, tell your doctor or nurse straight away. If you have epilepsy, it's very important that it's treated during pregnancy as fits seizures can harm you and your unborn baby. If you're pregnant, or trying to get pregnant, and taking topiramate, you're recommended to take a higher dose of folic acid, a vitamin that helps your baby grow normally.

Your doctor might prescribe a high dose of 5mg a day for you to take while you're trying to get pregnant and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. For more information about how topiramate can affect you and your baby during pregnancy, read the leaflet about the best use of medicines in pregnancy BUMPS. If your doctor or health visitor says your baby is healthy, topiramate can be taken while you're breastfeeding.

Topiramate passes into breast milk, but it's unlikely to cause any side effects in your baby. If you notice that your baby's not feeding as well as usual, or seems unusually sleepy, or you have any other concerns about them, talk to your pharmacist, health visitor or doctor as soon as possible.

There are some medicines that may interfere with the effects of topiramate. Do not take St John's wort, the herbal remedy for depression, while you're being treated with topiramate. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal remedies, vitamins or supplements.

Topiramate works by reducing the spread of seizure activity in the brain and restoring the normal balance of nerve activity. For epilepsy - brain cells normally "talk" to each other using electrical signals and chemicals. Seizures can happen when the brain cells are not working properly or working faster than normal.

Topiramate slows down these electrical signals to stop seizures. For migraines - we do not fully understand how topiramate works. It's thought that topiramate calms overactive nerve cells in the brain that cause migraines. For migraines, it can take 1 month for migraine attacks to be less frequent. Once your condition is under control, you'll usually need to keep taking topiramate for many years.

There are lots of other medicines that can be used for epilepsy and migraines, but they work in different ways. If you have epilepsy, the choice will depend on the type of seizures that you have. If you have migraines, there are other medicines that can be used to reduce the number of migraines you get. These have different side effects and everyone responds differently to them. It varies from person to person, and depends on the type of seizures and how often you have them.

To help to decide, your doctor will take into account your age and gender, the medicines you're already taking and any other health problems you may have. If this medicine is not working well or you're getting side effects, your doctor will generally try you on a different one. If a single medicine is not preventing your seizures, your doctor may recommend taking 2 or more epilepsy medicines at the same time.

If topiramate is giving you side effects or you're worried it's not working for you, ask your doctor or specialist to recommend a different medicine. The choice will normally depend on your age, gender, any other health conditions and how your other medicines have worked for you in the past.

If you want to switch medicines, it's very important to do it exactly as your doctor tells you to. Switching from topiramate to a different medicine will be different for each person.