Topamax Long term usage

[SCBill]

I went to my Psychiatrist yesterday for a follow up on my Topa treatment. I am currently at 75mg with no side effects and due to go up to 100mg tomorrow, increasing 25mg each week, target 200 mg/day. I have told him about MWO and he thinks it's a great thing to be involved with. His one criticism is that GABA, one of the supps I ordered from MWO, orally can never make it to the brain intact to accomplish anything positive. I am also taking 300 mg of Kudzu 3 times a day. I told him that that my friends from the board said that there was a threshold around 175-200 mg of Topa where a "switch" was tripped that made you not want another drink or to decrease your drinking significantly which I really want to do for MANY reasons. He said that he had read that too in a few studys. He had no problem prescribing off label. I told him that my goal was to make a 12 pack of beer last for 5-6 days. I then asked if I did achieve my goal at 200mg, would I have to take Topa for the rest of my life. He said there was no long range studies on this, even on it's usage for migrane prevention. Can any of you shed some light on this? I posted this on the Topa forum and got no response. Thank you in advance!

[Java]

Topamax Long term usage

I am on 100mg topa and I am staying on that, dont know if it is helping but it hasimproved my mood dramatically, and i ahve been AF for two weeks, I plan to stay on it for 3-6 months, most people say you must be on meds for a year though

[YoungAtHeart]

Topamax Long term usage

Hi CW!

The topa will do a lot to chemically decrease your desire/craving for booze. In the meantime, though, you will have to work on your habits. A number of people on the boards have reported that when they reduced their dosage, the cravings returned. That has also happened to me.

If you want to be a moderate drinker, say drinking two beers/night, you will get the best results by incorporating the hypno and exercise into your regimen and start doing other stuff to change your habits so that when you titrate down on topa, you have a different lifestyle that doesn't include as much drinking. (If you are already doing this stuff, I apologize.) A number of people who haven't been able to tolerate the topa have done very well with just the supplements and the hypno and exercise, too.

I guess what I'm saying is that, ultimately, a lot of this will still depend on you, even though the topa is a powerful tool to help you. I know that I will take topa for life if I need to (although I am hoping not to need to ).

Good luck!
Kathy

[Saint Jude]

Topamax Long term usage

Hi CW< I've been on topa @ 100mg,for about a year. The main thing I've noticed (that I don't like), is a bit of hair loss. Although I have always had sort of thin hair... it's gotten thinner. I've just started taking biotin & selinium supps, as well as a vitamineral green, ...hopefully that'll help.

Also I've read that the main concern by Doctors for patients for long term usage of topa is kidney stones, so make sure to drink plenty of water. Putting lemon in your water or juice is good for preventing stones as well.