Just starting Topamax

[Gret]

I have a question about the topamax. I've just started taking it. I also started the other supplements but immediately had to quit the kudzu and milk thistle because they cause severe diarrhea. I've tried those in the past with the same results so I'm not sure if this program will work for me or not. Anyway, since I've just started and the cravings are still there, should I try not to drink or continue on until my craving subside from the topa? Not sure how to handle it. I'm drinking a lot less for sure, but I still have a couple at night. Thanks for any input.

[MissCheryl]

Just starting Topamax

Hi all...

I just started Topamax also... 3 nights ago. How long does it take before it really kicks in? Will it actually take away the desire to drink? I know it's not going to be a "miracle" but I sure would love it if it would make me not care about wine at all.

Any feedback is appreciated... thanks!

Cheryl

[Gret]

Just starting Topamax

I'm seeing that it is different for everyone. I'm on week three, been upping the dose gradually as recommended, and I'm foggy. I hate being so tired and I hate feeling dopey. I hesitate to up the dose again next week until I get a handle on this one. I drink less. I have about 50% AF days now and don't drink much when I do, but almost feel like drinking is better than feeling so groggy. What do you think, Cheryl?

[Zana]

Just starting Topamax

Miss Cheryl,

I felt the way you did when I started Topa. It took time until I reached 150 mg on the third week when the cravings disappeared. Since that time I've had 16 AF days! So hang in there.

[meditation mama]

Just starting Topamax

Hi Ladies!

Go take a peak at "my biggest fear" thread posted today. There are a few of us that answered some questions... Also, there are a TON of posts on the subject in "Topamax, Campral, Naltrexone, Baclofen, other meds" read, read, read..

MM

[MissCheryl]

Just starting Topamax

Hi everyone...
Sorry I haven't replied sooner... just realized there were some messages here. I see my doctor again tomorrow. Right now I'm at 50mg twice/day. The last few weeks though I wasn't very consistent taking it. Also wasn't very good AT ALL about not drinking. New start today.
I'm going to catch up on my "Topa Posts" reading... and I'll be back with questions, I'm sure! :thanks:
MissC

[vino_grrl]

Just starting Topamax

Gret ... I just continued along as normal, trying to taper down but w.o. trying to cold turkey myself or anything. At about mid week two (50 mgs) cravings started subsiding some. Now I'm up to 75 mg. Last night I went out w/friends and had 3-4 (Xmas party). Tonight I chose to have an alcohol free night at home. Both, for me, are huge victories .... (i.e., sticking in the 3-4 range @ a party that went from 6pm til 11pm, then choosing NOTHING the following night). i had a LITTLE craving tonight but decided to just roll with it and it wasn't a big deal. never would have made it through it before. and wouldnt have made it through it in the first week or so of the topa either, i'm pretty sure. sold on this stuff, really am.

[Gret]

Just starting Topamax

vino girl, I am not drinking as much. I don't crave it in the evenings except when there is going to be socializing. Then I guess it's out of habit that I want a drink or two. Which would not be bad. BUT, I get plowed on one or two now. I used to drink a lot more. But since starting topa, I can't handle more than a couple and I'm not used to that. I need to fall asleep right away. Tonight we're going out with friends. I'm going to shoot for one glass of wine with dinner. I hope I can do that - not have anything before we go! On a regular week, I drink maybe 2 days now instead of every night, much better. And I'm only taking 50mg in the late afternoon so that's ok. I'm feeling a bit dopey and pretty tired, but it's better than drinking. I just want to break the habit of feeling like I should drink when with people. I should be able to grab a glass of club soda and laugh with the rest of them, but I can't yet.

[vino_grrl]

Just starting Topamax

i dunno gret ... where you are sounds pretty good to me. ;-) you've come a long way and maybe you should just be proud of where you are instead of beating yourself up for where you're not.

i'm finding that i get a lot more of a buzz on my one or two now also (had two glasses of wine with a very looong dinner with friends last night and felt positively tipsy! before, two glasses of wine would have gone down before we'd have even gotten going and i wouldn't have noticed them!) i'm on 100 mgs and down to drinking 4 nights instead of every night ... and on 2 of those 4 i'm just having 1 glass of wine (unheard of before). compared to a bottle of wine every night? so that's 6 drinks a week instead of (easily) 6 in a day. i think what i like most is that i CAN drink if i want to (i.e., nice wines were being poured @ a party the other night; instead of drinking full glasses of each i did tastes of each over the course of the night & enjoyed myself w/o getting tanked) but don't feel compelled to or like i'll lose control.

i don't know how long you've been on it, but i'm finding that the side effects are lessening after a month. i don't feel quite so dopey. a bit agitated and forgetful still but not that heavy dopey/sleepy feeling any longer.

[sailor2]

Just starting Topamax

Just started topmax

I just started taking Topmax this week and at 25 mg a day noticed a real change. I no longer crave alcohol at night. Last night (a Friday) I had only a glass and a half of wine whereas the old me would have put away 2 drinks while getting ready to go out, a couple before dinner and a few glasses of wine with dinner. It is nice NOT to have a hangover today. It seems that the topa blocks the nice relaxed feeling that alcohol gives me which I do kind of miss (just being honest). However I made a decision that I did not want to live with this addiction (it was getting bad, sometimes drinking durung the DAY) and being sneaky. I am 41, married with two daughters, have my own business, and from the outside an incredible life. People would be shocked if they really knew what I have been going through the past few years. I have have been drinking since I was 15 and it progressed to the point where it was out of control.

My question is: Will I be able to go off topamax? I am hoping that once I get in the habit of not drinking it will "stick".

Sorry for rambling but thanks for listening. Also thanks to this site for the tip on topamax for drinking cessation.

[vino_grrl]

Just starting Topamax

Hi Sailor2 (and congrats for getting good results so early). I wish I had an answer for you; I keep seeing this same question posted all over ... and I wonder too. I just have no idea and I'm not sre anyone else does. I suspect the answer is "it depends." In some people, just getting out of the habit of drinking too much every night will be enough + the drug will have helped their brain get out of that dopamine flood cycle. In others, no ... they'll need to stay on the drug (and people have stayed safely on this drug for a very long time: it's used predominately to treat migraines, bipolar, etc. ... things that require long term treatment). I doubt there's an "answer" out there since this is an off-label use we're trying and a fairly new one at that (only a couple of years, so no long term studies to show how it plays out in the long run).

[sailor2]

Just starting Topamax

I guess if I have to stay on it long term it is not the end of the world as my side effects aren't that bad. I'm just cold and tingly all of the time. thanks

[Gret]

Just starting Topamax

vino grrl,
Thanks for the kind remarks. I do beat myself up and shouldn't do that! Last night we had my husband's company party here. I had vodka - too much apparantly because I fell asleep before everyone left! I'm pretty sure they just thought I was beat, but still, that was stupid. I hate doing that. I was really exhausted from several tough days and should not have had anything to drink, but that's what people do at parties! Oh well, I'll be AF today for sure. Thanks, though, it's nice to know there are people to talk to and people who care.
Sailor2, maybe I'll stay on topamax for a while. It's hard to say. I'm thinking I may need it at least for a good while. I'd rather be AF most of the time.

[sailor2]

Just starting Topamax

You might consider giving the Topamax a try. I have been on it a little over a week and have cut back considerably. Usually around 5 pm I am obsessing about what I am going to drink, or if I have to be somewhere in the evening where there is no alcohol (my daughter's ballet rehearsals for instance) I would constantly think about it. The other night I just sat there in the theatre and it barely occurred to me.....now this is a miracle! I met my husband for lunch yesterday and he had two martinis and I had iced tea...normally I would have been right there with him. (then I would have gone home and taken a nap!)

SOme other positive changes since trying the topamax have been that I sleep through the night. (I take it before bed) For years I have awakened at 3 am for 2 hours.....my thoughts racing. I wake up much more refreshed and I seem to get more done during the day. My only side effects seem to be that my extremities are cold and it does suppress appetite which is fine with me.

I don't want to quit drinking completely...this seems to be helping. The real test will be the holidays, especially the week after Christmas when I'll be with my big time "triggers"!

Lastly, don't beat yourself up about what you did or said etc when you were drinking. I know that feeling well and it's the worst! Usually we worry about that not because we actually did anything but because we can't remember! Move on, you are fine.

let me know if you try the Topamax and what you think.

[Its a miracle]

Just starting Topamax

Just lucky?

I may just be lucky but I started with 25 mg in the morning and noticed the difference right away. The first thing I think about when I get off work now is not downing a 6 pack on the drive home. Stopped at a bar last night for the first time in forever as a test. Got in trouble with my wife but it was worth it as it proves Topamax works. Drank the first beer and waited for that great feeling and ..... nothing.... very little buzz at all ..... bought a second and the same thing. Left and woke up today to a terrible hangover - drinking now has no pay back. This is my first week on the drug and it does upset my stomach and make me dizzy - but so did drinking a 6 pack every night. I'm almost 50 so if I lose what hair I have left its better than my 20 year marrage. So far its been a miracle - can I stay at 25 mg if it works - must I take more - will it wear off? Thanks for the support.