Could Zonegran work like Topa?

[Twinkie]

Hello all -- I've been trying a number of different meds to deal with the craving, and have done some research on zonegran, which included calling the manufacturer (Esai) and asking if they were aware of this off-label use. (I had tried topa, which actually worked, but got too dopey and had to stop.)

The person I spoke with said she wasn't allowed to provide that info, but did a bit of quick research for me and said that yes, Zonegran appears to have pretty much the same mechanism as Topa, which I won't get into here. Also, according to lots of other stuff I've read, it has has fewer side effects ... this includes no risk of glaucoma and minimal cognitive impairment.

She also referred me to this site from the National Institutes of Health (see below), and I found that Boston university is currently doing a study on this, based on a shorter, preliminary study that showed zonegran reduced alcohol craving much like Topa.

If anyone has other info on this, pls. share it. Meanwhile, I'm going to try and wrangle a zonegran prescription from my doctor, so will let ya'll know how it goes.

Should you want to check out the study, here you go .... hope this is helpful!

Alcohol Self Administration Laboratory - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov

Twinkie

[Fran15]

Could Zonegran work like Topa?

interesting... is this something rivers pharmacy would prescribe? please keep up posted and thank you for sharing.

[fickle]

Could Zonegran work like Topa?

Thank you Twinkie.. I shall have a good read!

[Guest]

Could Zonegran work like Topa?

Twinkie, I don't know about zonegran, but Adrafinal seems to work for me. I have a bit of OCD and was prescibed Adafinal for it and a pleasant suprise was it really helped with the alcohol cravings, maybe I'm just not obessing about it so much. Anyway I'll read up on Zonegran, all information is good.
Thanks
Mary

[Twinkie]

Could Zonegran work like Topa?

Prescription question

Hi Fran -- If Rivers Pharmacy would prescribe Topa, I'd think it would also prescribe Zonegran. A number of drug companies manufacture the generic form (zonisamide). BTW, I did convince my doc to write the prescription, and am going to start this weekend! I'm hoping for the best!
Twinkie

[KateH1]

Could Zonegran work like Topa?

Hi Twinkie,

Thank you for this information. It certainly sounds very interesting. At this point, I am AF for 26 days without drugs. But using the L-glut, kudzu and supps. But one never knows what the future may bring. The idea of the dopiness of the topa was not appealing to me.

Please let us know how you do on this one!

Best Wishes,
KateH

[Twinkie]

Could Zonegran work like Topa?

Congrats KateH! You must be so happy about being AF!

On another note, today is day one of zonegran, so keep your fingers crossed ... I've also done some more research and found that at least one doctor (whose credentials seem OK although one wonders about his approach to weight loss) has noted that it decreases alcohol cravings. See: Diet Results? - Weight Loss Clinic - Michigan - Diet, Botox, Injections and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

More to come ...

Twinkie

[Fran15]

Could Zonegran work like Topa?

I really wish topa would make me want to stop eating. I'm hungrier than ever. I also might be border diabetic (getting tested on that) and seem to need to keep my blood sugar level in check (major motivation for limited alcohol consumption).