Newbies on Topamax

[Doing My Best]

Hi Everybody,
I love Paddy's survey on topa however, it is very long and I thought that those of us just starting out on it might want to start a new thread. I had gotten up to 75mg and have had to cut back to 50mg while I wait on my next shipment from River. I have noticed the following and wonder if others have also...tingeling in hands and feet, really sore muscles and very tired. Will this go away with time and as I up the dosage? My cravings were less in the beginnig and have now returned full force so I hope when I get to 100 or more they will go away.
Please share your experiences so we can all learn from one another.

[jetson]

Newbies on Topamax

Hey DMB, Jetson here,

:new:

[sdlovespackers]

Newbies on Topamax

DMB-
I'm on 75mg too...3 days now...I haven't noticed any tingling...but I hear it's VERY common. I was VERY VERY tired the last two weeks...it's been a little better this week...but I still notice it...I would love to talk with people as we go through the experience together...do you do supps as well??

[BecomingMeAtLast]

Newbies on Topamax

Hey guys,

I've been on topa for a while. I had the tingling, especially on my feet for some time. It took a while for it to go away. If I remember correctly RJ had a supplement which helped with that but I don't remember what it is. It did go away, though. Yes, sleepiness, too. I take mine in the afternoon with green tea. I don't drink a lot of caffeine so this is just a little to compensate. I also do the supps, with the All One powder. The powder is very important to me as it really makes me feel overall much better.

Take care,
Be

[Pebbles]

Newbies on Topamax

Hi,
Just wanted to write about my experience(s) on Topa. I've been here for ages but don't write much. I've tried Topa 3 maybe 4 times but always failed through the side effects or getting fed up titrating up etc. Anyway this time it's different.

I re-read the book slowly and properly. Don't know why but it helped. I can't do the CDs as my drinking is so secret I can't take time out to listen to hypno without people asking what I'm doing. I do the excercise and I take a supplement, not hers, but a liquid green thing called "Source of Life". It's great.

The difference this time is that I am doing everything to manage my side effects and to let the Topa work. And to also listen to the Topa. By that I mean, not to reach for the glass/bottle as a habit instead of a craving. I really am NOT craving any more, not thinking drink 24/7. This is the first time in 25years.

So side effect 1) Major Topa Dopa even at 50mg - so I take 2 x Olmifen. 2)These then make sleep impossible so I take Kalms in the evening and at bedtime. 3) Tingling feet and fingers - I actually like this, I feel like I know the Topa is working then! 5) Loss of appetite - and the problem is????

Results are astonishing for me. Down from a bottle of red and more a night to a glass and sometimes none. I'm now on 50mg am and 50mg pm which I'm sticking to for the time being. (also lost 5lbs...)

So my message is...even if you have tried it before, you may want to try again.

[hope10]

Newbies on Topamax

Great idea "doing my best" to start the new topa thread. I was working my way through paddys thread and only on pg 28.

I just started 25 mg of topamax on Thursday, so only three days so far. I got a script from my psychiatrist which I was sooo nervous about. He did not seem to have a problem with it at all. The price was exactly the same it would have been from river pharmacy for 60 pills/25mg. The perscription cost about $186 and I ended up paying out of pocket about $57.

I drank last night after being AF for only three days. I didn't drink quite as much but was still disappointed in myself. I have already debated on drinking tonight as well...yuck!

So far the only symptom I have had was a weird taste when I drink soda. I also have a bit of a decrease in appetite. Will keep you posted when I increase to 75mg.

[Doing My Best]

Newbies on Topamax

Gosh, great input.
I am learining so much from all of you.
Has anyboby had aches and pains like the flu from the topa? I don't want to go to the dr. and am trying to deciede what is going on.

[bluespaces]

Newbies on Topamax

I've taken 25 mg. for 2 days now. Tonight I was real itchy & felt tingling.
I'd been AF for almost a month but wanted to test my desire.
So I got so vodka and at first I didn't want it but then I drank it.
I will say my tolerance for it seems to be lower. I used to drink till I passed out.
I'm really worried about the 'dumb' effect..I have to work with people.
If that gets too bad I'll have to stop taking it.
I'll keep you posted.

[Bird of Paradise]

Newbies on Topamax

Great job starting this thread, DMB!

You said your muscles are sore. Have you been working out? Did you pull a muscle?Do you think it has to do with the tingling?
Maybe you're sore because you're coming down with some kind of bug?
I'm sorry to hear you're waiting for your topa still. How long has it been?

It was nice to read everyones input. Thanks everyone for sharing.

Here is my info:
40 years old. 130 lbs. (lost 2lbs. already) I'm usually at 125-120 lbs. My drinking has caught up to me and I started to put on some weight the last few months. Along with that I stopped working out regularly.
I'm up to 75mg. of topa. Tuesday I go to 100mg. My cravings are diminishings, but I am still drinking. I have yet to go AF. Trying not to beat myself up. Looking forward to some AF days with manageable cravings.
Some tingling, but like Pebbles said, I don't mind it that much.
I am not sleeping like a baby like some said in Paddy's thread. I seem to be the small minority that becomes restless and sleeps less!!! Not insominia. I wake up. I did get some more Calms Forte (ran out) so hoping that helps.
Metallic taste in mouth.
I think the recommendation for tingling was potassium...eat your bananas.
Oh yeah, I do all supps. Love the hypno CDs and hope to commit to consistently listening to them this week and for the next few.
Wow that was long....

[Doing My Best]

Newbies on Topamax

BOP,
I have been a runner for years so I don't think the exercise is causing the sore muscles. I did just start shots for allergies so maybe that has something to do with it. I have lost a couple of pounds this week and can't wait for the new meds to get here. My sleep has been really good, I hope your s improves.
I am off to the kitchen for a banana...great idea.

[Doing My Best]

Newbies on Topamax

HI Jetson,
Hop on in here. How long have you been on the topa? Share your experiences and know that we are all just starting out.
DMB

[hope41]

Newbies on Topamax

Brand new today!

Hi, I am brand new at this and very curious, cautious and concerned that this may be too good to be true. I read the book- supplements and CDs sound promising, but is anyone worried about TOPA? I've been reading through the posts and wondering...is anyone worried about the long term effects of this drug? What about when you stop topa,(can you stop ?), will all the cravings come back? I'm a little freaked out about the "mind" side effects. I have to be able to work, take care of my family...etc.
By the way I'm 41yr. old female and mostly drink on the weekends and one or two nights a week, but can never stop at just one. I can feel it getting worse and am sick of the hangovers, wasted days, and wondering if I was an idiot the night before. thanks.
:new:

[cyclefan]

Newbies on Topamax

Hi hope, Welcome to MWO. To answer a couple of your questions, I used Topamax for three months. I titrated up to get to the maximum dose of 100mg/day for me, others have different needs and tolerances and it is suggested that people experiment a bit with dosages once they are titrated up to 100mg or so. I stopped using Topamax after several months, as I had learned how to deal with my alcohol cravings in other ways. I titrated down over the course of two weeks.

Some of the side effects are physical, such as tingling in the toes and fingers. The mental side effects seem to differ with people. I think the most profound effect Topamax had on me mentally was that I became rather disinterested. For instance, I would go to work, do my work, but not have any sense of accomplishment. I lost interest in cooking, but then food preparation is a big drink trigger time for lots of women, so that may not have had anything to do with the Topa.

The MWO program itself is not really "too good to be true", but like anything worth obtaining it is not done without personal effort and commitment. For me, following the program exactly as RJ laid it out in her book (supplements, Topamax, hypnotherapy and exercise) was just the ticket to the goals I had made regarding my relationship with alcohol. Others might use the book as a guideline to help make a solid plan on how to eliminate alcohol from his or her life. Each person here who is serious about changing their relationship with alcohol uses these tools and others, including this discussion board, to find their own way out.

Just a little aside, when people ask about the negative effects of Topamax (which is a good thing, really we should all question these things) but really...after pouring alcohol into our bodies for years and all the damage it does, using Topamax to stop cravings seems rather benign to me.

Best wishes to you, Hope.

[HockeyMom]

Newbies on Topamax

Doing my best,

When I took Topa, I got major tingling in my hands. It was strange, but I got used to it. I also mixed up words sometimes, which was frustrating. I never got up to the full dosage, as i thought I could stop taking it, sooner than I should have. I'm about to reorder it. I think it helped with the cravings, but it could have been everything else I was doing also (counseling, supplements, etc.O

Hockey mom

[me1455]

Newbies on Topamax

hello

Hey guys, "Hope" you sound like how I used to be with alcohol just over a year ago before i moved in with an alcoholic bf that introduced me to bringing the alcohol home everynight.. then it became an everynight thing that eventually turned into a scary controlling my life thing. i dont usually drink during the day but lately its becoming more common on days i dont have work. a mess. this past weekend was just horrible with my bf and i fighting drunk at two am bc i become a drunk bitch if you provoke me, waking up my family and embarassing myself. my father came up and almost hit me, him drunk as well . hes an alcoholic also, but keep it way more under control than me when he drinks. i was very upset the next few days, and so embarassed with my dad. he tells me "you cannot drink colleen you dont handle alcohol well!!" so guess what i did? drank all day the next day. my life lately has become a big mess bc of alcohol and the bf and i need out of both really bad... anyway, besides ranting...

im on topa.. 25mg... next week i increase to 50. when i tried 50 of topa recently i became depressed.. so im really scared i wont be able to handle it.. i will give it a good chance though. my side effects were only depression, foggy mind, tiredness, slept longer but seemed to wake up alot and have crazy dreams. the depression is the one i could not deal with... that is one of the main reasons i want to get out of this alcohol problem! but im in this with you guys, so i will continue to update on my topa as i increase...