topamax

[zuluwarrior]

How long will it be before I feel effects? What dose should I start on?

[louise]

topamax

I was never able to get past a few days on topamax, so never got to effects (other than side effects), but there is a dosing schedule in the "My Way Out" book.

[keke]

topamax

Hi Zulu, My understanding is three weeks according to the research. I'm having difficulty tolerating it, but am doing better with lots of water and supps. Start at 25mgs the first week, 50 second, 75 third, etc.. Its not something to mess around with. You should get the book and read more research before just taking it. Just be careful. Hope everything goes your way. Keke

[Arrow]

topamax

It takes a couple of weeks for it to work, use that time to get your head around the reasons why you want to stop and get the ducks lined up on your mental effort. Remember its not a magic bullet. Plenty of mental preparation really goes a long way.

I take 25mg twice a day and this is prescribed by an addiction doctor in Singapore - actually 20 years experience and the ex head of addiction medicine for the country so he knows what he's doing.

I did notice some side effects fairly early on but I adapted to them very quickly and I do not find them troublesome at all. The side effects I had/have were:

- mouth a little off (not noticeable at all now)
- a little dizzy sometimes (occasional but not serious)
- memory/focus a little fuzzy (I have to check the floor before I get out of the lift etc - i.e. I've adapted)

On a positive note another side effect is that fat deposited in the liver is lost whilst using Topamax.

I imagine that larger doses would cause increased side effects, but despite my large body size a small dose does work well for what I need it to do which is reduce cravings. What's important is that alongside the Topamax I am setting goals that I work towards and use a lot of determination and reward which contributes to changing my lifestyle and helping me establish new habits.

Anyway the obvious answer to you question is go speak to a doctor, preferably an addiction specialist of some sort as that will make an enormous difference. Taking the drug on its own without the context of the other things you need to be doing is not going to be as effective and experimenting with doses yourself isn't a good idea.

Depending on where you live this may not be straight forward, but it might be worth really taking some time out to find one and travel there for an initial consultation that can be followed up remotely.

Good luck.