TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

[gateway]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

OK OK....THIS SOUNDS GREAT AND ALL.......BUT ONE HUGH QUESTION.

WHAT ABOUT HAIR LOSS.??????? WATCH OUT. IT HAPPENS AROUND 125-200.
I SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE

[runnergirl]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

I am 5'-2", 123 lbs this morning, first week on topa. Starting out on 25 mg, notice zero side affects, except bad taste in my mouth and still craved alcohol. Last night I took 50 mg. Today my cheeks feel flushed, metalic taste in my mouth, little tingling in my wrist as I type. This is a great thread! I am taking all the supplements and vitamins, I ordered the CD's but haven't found the time to listen to them. I have notice bloating in the afternoon but that is supposed to attributed to the magnesium is that correct? So that bloating feeling makes me not want to eat.
runnergirl

[Paddy]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Hi Gateway,

I understand how frustrating it must feel to experience hairloss - probably more so for a lady than for a guy (without wanting to sound gender-biased, which I probably do).

But, frankly, also from experience, hairloss - similar to the side effect of tinitis (or ringing in the ears that I am experiencing) - affects only a tiny minority of Topa 'consumers', if you so want to call them. About 0.xx % So, in all honesty, it would be wrong to come up with a statement like saying 'WATCH OUT [hairloss] IT HAPPENS AROUND 125-200.

To be fair, I have encountered only about two people on this site that have had to deal with hairloss on Topa. And as a guy, and I have to specify AS A GUY, I had rather have to deal with the evil of running around bald, than dealing with myself drunk ... but, again, that's me ... and only, just me.

Moreover, from an academic point of view, for that is more the way I would like to reason ... Medicine is a science. And science is not a hard and fast rule book. It's a little bit of a living experience. So, as we experience with medicine - we discover what works/doesn't work with us. So what reacts with one body, might not do so with another.

That is just life, frankly. And as some other members of this panel have pointed out - by taking some other medicines along with Topa (which though is for some working 'miracles') chemical reactions are triggered in one's body which cause havoc and side effects of some sorts, and that's just to be expected ...

Anyway, sorry for rambling, but just felt like making that point.

[Anewme]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

journey04;124270 wrote: Got my Topa today. Just to check with everyone on the plan - start by taking it only in the evenings, right? Start with 25 mg, yes? I bought 50 mg pills with the plan to cut them in half for the first week. Anyone start with 50 mg? Just curious. I'm about 2 hours before bedtime and going to start tonight!

Thanks!

Journey

Hi Journey!

I just started 3 days ago. The pharma directions emphasizes that topa should not be cut or crushed and that it should be swallowed whole. The MWO book suggests to start with 25mg at lunch time or after lunch. Can you ask your doc or pharmacist about starting out with 50 mg?

Good luck!

[goingsobermum]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

I know there are people on this forum who cut their tabs. I think I read that the reason for not cutting them was that they taste bad.

[Ripley]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

"It's important to also note that 200 mgs is the MINIMAL effective dose for Topamax"

Sorry to disagree, but I had the "lightswitch" effect at 150mg and that's where I am now. It doesn't make me want to stay off booze 100%, altho I can, but I am happy to stop at 1 or 2 glasses of wine.

I am a 145lb female - surely the effective dosage is different dependent on frame and gender, and maybe brain chemistry in this case, like all medications?

good luck all.

oh and by the way Paddy will you plese stop apologising for rambling !? You don't. and anyway I LOVE your posts and you have been a real help and inspiration to me!

Kate

[Paddy]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Thanks Kate, you're really kind. Sometimes I think I bore people, grin ...

And you're right. I think the 200 mgs MINIMAL effective dose that my doc was referring to was actually for treating migranes and other disorders Topa is primarily supposed to treat.

My doc is aware that I take Topa for alcohol abuse, but I'm the first patient who volunteered to guinea pig for it and report back ;-). In fact, I should ask for free Topa supply from the hospital right now!!!

[Paddy]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Thanks Kate, you're really kind. Sometimes I think I bore people, grin ...

And you're right. I think the 200 mgs MINIMAL effective dose that my doc was referring to was actually for treating migranes and other disorders Topa is primarily supposed to treat.

My doc is aware that I take Topa for alcohol abuse, but I'm the first patient who volunteered to guinea pig for it and report back ;-). In fact, I should ask for free Topa supply from the hospital right now!!!

[amethyst]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Paddy, this thread, and your posts have made a big difference for me. Although I know it is a basis for the entire MWO program, I have been scared to try it. How crazy is that-willing to drink poison but scared to try a prescription that could stop me from drinking:nutso: I don't take any other meds, have always tried to avoid them. Anyway, I have decided from the posts here to give it a try, and will be ordering the 25mg today. I'll let you know how it goes! I understand that there is a time delay from order to receiving, but now that I have decided, I want it NOW, and will be hovering about the mailbox till it arrives:H

[Anewme]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

I am curious - people are talking about not finding a doc that will write a script for topa, paying a lot of money for topa, ordering it online, etc. Why? I went to my doc, told her I wanted 240 25mg and 110 100 mg for migraines, she wrote me a script, I took it to the pharmacist and paid a grand total of $4.00 ($2 for each script). Do doc not prescirbe it for migraines or is topa not insured in other countries?

[DidItForMe]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Hello All:

I have not updated on my Topa experience for awhile so I thought I would check in. For those who don't know me, I started Topa mid Feb at 25mgs a day and have been going up by 25mgs every week. I am currently at 200mgs per day. 100 mgs in the morning and 100mgs in the afternoon. The only real side effects have been the tingley hands and feet, and I was really tired for about two weeks, but that seems to have passed. No weight loss. WAAHHHH!!! The cravings have decreased significantly, but have never really gone away. I am OK with that because my goal was really more moderation than ABS. I no longer drink hard alcohol, but allow myself a few glasses of wine (2-3) each day. This is a HUGE difference in my consumption! I went to my doctor on Monday to check my progress and she was pleased. She said I could continue to go up further on the dosage if I wanted to, but I'm not sure if I want to yet. If I decide that I want to stop drinking all together, I might. I just haven't come to that point yet. The one thing she did talk to me about was seeing a phsychiatrist. I was supposed to make an appt but I haven't done that yet. She was pretty adament this time. She really wants me to get to the bottom of why I drink, the emotional bond I have with alcohol, the triggers that get me to drink, all those underlying reasons that made me start in the first place, and not just rely on Topa. And you know what...she is right. It is a great pill, but it is not the only answer. I need to start the hardest part now, the looking into me. YUCK!!! Who wants to go there! Oh, by the way, no hair loss either. Best of luck to the rest of you!

[Paddy]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Thanks NL,

I'm at the point of 200 mgs as well and and started in Feb. So we must have started at the same time. In all honesty, while the alcohol switch worked at the beginning, I find myself drinking one or two glasses as well. But that's a far cry from what I had been consuming a couple of months ago.

As for what Ane said, yes, I get Topa on prescription and can claim it from my medical insurance. The reason why I choose not to order online is that I frankly do not trust online pharmacies ... There are a lot of horror stories of thugs mixing poisons and selling it online as original brands. So, I prefer to use the legal channels. That is of course not to say that there are not those trusted online pharmacies. But why order online, if you have the stuff available just around the corner?

In reply to Amethyst's fears, put your mind at rest! When I first heard of Topa last year, it took me two months to get myself to go to the doc to get it prescribed. I was scared sh*t by the possible side-effects. In fact, I had to go to Bangkok to see a doc to get the prescription (That's flying out of VN for nearly 2 hours!). When I got home, I was still so scared that I flushed 2-months worth of Topa supply down the toilet! So, there! How pathetic was that?! Just thinking of it makes me want to kick myself now, grin ...

[amethyst]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

LOL Paddy!I'd be kicking myself too! I wish I felt like I coud trust my doc, but the simple truth is that I need to by some more(term) life insurance next year, and by going to the doc on this, and using insurance for the meds, I would be red flagged, and pay a much steeper premium than I would otherwise. Sad isn't it? Those who aren't getting things under control can lie and get a good premium, those who are giving a good effert at improving their lives are penalized. This happened to me a number of years ago when I was dealing with a situational depression, and took Effexor Rx the doc kindly wrote, and paid twice as much for my life insurance every month for 5 years as I would have without the drug on my medical history. Also, the way my health insurance works, I would have to pay $40 us for the monthly Rx, I will pay $53 plus shipping for the online.Doesn't seem to be too much of a difference. Lots of others seem to be happy with this one, so i'll give it a go. I'll let you know.

[WilliamTheFree]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Since I started Topa a few days ago I'll dig up this old thread...

Been on 25mg of Topa for three days now....first day drank as usual...2nd and 3rd just didn't have the desire...THOUGHT about it but interestingly, just didn't want to bother. No side effects yet but I AM feeling a little "odd."...I kind of sit around sometimes, especially in the evening, with the feeling there is something missing, something I'm not doing.

It has been great to wake up for two days now without that alcohol induced brain fog AND without cursing myself for having drunk so much the night before. I am not declaring victory at this point as this is VERY early in the program and I know I have a LONG way to go but I now know there IS light at the end of the tunnel. I have not gone two days without a drink in WELL over ten years. I am on the path to recovery thanks to this program.

For me personally, there seems to have been a vast difference when I started Topa.

[Paddy]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Good on you, Demi. Keep us posted on your progress. I just increased my dose of Topa to 225 mgs.

The tinitis (ringing in my ears) has disappeared as well. So good news. Just need to be patient with some side effects when they appear. My doctor also said one should give it a month or so to see if they disappear.

Good luck.