Bipolar Support Group

I have been off meds for a year now- and I am considering going back on a medication pending that it is weight neutral...

i know that topomax is weight neutral but i do not know much else about the drug.

can it be taken by itself? or does it need to be taken in addition to another drug?

i've heard about tegretol(sp?) being weight neutral, also.

any suggestions/advice?

i take klonopin as needed- but not even close to regularly.

Topamax is used off label for bipolar, but more often than not, it is taken in conjunction with another mood stabilizer, antipsychotic and/or anti-depressant. I take Topamax myself, but not for bipolar. I take it for migraines. It doesn't do anything to improve my mood because when I started taking it last summer, I continued to rapid cycle. Having said that, my migraines have improved since my dose was raised so I guess you could say my mood improved, but not specifically because of the fact Topamax is a mood stablizer.

Topamax also helps with appetite control according to my pdoc. I take it and have noticed that once it starts kicking in. I'm hoping to lose some weight. I certaintly need to.

I've taken tegretol and got a bad rash from it. Apparently like lamictal, you gotta watch out for that. Everybody is differrent though.

Hey Neon... I just had my refill for Topamax filled last night. They now have a generic. You can have the generic either for migraines or seizures, one but not the other. I don't remember which. I don't know why. That't just what the pharmasist said. I don't know how it effect for bp. My pdoc is out of town so I can't ask. You may want to check it out.

That's weird b/c I don't take it for migraines or seizures and I was able to get the generic version.

I used Topamax by itself for about 2 years. It made me lose some weight and destroyed some of my cognitive skills. I heard it is called the Barbie drug as it makes you skinny and stupid.

April,

Topamax is also called Dopamax and Stupidmax for good reason. Ever since I started taking it last summer, my ability to think clearly (i.e. communicating orally) has diminished considerably.

However, now that I'm on a proper dose for migraine prevention, I can live with this side effect since it's doing a great job of controlling my headaches and migraines.

Topamax has also been tested for alcohol & drug dependence--it is helpful for curbing a variety of appetitive behaviors as well as its off label use as a mood stabilizer. When I took it, pdocs would often characterize it was a "weak" mood stabilizer. I have a friend who is stable on it & chose it b/c it is weight neutral. I had trouble with word retrieval while taking it & was less interested in reading, & since I've been off every month I notice my senses improving--it is sort of like layers of blurry film being peeled off of everything--seriously I'm more aware of birds chirping, sunshine, beauty of nature. In some ways I feel the "dopamax" qualities mitigate it being a weak mood stabilizer, as I was pretty numbed out taking it, less energetic from not eating, & therefore seemed to have less mood swings.

thanks for the info!

i am considering taking it in a very very small dose just to see how it helps.

i definitely need help with the appetite control-

i'm not sure if anyone else has this problem but

i tend to eat my moods- and i tend to binge eat when i am manic.