Is Topomax or Topiramate used as a Mood Stabilizer?

Medications
1

I’m on Topomax 200 mg tabs twice a day. I take it as a prophylactic medicine for migraines. I was wondering if it can also be used as a mood stabilizer? If so, I’m getting two meds in one.

2

I found these articles:

https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Treatment/Mental-Health-Medications/Topiramate-(Topamax)

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/bipolar-disorder/topiramate-mood-stabilizer

3

yes it is used as a mood stabilizer it is a good one because it makes people lose weight instead of gain like some other mood stabilizers

1 Like
4

It makes you lose weight by altering the richness of the foods, they taste kind of flat.
@Gina2, tell me the soda fountain drinks don’t taste completely flat?

400mgs per day is pretty high, but I’m sure your dr knows what there doing. Do you have tingly hands and feet? Not terribly, but just kinda annoying?

I suffer from real bad headaches, seems like I wake up with them and they affect most of my day. Topamax stopped them to the point I had forgotten I had them so bad, but after losing my med ins and Rx, I had to stop it, and the headaches returned pretty strong.

5

I take the Topomax for migraines, not mood stabilization. At first, I had real tingly feet, but, that wore off over time. I think 400 mg per day is the dosage for migraines. Ever since I started meditating twice a day, every day, I hardly ever get migraines anymore. Meditation works for migraines. I meditate for 15 minutes each time.

6

@Gina2,
If you quit your Topamax and only meditated twice a day, do you think your migraines would return?

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7

That, I don’t know. I haven’t tried it. And, I’m afraid to. I could ask my neurologist. See what he thinks.

8

Yes Topamax is a weak mood stabilizer.
It has the added weight loss benefit.
My doctor won’t prescribe it to me because she feels that I need a potent mood stabilizer like Depakote.

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9

Thanks for your input, @Wave.

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10

Topamax was Rx’d for me as a mood stabilizer, and my severe headaches had disappeared as one of the side effects.
I only noticed when I quit taking it due to losing my med insurance, then the strong headaches came back.

It didn’t make me lose weight per se, but it did keep my appetite down which kept my weight down.

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11

Topomax never made my headaches go away. It took meditation twice a day to do that. Plus, I think, getting older. I’m post menopausal now. That helps a lot.