I'm just wondering if anyone else took topamax before surgery for reasons other than weight loss and what your experience was continuing it after surgery. I was taking topamax before surgery (75mg daily) for weight loss, depression, and fibro pain. I've been having GI issues with a lot of nausea and extreme anorexia for the last few weeks, to the point where the idea of almost all foods turns my stomach. My surgeon thinks it might be a good idea to see about reducing the topamax because I've lost 70 pounds since it was originally prescribed. He's hoping that that would reduce any appetite suppression it might be doing. I agree but I'm afraid of a reduction in control of my depression and pain. I have an appointment with my doctor but wanted to see what others might have experienced.

Not after surgery but before, Didn't do a thing for me.

I took Topamax for weight loss and it gave me severe stomach cramps. I had to go to the emergency room it got so bad. I was told it couldn't have been Topamax that caused it. They gave me anti-cramping meds and I didn't feel right for weeks. I stopped the Topamax for a few weeks. I started them back again and the day after the cramps came again. Stopped the meds and started one more time a few weeks later...cramps again. Clearly it was the Topamax! That stuff was the devil for me. I have two other friends that took it and lost lots of weight only to get kidney stones...

Clarification...I had taken all this BEFORE I had surgery...

I took and take Topamax for migraine headache prevention. I'm currently on 50mg a day and have a lot of tingling in one of my feet which is a normal side effect.

I'm about 6 months out from RNY surgery and used to take 50mg twice a day, so maybe cutting it to 50mg to start and see how that works? It doesn't effect my appetite at all and I didn't lose weight before surgery on it.

I took it for migraine prevention before RNY but was told it would help suppress my appetite too. It never did anything for me including help the migraines.

I took it for about 60 days post op and then we decided to get me off of it because my migraines improved and I no longer needed any type of appetite suppressant. I am not sure that drug ever did a single thing for me.

I have chronic pain due to osteoarthritis of the spine. I have had 6 back surgeries in the last 14 years, Toprimate medication never touched my pain then again, neither does narcotic pain medicine of any kind. I am learning to live with it by using meditation, bio feedback, warm Water pool therapy and physical therapy. I have been in PT since December.

Pain meds of any kind were only good for making me feel weak, tired and withdrawn and they had me on them all with fentanyl being the last one.

They work great for acute surgical pain and that is about it. It took me about 4 months to completely wean off all that junk.

I have come to learn that the medicines that God created for us in our plants are the ones that do the best job. I recently started using therapeutic grade essential oils for appetite, pain, overall energy as well as a host of other things they are good for. With the exception of my synthroid which is a hormone, I am trying to limit what medications I take.

I do have one drug that has helped me with migraine called Dihydroergotomine. It is a rescue injection that takes away my migraine completely within 30 minutes so I can continue on with my day. I am experimenting with oils for that too. This week I got a severe migraine and decided to use a combo of peppermint and lavender oils both in my new diffuser and on my neck, temples and forearms. It took a little longer but my migraine went away.

Also I found an oil for these god awful hot flashes that I swear I got at least 50 times a day. Now I put some of that on and if I get 2 mild ones a day, it is surprising.

I just figure why take medicines that don't really help me anyway. Try the oils and see what happens. So far it is working for me.

I tried to simplify for the sake of brevity and failed. I forgot to add that I also take escitalopram with the topamax for my depression and fibro pain. My doctor said that in some patients the two work together to control fibro pain and depression, which it apparently does for me. I also get migraines, which we found the topamax controls pretty well at 50 mg. I'm one of the lucky ones that gets several different types, too. I never had much of an appetite before surgery and the topamax killed most of the little I had left. Most of my obesity issues lay in genetics, medications, chronic pain issues leading to little or no exercise, and making really poor food choices when I actually did eat.

I was on 300mg daily and lost 85lbs. I had to go off of it bc it causes kidney stones. I had two lipotripsys already. Still to this day I have stones.

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I took topamax prior to surgery for migraines and still take it now. I had my surgery in 2011 and I am on 300mg daily. Never had weight loss from it or appetite suppression.

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I had to get my RNY surgery because of Psuedotumor cerebri (intercranial hypertension)... I've been on topomax for years, I was taking 50mg per day pre-op. I'm 7 months out and have lost 105 lbs since surgery, I cut it down to 25 mg per day 2 months after my surgery. My problems with topomax are with how it makes me feel in the heat since I work outside all day and have a VERY physical job. I am hoping my doctors will let me get off of it completely by October because I'm tired of the cloudy, groggy, and weird feelings I get from it when I am at work trying to focus.

I've been on it for years to help prevent migraines. 50mg twice a day. No issues that I'm aware of... I could just be used to it. I do recall some side effects when I first went on it. But that was at least 7 years ago.