Hey people, I would really like to find out the answer to the question above, I am talking about the Neurontin and Topamax similarities and differences. I would really like to know whether are they similar or not? what are making them to be alike? What makes them 2 similar drugs or 2 different drugs? I do believe that both of them are being used as anti seizure medications (or at least that’s what they are given for to my knowledge) and they are also having a slew of off label uses either. From as much as I have heard - Neurontin is causing weight gain while the Topamax is causing weight loss. True? I also know that Neurontin (gabapentin) is helping well with the sleep, even though not that quickly. Besides, it seems to have an anti anxiety effect either. is it true or not? what it is your knowledge regarding these 2 drugs? Maybe some of you have some experiences with either one of them or maybe even took both of them and can share with us a detailed response on what was like while on Neurontin and what was like on Topamax. I would appreciate a lot anything regarding this.
Neurontin and Topamax differences and similarities
- Thread starter kaka3845
- Start date
hey there, you’ve got to know that gabapentin it is, in fact, a pretty old drug that has been made pretty much in order to mimic the effects of the neurotransmitter GABA and so it is being used as a gaba analog, and like Topamax has been originally made in order to combat the epileptic seizures. Up to this day, these drug are being used in a variety of other uses either, like for example as an drug that acts against neuropathic pain (as it is a newer version of drug which most likely you’ve already heard of – Lyrica) and if talking about the case of Topamax, the weight loss (the FDA has approved it for this use when it is being combined with phentermine, which is an even more well known, scheduled weight loss drug). so it is pretty much true what you have heard that Topamax might make you lose some weight as a side effect.
To be honest, I am not very sure if any of them are still on patent or not, as much as I know Lyrica is, but I have heard that gabapentin (Neurontin) is not as well as Topamax isn’t either… all of them are also being used as migraine preventatives in some people, some people like me… yeah, I one have been on all 3 drugs for this specific purpose and I just have re started to take Topamax hoping very much that it is going to do a good job in finally controlling my migraines this time around (as the last time it failed to work for it). regarding the weight loss while on Topamax, I know that it is scientifically true, but I also know from personal experience as I have experienced weight loss the last time that I’ve been on it. however, I am not very sure if it’s true the fact that Gabapentin is causing weight gain. I haven’t checked that in any literature (I guess it would be a good idea if I would) and I have also never experiences any weight gain at all during the time I have been on it. so it is either me who did not had this experience as a side effect, either what you have heard is not true, I can’t tell. I really hope this information would help and what I hope the most is that you would find your drug for whichever the purpose.
Oh yeah, I am sorry, there is also something else that I should have added but I forgot – the drug Topamax, actually has started to be used in some mood disorders as well. the side effects that has been noticed to change the moods in some patients who has been taking Topamax has made the scientists look at it as an useful drug in sufferers of bipolar disorder and though I am not sure, I think that possibly borderline personality disorder as well. oh well, although I do imagine that it indeed may be good in such cases, my personal experience with this specific drug in migraine prevention the first time around has been that I was constantly been feeling stupid. Of course this is only my assumption but you never know if this is indeed true – I have been feeling like it has greatly slowed down my brain and brain functionality, slowed so much like my brain has reached the speed of a dying turtle… and it has also made me pretty dull… so well, I actually guess that it is all making sense. I am not sure if everybody are having this kind of side effect on the drug, but that’s what I experienced.
Hey there OP, I personally have used both of those drugs as well for migraine prevention. All I can say is that Topamax has made me feeling somehow strangely lethargic and spacey. The food and the carbonated drinks have been really awful for me during that time. I have been having absolutely no appetite at all, not ever. you surely lose weight while on this drug because although I am not sure how other people react on it – for me it acted like a complete appetite killer. In fact, I can tell you that I have had to stop using this drug because of a too dangerous weight loss I have had on it. not so dangerous but it I really think that if I would have taken it longer then it would be dangerous. I have started when I have been 120 lbs and in only a few months I have been down to 100 lbs without any diets, without any exercising and without anything that would be considered to help weight loss process but taking Topamax. Sometimes I am wondering why this drug is not considered to be a weight loss drug, an appetite suppressant, because for me it really suppressed my appetite.
hey there all. I indeed do find Topamax to be helpful for my depression, however I am being told by my doctor that I am an exception to this thing because usually it is not really that helpful for this condition. I do not really know anybody else who has found this medication to be helpful for this condition and I have also asked other people either. I have asked my doctor if in his experience people ever benefit from the drug in regards of depression and he said that in all his years of practice with the drug I and a few other people benefitted from it while most people – haven’t. anyway, there’s also my friend that is taking it for seizures and it is telling me that the drug is not effecting her weight at all. she says that absolutely no changes in appetite or in her mood so she is pretty much untouched by the drug only except for the fact that it is doing a good job in being a good preventative for her seizures. In short, it does what it should do without any other additional effects. I am also taking Neurontin for sleep and it is only mildly effective personally for me, however I am not going to take any of those benzos! I really think that the Neurontin would work just fine, however my doctor has given me another one that truly seems to cause me some really bad insomnia and it is also making the Neurontin not to work as well as it usually does. So well, this is only what I have noticed over the last 14 days or so since I am on the drug, since I have had my last meeting with that doc (because I stared to take it in the same day).
but thankfully, because of all of that, I am dumping her and I am going to see another doctor and I really hope that I am going to get throughout this mess straightened out real fast because I barely can endure it anymore. I am currently taking both Neurontin and Topamax together. I have to say that I am not finding Topamax sedating at all. and I could even take it in the morning if I wanted, that’s how NON sedating it is, absolutely nothing. I still don’t take it in the morning but it is not for this reason. I am not driving and it is making no differences. I am not very sure but I can guess that the Neurontin has been really very good at making me to think more clearer and more organized either. I can’t be sure but I think that I have started to make better decisions and I become more even tempered. I have still flown off the handle, however I am thinking before I am flying off now and I am also taking a suitcase with me. I think that we would need to know more about you and about why you need to take them in order to help, if you do need some help.
hi everybody out here, to be honest, I am not quite very sure how I am feeling about the Topamax drug… I have been used to take Topamax myself, however I am currently on the Topiramate instead of it, the generic and I am able to tell you that there is indeed a really big difference between them and it is the fact that the generic by far does not work exactly as well as the brand has been working in the fact of being a migraine preventative. I have noticed that it does slow down very well my thought process either so I guess that the poster above who said that the drug made him “stupid” is true… I also experienced it. and I perfectly understand what he meant by saying that it slowed down the brain functionality to a dying turtle… sometimes I forgot what word I have been going to say from time to time (when I have been in a conversation). I was surely not having an active and rapid thinking. Regarding the weight loss… I wouldn’t say that it has affected it very much if at all… so for the weight loss concerns you might try out the generic and to check out how that one is working for you. at least, personally for me it has been working like it has been a completely different drug and not a generic. But I do understand that people are differently and it might be only me who felt like that, other people maybe had some different effects, you never know.
I am currently still using it and I use it due to the fact that so far I could not find a better alternative, so far it is better than other preventative medications that the doctors have tried to give me at first. But anyway, maybe it is not like the solution to all of it, but even so it is still better than nothing due to the fact that I still can easily observe that I am having fewer migraines, it is only the fact that it is not the same success that I have once been having while on the drug. unfortunately my insurance is not going to allow Topamax brand and the only way to get it is to pay for it myself, however when they have told me the price for the drug I have almost fainted… I definitely can’t afford it and that’s why I am currently on Topiramate which does work quite a bit, but definitely not as the Topamax brand which is working a lot more better for me.
hey there again, I have been put back on Topamax yesterday and I can tell you that I have even got it for free (I am getting J & J medications free of change which is quite nice). I have not been on it for that long and I guess that more time should pass for me to be able to say quite more, but so far I have not noticed the same mental impairment as I have had when I have been on it when I was younger, however, even so, I still have noticed some. I guess I shall wait more and see if it’s going to be the same or not. I have stopped to take it in the past before I could see if it is going to help me with the weight loss part or not, so that’s why, so far, I can’t say anything about this. however I did have found out that there are a lot of places that has approved it for that. I even know that there is a pill (I am not really sure the name of that pill – I am sorry) but I do know that the pill is a mix of topiramate with phentermine in order to achieve better and greater results. so, being that it is apparently been approved by FDA like agencies as well (but I am not very sure what about the FDA itself, maybe, or maybe not), presuming that it is working for this purpose in some people – it might be true, I am not quite sure.
Also, I have to tell you guys that so far, I have not experience absolutely any sedation or insomnia effects at all. nothing in this matter, however I do feel like this is a “luck of the draw” type of thing. maybe it is only me, but I am not sure.
I have also been on both of the drugs either and had all of the normal side effects while been on them. Both of the drug has been prescribed to me for MS pain, but I have been having different reactions to both of them either. I have gained 20 lbs on Neurontin, however I have lost approximately 30 lbs in the time I have been taking Topamax which means that OP, you are right. you have tendency to lose weight on Topamax but gain it on Neurontin, however, as you can see, not everybody are having these side effects as people are different. Generally, they are working differently, I personally did felt the Neurontin, however I did not even know that I have been on Topamax, I mean, I have been feeling absolutely nothing on it at all. regarding the Neurontin, I did felt it however I could not stand it, I couldn’t stand the effects of it personally, it felt like a gross dirty high, really didn’t liked it. I would like to be on generic Topamax and I would kept using it further, however I am not having insurance and without it even that has been more than 200 bucks per month and it has been a lot for me (not talking about the brand so I have stopped).
Well, I am now using the generic Topamax (Topiramate) for my migraines and to be honest I really think that it is a miracle drug, at least for me and the way it works. I have found out that you really need to start off very and very slow on it, which means that you’ve got to start with a very low (or at least that’s for me, but pretty sure this applies to everybody else either) in order to avoid the side effects of making you stupid which is indeed a side effect. The other users are right but you’ve only got to be careful on how you start because if you do start slowly as I recommended then most likely you are going to avoid the side effect of forgetting your words and being in a fog. I personally have started to take the 25 mg of it 2 times per day and I am currently up to 100 mg also taking 2 times a day, however, as I have said, I’ve raised it up really slow because it has taken me 5 months in order to get me to this dosage. But it is worth all of it because it does work very well for me as I have been having migraines like 2 or maybe 3 times (sometimes 4) per week and they are currently pretty much all gone because I am having by max one time a month or sometimes not even that one. but there’s an really good bonus either that I did not even know about it when I started to take it. I have also lost 25 pounds on it which is amazing. only later I have found out that this is a Topamax’s side effect which is amazing. a really positive side effect I would say. I love the fact that Topamax is able to make the soda taste flat and that’s why I don’t want to drink it anymore, and it is also taking away my sugar cravings in an amazing way and generally I am not having so much of an appetite like I have been used to have without the drug. I mean, all of it in a healthy way, not like not eating in 3 days and still not hungry. It only kills the cravings and makes an healthier appetite.
And also, there’s something else Fultank55, in case you are having a Costco somewhere near you in your local area then you could get 180 of the 100 mg tablets for only $41 and they are also are mailing your order to you which is not that much, IMO. That means that you are having a 90 day supply. But if you would take even less than 100 mg then even more. that’s by far not so much IMO so if you are interested then you could search it up.
Besides, I have to mention that I also have tried Gabapentin in the past for the exact same reasons as I have started with Gabapentin firstly for migraines. I can say that I really have had a pretty decent luck with it, however even so I am sure that it did not work as well as the Topamax does for me. The good side of Gabapentin over Topamax is that I did not have had the brain fog that I have had at the beginning with the Topamax (which now, pretty much, seems gone). But anyway, I still could not be very much on it because of one problem… it is that I have had some really bad swelling in my fingers from it, it has been so bad that it reached to the point that it has been uncomfortable to write anything down or to type anything at the computer (which, by the way, my job is to type at the computer, I have to type a lot every day) and maybe if I wouldn’t work like this then it wouldn’t be such a big problem, however it was and it did not work out for me very well. that’s why I switched on Topamax a bit later and frankly and I am really glad that I did.
Thadestal63
New member
</p><p> </p><p>So, hello. I wanted to comment on what you’ve said up there. even though gabapentin it is mainly indicated for the neuropathic pain, it is still pretty often being used as off label to treat migraines with some mixed results. regarding the Topamax, it is having a lot of off label uses but it has been originally indicated for weight loss, for epilepsy as well as other ailments either. well, in my opinion you should be using a lot of caution and to try what it is the best for your personal condition, both of them are having precarious side effect profiles which should be studied and you should be prepared for them. I personally also have taken Gabapentin in the past for my nerve pain condition I’ve been having and while on it I have started to be very and very depressed. While you are being put on this type of drugs I would suggest to be sure that you are consulting with a mental health professional doctor and not a GP due to the fact that a GP might miss it out (not always, but still a bigger chance) and this is not really a very good outcome. <br /><br />You’ve got to know that these medications are requiring a very close observation, at least for the first time when you’re being put on them… anyway… these are only my 2 cents…</p>Doodzley said:
Hey there Thadestal63, I really appreciate very much that you have taken your time replying and that you’re concerned about my and other people’s health, I really appreciate the worries, however I guess that you have missed out the part when I said that I am not using the gabapentin anymore, I only have said that I’ve been on it and I’ve tried to explain what does it feels like (from my personal point of view), however I don’t take it anymore and it has been approximately a year now since I don’t… both Gabapentin as well as Topamax have been prescribed to me by my GP, by the same GP, but Gabapentin has been rx’d in the past and Topamax it is rx’d now. we have been through trial and error with him and I am glad that we did, because this way we are learning. Generally I think that he is a really good doctor and I appreciate very much what he does for me. I have been with him for years now and as I said, I am glad that I did. I can tell you that for me both the doctor and the drug Topamax (personally for me) have been a godsend. especially talking about the Topamax after I have been trying multiple and various medications with little help to no help at all (or a bit of more help with unbearable side effects) I have finally found out this one, found something that does work for me. my next step after that has been to get an IUD (which, I know that would only be helpful for my hormonal migraines alone and not for other kinds) which I have not been thrilled about.
I’ve got to mention that originally I have been using the gabapentin for my nerve pain that I’ve been having in my toe (which, strangely, has resolved itself since then without me doing anything else for it, simply got resolved), and we (my doc and I) have found out that it has been helpful for my migraines either so we have continued to use it but this time for migraines which, as I said in my previous post, it has been working pretty well, however then later we have found out about the side effect of swelling of the hands and of the fingers and slowly it became too much to bear it so we have stopped to use it and while searching for an alternative we have found about Topamax and here I am now on it! no regrets!
Thadestal63
New member
</p><p> </p><p>Hi once again, that’s really awesome! I am really very glad to hear that you have found something that does work for you, it is amazing! I do know from personal experience that migraines are so disabling and so hard to live with. they are stopping you to live a normal life, I do know it, and I hope everybody living with migraines would find that something that would work for them and would stop from getting them. I wish you all the best wishes and best of luckDoodzley said:
</p>Hey all, only decided to add a bit of information here. I am a 40 years old male that is suffering from constant migraines and I have noticed that my most migraines that started (I mean, the migraines that I am getting in the last 3 months) have went really crazy and it is hard for me to live with them like that. I have had a chronic one before, however this has been every day for 3 months continuously and it is hard for me to live like that. gotta mention that I have been through the beta blockers either, through calcium channel stuff too and I had been on topomax (I personally am lovingly calling it dopomax ) for a couple of years taking 200 mg of it per day (100 mg 2 times a day). I’ve got to mention that I could not even remember what I have had for lunch for some days or how to spell some very simple words and to be honest with you this has started to become really scary (without jokes – I am programming EMR records for a living). Anyway… here is my final point here:
Sadly for me, the generic topiramate did not work very well for me, not how I wanted it to work. I did have asked my doctor to please give me something so I could think normal enough in order to keep my job and he has put me on Zonegran later. that’s why I am here, just wanted to say that in case topomax, or Neurontin or generic version of either one of the is not working then you should try out Zonegran. I really think that it is worth a try because I did and it is working very well for me and my condition and I am not having any more fogginess. I have also started PT to begin relaxing the spasms I am getting from the chronic migraines. I really hope that this post is going to be helpful at least a little bit. good luck!
I do know that there are a couple of people (not an expert here, but from what I have heard) who has actually combined those 2 drugs, however only using some very small dosages due to the fact that as you can see, both of them are having some pretty similar effects but in the same time some pretty different side effects so I doubt that you would want to risk. Topamax is also pretty much very sedative either. I did have read that there are people who were not been sedated from using it, but people are different, plus they might have been using only a small dosage of it. take care because these drugs might be dangerous if used improperly.
Hey there, is somebody here who might answer me what are the typical dosage amounts that should be used in case you are trying to use the drug as an sedative and what are the dosages when you are trying to use it for weight loss and dosages for migraines?! or it does not matter for whichever condition you’re trying to get it, it is the same 50- 100 starter dose that a patient should start off? A little bit of help would be appreciated very much. I might start taking Topamax soon and that’s why I am asking.
Oh well, answering your question… I have been on it for my condition of chronic migraines. however, I know that it does not really matter what it is the condition that you’re taking it for, the dosage starts off very small due to the fact that it really might affect a lot your cognitive ability, that is why you need to check out which is the good and tolerable dosage for you. tolerable dosages are different to each individual. I do remember that I have not been able to get thoughts from my head to my mouth, I guess this is what other people here are talking about… the fact that makes the stupid. Maybe it indeed does, can’t say for sure. What I do know is that the drug gave me some really bad bleeding gums (and yeah, as it has already been mentioned above by somebody else, everything tasted differently on the drug, tasted worse, that is why no urge to drink unhealthy drinks like soda and no sugar cravings) and that is why, of course I have lost weight on it. maybe for somebody else it would act differently, but for me personally, it is on a no no list
Hi all. I one also used it, I have had a rather very quick but not very helpful runaround with gabapentin back when it just first came out years ago. I can tell you that this is one of those things that are beginning its life for a specific condition and as they are learning that this specific thing can be used off label due to the fact of a few side effects that most of the people have, the doctors are going to throw it at anything on the wall and they are going to check if it is going to stick there. everybody knows that firstly it has been made to treat epilepsy the big pharma reps would send a doctor on a world tour if they do agree to push it on their patients. Due to the fact that the drug is blocking the transmission of the nerve agents that are going into the brain and without very big chance of causing absolutely any disastrous bodily harm for most of the people out there, I have deemed to be a pretty good candidate for this drug in attempt to get a good treatment for my chronic pain. Pretty much exactly as Fultank55, so eloquently described it I have also felt something like he has described to a “gross dirty high” from using it. I am not very sure because I can’t remember what has been the first dosage for me and that’s sad that I can’t say the exact number, however I am pretty sure that I have been prescribed twice the normal amount dosage only in order to finally get me out of the office. I really do not think that I have ever seen anything prescribed to somebody in such generous amounts as what I have been given then. That was surely the largest ever bottle that I have been given by a doctor back after filling a script. It has been before the turn of the century and after a week or so I have just started to give it away to anybody who has been opening their hand for it. I am pretty sure that everybody involved in the tie I have been patented got some very sweet money from selling that kind of thing. and not on the street level, as I said I only have done the same as the doctors were doing only except for the fact that I could not even give it all away.
Hey there, thanks for responding, I am going to see if it is indeed so good or I would react to it as you did. I really hope I won’t but I assume that there is no other way of finding it out unless I try it, isn’t it? initially I really did not wanted to try it out, however my doctor said that I should. I have been thinking that this is a garbage, however my doctor has been swearing that it is an really amazing thing that has some great effects on pain and especially on the migraines. so far, of course, I haven’t used it, but I will and I really hope that my doctor is right and would have the effects that he is talking about. I would want to lose weight and to stop the pains. But I just hope that it won’t make me have bleeding gums and even more importantly, hope it won’t make me… stupid…
Hello there people, I’ve also been taking Topamax and I do know something about it.. I do know that it has made me very sleepy at night. I have not been taking it for a very long time but I still thought that some of you might find this information helpful. I also have to say that I was taking gabapentin in the past either and I know that it was the Devil’s own concoction. At least for me. yeah, it is obvious that not all people would react the same way as I was reacting on it, it is obvious because if everybody would then this drug would be banned a long time ago. but for me personally, on at least about half of the normal dosage, I have already been slurring stumbling down halls, I’ve been having some really intense disassociative thought processes… it was extremely odd, like for example I was thinking about how a thing is working (I am working as an electrical engineer so do know these things) but in the end, instead of giving the right answer, I have been having some totally adled delusion that would take the place to me. I was very… strange, overall, not anything like me. at first it did seemed right but then I have had to think about things like 2 or 3 times before it has occurred for me that this deluded memory has been wrong… and not like wrong but completely wrong. It has been feeling like I was in some kind of another insane universe or something and like my “completely wrong” thoughts have been right in my insane universe, but definitely not right in reality.
And I guess that it would not be a really big problem if this would happen say once a week, or at least once a day, but god damn it… this has been happening constantly, continuously, it has been happening all day long… and as much as you can understand… it was obviously interfering with my job… greatly interfering as I could hardly do my work because of this, because I have been questioning everything and it seemed that even the questions where not right… not talking about the answers which, as I said, were completely wrong.
But there’s also something else… as if this wasn’t already enough ruining my life… it is the fact that I completely randomly and suddenly would kind of wake up in the middle of a conversation that I was having with my colleagues… or at least that’s what it was feeling like. I was feeling strange… one minute, I am not sure what was happening but then later kind of a boom and you’re there… it is pretty much like when you are feeling when you are spontaneously waking up out of a very weird dream, one that fuzzed headed feeling you are getting when you are getting up very and it is so intense that you are nearly passing out, but then your head is quickly clearing up and you finally realize that you are there and that you are talking with someone, however it is all of a sudden when I am standing in front of somebody, talking with them and having an intense conversation, however, I was having absolutely no clue what we were talking about. sometimes I would even question how I got there, why we are talking about something, about what we are talking and so on and so forth. It was feeling like I got time forward with no memories of what has happened prior. It is like I simply appear there out of nowhere. I remember that 2 or maybe 3 times I have asked a couple of my closest friends that I am trusting if I have been falling asleep or if I passed out or anything in this matter in the time I have been talking to them, but they have said no, said that I was acting normal, like usual, with no visible changes. They realized that something is wrong with me only after I have told them that I’ve just woken up like from a deep sleep.. right in the time I was talking with them. I would recommend everybody to be very and very careful on it and to ask other people to look with an eye on you. personally for me gabapentin turned out to be an horribly insidious drug which I would never take ever again… because of this drug I have nearly lost the respect of a lot of people at my work in the time that I have been on it. which is obvious that I would if I would continue taking it. they were not looking at me like at a normal person, which is obvious… because I doubt that I was acting like a normal person anymore. based on all of that experience I have had with this horrible drug I have fired my psychiatrist right away… but I have also done this based on the fact that he has been having me on a several various things at the same time either and it is because of those drugs that I have been falling apart like that. I simply could not resist all of that, I was simply overmedicated. But the dr. wanted to experiment on me. he doesn’t give a damn that I am working as an electrical engineer and a little mistake from my side and people can die. Such kind of medications given to people working like me are a deadly combination. and what made me even more angry is that during the time that I have been research fellow art a Fortune 500 company… that guy has been experimenting on me with his drugs unconscionable. He might have killed me or somebody else… I would say a big FU** YOU to such doctors, like I said to that one.
And yeah, there’s my bother in law who is also on GABA now, the guys it is so think that you are not even able to tell the difference. so that’s why I guess are applications. But about me… I am reacting very poorly on all of the SSRIs, SNRIs, anti epileptic or anti seizure drugs, GABA analogs etc. all of those off brand pain treatments. I think that in case there would ever ben an alternative reality to escape either then pretty much now it is the right time to do it.
Be safe people and don’t let the doctors experiment on you.