Description
What is Topaz® Topiramate Tablet?
Topiramate, sold under the brand name Topamax among others, is a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor medication used to treat epilepsy and prevent migraines. It has also been used in alcohol dependence. For epilepsy, this includes treatment for generalized or focal seizures
Common side effects include tingling, feeling tired, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, weight loss, and decreased cognitive function such as trouble concentrating. Serious side effects may include suicide, increased ammonia levels resulting in encephalopathy, and kidney stones. Use in pregnancy may result in harm to the baby and use during breastfeeding is not recommended. How it works is unclear. Topiramate was approved for medical use in the United States in 1996.
Topaz Tablet is a medicine used to treat epilepsy (seizures) and prevent migraines. It is also used in the treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (a rare, but severe form of epilepsy that starts in early childhood).
Topaz Tablet may be taken with or without food, preferably at the same time, each day. If you have missed a dose, take it as soon as you remember it and finish the full course of treatment even if you feel better. Stopping the medication suddenly without talking to your doctor may cause an increased frequency of seizures. Your doctor may advise regular monitoring of serum bicarbonate levels while you are taking this medicine.
Some of the common side effects of this medicine include nausea, taste change, fatigue, diarrhea, weight loss, loss of appetite, and memory impairment. It may also cause vision problems like myopia or glaucoma, so it is important to get your eyesight checked before you start the treatment and regularly thereafter. You may experience dizziness and sleepiness, so do not drive or do anything that requires mental focus until you know how this medicine affects you. Please consult your doctor if these side effects bother you or do not go away.
In Epilepsy/Seizures. Topaz Tablet is an anticonvulsant (or anti-epileptic) medicine that works by decreasing the nerve impulses which cause seizures. Controlling the frequency of seizures will help you go about your daily activities with more confidence. It helps reduce symptoms such as confusion, uncontrollable jerking movements, loss of awareness, and fear or anxiety.
This medicine is not associated with any physical or psychological dependence (addiction) but it should not be stopped suddenly. It must be taken regularly as prescribed to be effective. Missing doses may trigger a seizure.
In Prevention of Migraine. It is not fully established how Topaz Tablet helps prevent migraines. It may change the abnormal and excessive activity of the nerve cells in the brain or increase the activity in a region of the brain associated with migraines. Preventing and reducing the frequency of headaches, can help you carry out your daily activities and have a better quality of life.
In Lennox–Gastaut syndrome. Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a rare but severe form of epilepsy that usually starts in early childhood. Affected children may experience several different types of seizures. Topaz Tablet helps prevent and control these seizures by decreasing the nerve impulses which cause the seizures.
Topiramate for Weight Loss
The anticonvulsant drug, topiramate, is used to treat epilepsy, generalized or focal seizures, migraine prevention, and alcohol addiction. When used to manage seizures and prevent migraine, it has also been demonstrated to produce weight loss. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved this as a weight-loss drug, some doctors give it to patients who are suffering from seizures or migraines and need to lose weight. However, Qysmia, a combination of Phentermine and Topiramate, is an FDA-approved weight-loss medication for obese or overweight adults with type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure who also need to exercise.
Weight loss happens in 6% to 17% of individuals in clinical studies using topiramate in both adolescents and adults. Weight loss and loss of appetite are common adverse effects in persons 16 years and older who are taking 50 mg or 400 mg of topiramate per day. Patients using a 50mg/day dose lost 6% of their body weight, and weight loss was found in 17% of patients using 400mg/day. Patients who get topiramate as an additional medication lose significantly more weight than those who receive a placebo.
About 7% of children aged 6 to 15 years old who were receiving 50mg/day for seizure management lost weight, and when increased to 400mg/day, weight loss was observed in 17% of children of the same age group. There was no loss of appetite in any dose group for children. Patients aged 12 to 17 years old who took 50mg/day for migraine prevention lost 7% of their weight, whereas those who took 100mg/day lost 4%. Patients on topiramate experienced a loss of appetite in 9% to 10% of cases, compared to 4% of those taking a placebo.
While topiramate is beneficial for weight loss, it is not for everyone. Disorders such as glaucoma, osteoporosis, metabolic ketoacidosis, depression, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors may be made worse by taking topiramate. Let your provider know of any existing conditions like those above as well as kidney disease, liver disease, lung disease, or breathing problems.
Topiramate should not be recommended for the purpose of weight loss in pregnant women. Both the mother and the baby in her womb may suffer fatal damage as a result of this. Although topiramate may be safe for pregnant women if it helps with a medical issue, it is always best to talk with a doctor.
Patients stopped usually stop using topiramate because of other adverse effects, not because of weight reduction. Adults 16 and older who were using 400mg/day quit taking the medication because of memory problems, weariness, weakness, insomnia, excessive sleepiness, and tingling in the extremities. Fever, flushing, disorientation, and difficulties concentrating were reported in children aged 6 to 15 who were taking 400mg per day. Although common side effects of topiramate are diarrhea, loss of appetite, loss of coordination, dizziness, sleepiness, and numbness, topiramate can be taken safely by people who do not have any of the disorders listed in the above section and are not pregnant.
