Migraines & Headaches Community

Hi Susie Margaret,

Actually, I have been told by three of my physicians, 2 neuros and my primary care doc, that Topamax has the tendency to make you to lose weight. I think one of them said it acts as a sort of appetite suppressant, to a degree, and makes sodas taste bad to you so you don't want to drink them. I have not noticed the soda thing, but I'm not a real big soda drinker, but I have recently stopped taking Seroquel, which I was taking for trouble sleeping, and that is well known to cause weight gain. So I really don't know whether to attribute the decreased appetite to the Topamax, which I've been on for about 6 months, or the discontinuation of the Seroquel.

Of course, everyone is different, so this is just a suggestion. BTW, I tried Elavil last year when I had no insurance and was dirt-poor, and it did not work as a preventive and I also gained weight on it. This year, I have Disability and Medicare, so it's back to the Topamax, which works better.

I hope this helps you. Be well.

Sophie

hello, sophie --

thanks very much for your reply! i have an appointment with my neurologist this week and will ask him about topamax. on my own, i've cut my amitriptyline dosage (25 mg) into half (12.5 mg) to try to alleviate the weight gain problem, but it is too soon for me to tell if that has helped.

-- susie margaret

yes unfortunatly this one of the side effects of this med. I take 75 mg of it daily and so far have gained 15 lbs. I did some research on this before I took it and found most people did gain some weight from it. I was not happy about this but my doctor talked me into trying it and i decided if it worked it might be worth a couple of extra pounds. I also take topamax and weight loss is a side effect ,but for me i didnt lose any weight from it and i have been on it longer. You can read the reveiws on this drug from other users on web md look up the drug then click on user reveiws, it will give you several peoples opinions of the drug from their experince.The topomax and amitripyline was helping some for me , but lately have been having a increase of migraines again, but my insurance company switched me to generic topamax and this may be why. Another side effect i notice with the amitripyline is i crave sweets more, so i dont keep these in the house or i would eat them i try to eat healthy and walk to help with the weight gain, but it hasnt helped much. Hope this has helped.

Hi,

I too have been gaining weight. I used to be on amitriptyline a few years ago, I had to stop - many side effects. I find lots of the med's tend to cause weight gain. In the past year and a half, the doctor has put me steroids - you want to talk about weight gain, I've have gained a shocking 35 pounds. The thing is what really drives me crazy is thorough all these 8 years of suffering with migraines, when ask my doctors about the side effects I experience, they tell me no, no that's not because of the medicine. But yet when I do research on my own, guess what? the side effects that I'm feeling match. Go figure! I still haven't found any medicine that won't cause weight gain, or a doctor that really wants go that extra mile ( I need Dr House). So be careful if your doctor prescribes any steroids like dexamethasone. Hopefully you will find a medicine that works for you. Nadji

hello, K and N --

thanks so much for your replies. this weight thing is really discouraging to me, and i'm really glad that i'm going to see my neurologist on thursday.

i've hardly ever had side effects from meds (and i take a lot of them), but when i saw my psychiatrist a short time ago and told him that my neurologist had recently put me on amitriptyline and that, by the way, i also wanted to get rid of some of the weight i had gained over the last couple of years, my psychiatrist said, "good luck with that on the amitriptyline!" my heart sank; oh, no. and he knows everything about psychopharmacology.

so that's on my list for the neurologist! however, i do have to admit when i first went to the neurologist, i was unbearably wretched with pain and the ami seems to have helped that a lot, even in this short time -- fewer headaches, not as painful.

-- susie margaret

I gained weight, my sister gained weight and so did my son-in-law with amitriptyline. It works, but you will have a very hard time losing the weight.

Do you have any information about Amitriptyline permanently ruining one's thyroid so the weight gain is permanent and ongoing? My teenage daughter recently started taking it for migraines and sleeplessness and has already gained weight. I'm thinking I took the easy way out and should've tried yoga, meditating, biofeed back etc. first. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Thyroid doesn't work that way. Try looking up Thyroid problems and get some info there. If your thyroid is an issue, there are several medications you can take. You don't take them to lose weight. Thyroid is not something to mess with. I have never heard of any anti-depressant that permanently causes thyroid issues and if it did, the package insert of thyroid meds would say that.

Thanks. I couldn't figure the connection, but the concern came from an an in-law with a chemical imbalance, hence well medicated and self-educated about pharmacology. She's heavy and I became concerned. My daughter did gain weight after a few weeks of amitriptyline, but I am glad to hear it doesn't mean her thyroid is damaged by the medication. I will look up Thyroid problems just to become more aware. Thank you for your info.

Hi, Susie Margaret: When I first started taking Amitriptyline, I noticed a sudden increase in hunger. I started to eat more due to this increase in hunger, so I gained weight. I think some people associate an increase in hunger and eating more with "weight gain due to Amitriptyline use." This is not actually what's happening. You're eating more because you're hungry! I realized what was going on and I started chewing more gum and eating things that were healthier for me and started to add walks to my day and the weight gain didn't last. I am still on the Amitriptyline because it's helping. I wouldn't think of stopping it because I'm eating more because I'm hungry. I'm zipping my lip and exercising more.

I recently started the Ampitriptyline and haven't noticed anything different with my weight or eating habits. I've been on it for three weeks. Nothing different so far. I hope that is a good thing for a change since I've gained 35 pounds on Abilify and lost 35 pounds from the Topamax, but gained it all back when I went on the Abilify. Grrr... Then I got put on steriods for asthma- and instantly without eating ANYTHING different, I gained 10 pounds in one week!! I'm baffled with all of these drugs and how they really can screw up ones system. Hopefully the vertigo I have will go away soon so I can exercise regularly again.

Hi, I was recently switched from topamax to ampitriptyline after switching doctors due to my continuely asking about side effects that my original doctor would not admit to such as severe pins & needles in all of my extremities as well as major visiual changes. Not long after being swicthed to the ampotriptyline however I needed to undergo emergency surgery for the removal of my spleen an a very large tumur that was growing on it an displacing several of my other organs. After surgery and my dischargefrom the hospital I realized that I had gained a considerable amount of weight which I had assumed was due to swelling from the surgery. Wrong!!!! I needed to see my surgeon in a week for a followup appointment an at that appointment we discovered I had gained 25lbs so he did a CT scan and a ultrasound both coming back normal showing NO blood clots or water retetion which was what he was suspecting but since neither showed up completely stumped him- then I had another appointment in a month an at that appointment my weight gain had almost doubled to 45 lbs at which time my surgeon had asked me to make an appointment with my PCP an have him run some tests thinking possibly it was a metabolic problem or one of the many medications I was taken that was causing the weight gain my guess would be the ampitriptyline since I had only been on it a short time and before that I had LOST quite a bit of weight which one of my other doctors told me was probably from the topamax which I have now been switched back to despite the pins and needles as well as the visual changes. The visual changes may also be related to an anuerysm I also have pressing on my optic nerve .

I've been living with chronic migraine for 9 yrs. I was on Topomax & Depakote until 2 months ago. I'd fired my old doctors & started fresh. Topomax & Depakote are LETHAL. You can DIE from mixing these two. yes, Topomax can make u lose weight (i looked good when I was on it) but it causes kidney stones (and lots of them) and many other bad side effects. If you take Topomax, please have your doctor double check what other meds you take. Amerge is a fantastic migraine rescue med that only costs $4.00 per month instead of any others which can run into the hundreds. let me know if you need more input. i've been there, done that. hope i helped

i'm a 9yr veteran of chronic migraine. Try Amerge 2.5mg. A month supply is only $4 instead of other extremely expensive ones. if you feel your doctor isn't being thorough enough, get a new doctor. when i end up in the er for a migraine cocktail...it's toradol, regland & dilaudid. i swear, 10 minutes later, you're feeling wonderful. hope i helped.