Mixing Alcohol and Topamax

Topamax is the brand name of the generic topiramate, which can be used to help prevent seizures caused by epilepsy, and it can also be used to prevent migraine headaches, although it won’t help once the headache has already started. Topamax is classified as an antiepileptic or anticonvulsant drug.

With Topamax researchers believe it works on the brain’s neurotransmitters, and it can alleviate the abnormal nerve activity that causes seizures. In 1996 Topamax was approved as a treatment for seizures, and it was approved in 2004 to treat migraines. Topamax is currently the top migraine prescription medication in terms of how many people are prescribed to use it.

An off-label use of Topamax is to help with people who binge and purge and to help people with eating disorders lose weight. It’s believed to be helpful in this situation because the same ways it works on controlling migraines and seizures through suppressing certain brain activity can also help prevent food cravings.

While Topamax can be helpful for treating certain conditions, there are also warnings that accompany its use.

For example, Topamax can cause serious eye problems, it can decrease sweating, and it can cause a fever. It can also increase levels of acid found in the blood, it can cause problems in thinking, it can lead to feeling tired, and it may cause changes in heartbeat.

Rarely Topamax can have mood effects such as causing suicidal thoughts or actions, anxiety, irritability, depression, panic attacks, and mania or aggression.

When you take Topamax, it’s likely to make you feel sleepy, which can cause confusion and impaired thinking, concentration, attention, and speech.

Before you take Topamax, you should tell your doctor about any other substances you take including recreational drugs, prescriptions, vitamins, OTC drugs and herbal supplements. This is because interactions are possible. For example, if you take Diamox with Topamax it can increase the chances of kidney stones and metabolic acidosis occurring.

, you should tell your doctor about any other substances you take including recreational drugs, prescriptions, vitamins, OTC drugs and herbal supplements. This is because interactions are possible. For example, if you take Diamox with Topamax it can increase the chances of kidney stones and metabolic acidosis occurring.

People who take Topamax are advised against drinking alcohol. Mixing alcohol and Topamax can result in mild side effects, such as increased drowsiness and dizziness, but it can also cause you to have diminished thinking, judgment and coordination. You should never drink and drive or operate machinery, but the risks of doing so are even higher if you’re mixing alcohol and Topamax.

If you’re taking Topamax to treat seizure and epilepsy, you should also know that mixing alcohol and Topamax can increase the chances of experiencing a seizure. If you’re taking Topamax for migraines, drinking alcohol can also trigger a migraine, and since the medicine doesn’t work once you already have a headache, it would become ineffective.

These are just a few of the side effects, interactions, and dangers of mixing alcohol and Topamax. You should always speak with your physician or pharmacist about the full list of possible risks.

There is another relationship between alcohol and Topamax, although it’s not about mixing alcohol and Topamax. Topamax is also sometimes used as one of the treatment options when a person is going through alcohol withdrawal. One of the most severe possible symptoms of alcohol withdrawal are seizures, and Topamax can be given to help lower the risk of seizures occurring.

Topamax is also used as an off-label treatment for alcoholism because there is some research showing that it can help rebalance chemicals in the brain that contribute to chronic drinking.
Some doctors do say that mixing alcohol and Topamax even while a person is still drinking may be okay, but physicians should watch for problematic side effects such as cognition problems, memory problems, and sedation.

If you’re mixing alcohol and Topamax there are side effects, interactions and dangers to be aware of. Some of the side effects, interactions, and dangers of mixing alcohol and Topamax can include drowsiness and sedation, coordination and cognition problems, and an increased risk of the underlying issues the medicine is used to treat including seizures and migraines.

Along with the risks of mixing alcohol and Topamax, there is another relationship to be aware of with alcohol and Topamax, and that’s the use of this drug to treat alcohol dependence and alcohol withdrawal. This is something that might be done in a medically supervised detox or alcohol treatment program.