Is ten milligrams of Topomax a negligible dosage for treating Bipolar disorder?

Question

My fiance is bipolar, and she's taking Topomax. Personally, I think she should be on something else, but that's not what this question is about.

She gets her medication from a free clinic, so we don't always have alot of pills for her. It's just not all that reliable, unfortunately. So she just takes 10 milligrams a day, in order to stretch them out.

I think she could really raise her success rate with these pills by upping the dose to 25 mg a day. At least until we can afford to regularly purchase her medication at a pharmacy...

So is 10mg even worth taking though?

Answer 1

no.if her doctor tells her to take 10mg then she can take tha.or if the people at the clinic tell her that.but just to be sure,she should really take 25mg incase something happens like, massive headaches.

Answer 2

Topiramate (topamax)is usually initially prescribed at an initial dose of 12.5 -25 mg once or twice a day and the total daily dose is increased by 12.5 - 25 mg every week. When prescribed in addition to other anticonvulsants being used as mood stabilizers, the final dose is often between 100 and 200 mg per day. Some patient with Bipolar Disorder do well on as little as a total daily dose of 50 mg/day. When used for the control of the symptoms of PTSD the average final dose is about 175 mg/day (with a range of 25 - 500 mg/day).

Answer 3

I would say firstly that I am bi-polar and Topomax worked great for me.....until I had an allergic reaction, but it did take some time to get into my system. Secondly, you really need to find a way to take the amount prescribed. Usually, the first amount prescribed will be just a barely minimal amount, so taking even less can have almost no affect. I am not a doctor, I have just been dealing with this condition and the meds that go with it for 14 years.

Answer 4

I hate to sound condisending, but this is a question geared for a Doctor and not Yahoo Answers.


Topamax's Dosage and How to Take Topamax: The initial dose of Topamax (topiramate)is 25-50mg a day, increased by 25-50mg a day each week as needed until you reach the maximum of 400mg a day. Usually divided into two doses, but you can often get away with taking it all at night. Topamax's half-life and peak-plasma figures will let some people get away with taking it all at night, but it all depends on your pattern of seizures and how the med works out for you. In this respect Topamax (topiramate)is flexible. You and your doctor can play around with the scheduling of your doses. Although rated for 1,000mg a day in cases of extreme seizures, Ortho-McNeil has found little in the way of therapeutic value above 400mg a day.

As a bipolar medication it depends on what flavor of bipolar you have. In Bipolarland you don't always need the full 400mg a day, and you can often get away with taking it all at bedtime. However, if you're subject to ultradian rapid cycling (where you flip between extremely manic and severely depressed several times a day, even several times an hour) as I am, it's best to take 25-50mg first thing in the morning, 25-50mg in the afternoon, and the balance of your dosage at bed time. If you have any breakthrough periods of ultradian rapid cycling, talk to your doctor about taking an extra 25mg of Topamax (topiramate)every hour on the hour until you're ready to go to sleep that day. You'll find the ultradian rapid cycling abates pretty damn fast that way, sometimes in a matter of three or four hours.

As always I'm for a slow titration. Unless you're seriously flipping out or seizing all over the place, start at 25mg and increase by 12.5 to 25mg a day each week as required until both symptoms and side affects abate. Topamax (topiramate)is extremely dosage sensitive and you'll find that side effects will actually decrease in intensity, if not go away, once you hit your proper dosage. So as odd as that reads, it will take an increase in your dosage for some side effects to go away. Presuming, of course, that Topamax (topiramate)is the right medication for you.

Topomax is a serious drug and matabolizes heavily in your body, where you should be monitored by a Dr. regularly to adjust the dosage accordingly.

Answer 5

The initial dose of Topamax (topiramate)is 25-50mg a day, increased by 25-50mg a day each week as needed until you reach the maximum of 400mg a day. Usually divided into two doses, but you can often get away with taking it all at night. Topamax's half-life and peak-plasma figures will let some people get away with taking it all at night, but it all depends on your pattern of seizures and how the med works out for you. In this respect Topamax (topiramate)is flexible. You and your doctor can play around with the scheduling of your doses. Although rated for 1,000mg a day in cases of extreme seizures, Ortho-McNeil has found little in the way of therapeutic value above 400mg a day.

Answer 6

I wasn't aware that Topamax came in anything less than 25 mg. So how are you taking 10? Surely you can't break the tablets into 4/10th's

At any rate....even 25 mg daily seems low to me. It would be a good dose to start at then escalate as needed.

Answer 7

10 or 25 mg a day is not allot of a daily dosage of topomax,
I also take Topomax for mood disorder (Bipolar Disorder) and I am on 200 mg daily . (100 mg in the a.m. and 100 mg at bedtime)

Charmaine

Answer 8

10 milligrams is very low. The fact is bipolar is not an indicated condition for topamax, and so, I couldn't find anything on recommended dosing. However, it appears for migraines the recommended minimum dose is 50 mg twice a day.

Answer 9

10 is not doing her any good. I was on 800 a day and befor emax. dosage, 200 a day. How is she taking 10 mg when the tablets come in 25, 100 or 200. She needs to be on the dosage they put her on

Answer 10

my book says this is a seizure/migraine med, of course I guess it could be for other things. Anyways, even the right drugs don't always work right. If this drug is not working as well as you would like, it would be a good idea to discuss this with your doctor and try something more specific.