I have suffered from migraines for many years, and when I started getting them very frequently (about 15 a month) my well-meaning physician placed me on Topamax, a migraine preventative medication. Ah! What relief! The medication did its job, and I did get far fewer migraines. Topamax can have some side effects however. Topamax can make you drowsy, it can make it more difficult for you to come up with the word you want to use when speaking (its nickname is “Dopamax”), and it can cause you to lose weight. Most of these side effects only occur at high doses, but at a very low dose I noticed that I was losing weight (you will have to ask my family and friends if it affected my ability to speak glibly and coherently). I also was slightly more tired.
My weight loss was not significant–about 10 pounds–and I think that clothes looked good on me for the first time since I was 12. I was not too thin, but had a waist, and this was fun. Fast forward to 3 months ago. I now have pretty much stopped getting headaches as my fibromyalgia symptoms are fading away. So I started weaning myself off Topamax. Right away I noticed I had more energy–wonderful. But now I am noticing that I am slowly returning to my pre-Topamax weight. But I liked my new body!
I am trying to be a big girl, and be realistic about this. I love the fact that I am healing and I can start eliminating medications. Side effects that affect your brain are not trivial. So as my jeans get a little harder to put on, I enjoy the fact that I have fewer headaches and more energy. I am returning to my real body and my real brain–before fibromyalgia took a hold on me. Besides, the big smile on my healthier face is what is really in style!