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Tapering: Topamax

active

1 posts

North Carolina

Hi, I'm Janie

April 30, 2026ยทยท
I have been on depression medications all of my life, since age 20 I am now 60. I started taking gabapentin lately for RL and anxiety and now realize it makes it worse if I don't have it to sleep. I am learning that I need to taper off of all of these meds and see if I still have any memory left. My recall is awful. I am now on Welbutrin, Gabapentin, and Topamax for migraines. Welbutrin and Topamax for more than 25 years. I came here based on a video of Jordan Peterson's daughter. Hopefully I will get ideas of how to taper off all of these medications.

Topamax โ€” 150 mg โ€” 24 years โ€” actively tapering | Wellbutrin โ€” 100 mg โ€” 30 years โ€” researching taper | Gabapentin โ€” 100 to 300 mg โ€” 1 year โ€” researching taper | with clinician

3 Replies

Catina
โญ
Catina4mo ago
Community AnchorEffexor
Hi @Janie, and welcome to Taper Community! Yes, Mikhaila's video brought much-needed attention to the topic of pharmaceutical harm. People need to realize they're not alone. These drugs can definitely affect cognitive abilities over time. It's great you're desiring to taper off your drugs and want to learn the best way to do that. Please have a look at the Learn section to read about Hyperbolic tapering, and why it's the safest way to taper. When dealing with multiple drugs, it's best to taper only one at a time. Is your clinician supportive of your desire to taper? Are they knowledgable about Hyperbolic tapering? Please let us know if you have any questions or need further help with anything. Glad to have you here! You're taking an important step, and we'll be here to help you along the way. Catina ๐Ÿ’œ

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.92 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

โ€œYour brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.โ€

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

Based
โญ
BasedStaff4mo ago
Community AnchorEffexor
Hi Janie, thanks for joining us! please keep us updated on how you are doing and share your jpurney! its so important for others to see how things go. Thanks again for joining us and i hope to see check ins from you!

Creator of Taper Community, here to help you.

R
Roy E4mo ago
LighthousePristiq ยท active
Hi Janie, welcome. I've known people taking Topamax and Gabapentin also. Gabapentin doctors were prescribing for anxiety a lot until recently because it was considered a non addictive option to benzodiazepines, however it unfortunately has a withdrawal profile similar when stopping from what I have seen in other people, so the tapering needs to be done in a similar way to them. Topamax is also difficult as it can potentially cause seizures if not withdrawn very slowly and carefully, memory loss is a common side effect of Topamax, Gabapentin can also add to memory issues. Do you have a doctor who is willing to assist you to slowly taper off the medications? It's also important to read up on hyperbolic tapering before deciding to proceed with a taper, along with ensuring your doctor is recommending or willing to consider something very slow with very small reductions over a long period. If I was on the medications you are on, I would probably consider tapering the gabapentin first, as you have been on it for the least amount of time compared to the other two. The good news is that Wellbutrin is known to usually be a much easier medication to come off than most other anti depressant medications, but tapering is still required.

Pristiq โ€” 30mg โ€” 17 Years โ€” holding | Seroquel โ€” 400mg โ€” 17 Years โ€” holding | Valium โ€” 2mg once or twice a week โ€” 10 years โ€” supporting others | other โ€” Modafinil 200mg โ€” 3 Months โ€” supporting others | with clinician

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