Eyesight problems on Topamax

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I have been on Topamax for a few months and have developed "after-images". My eyes will hang on to an image and it will stay in my vision for a few seconds until it fades even though I'm looking somewhere else.

I also have trailing images from moving objects. I've also got awful double vision (from about 10+ feet away) but my neurologist seemed to doubt that it was true double vision as it was still present when he covered one of my eyes. It made me feel as though I was making it up!

Anyone else got this problem? I'm presuming it is the Topamax causing this as it is constant so I know its not a seizure.

I hope I have explained the "after-image" thing ok, not an easy thing to explain.

Comments

Hi, I was just doing some

Submitted by Austin_58ec66f80ba30 on Tue, 2017-04-11 - 01:18

Hi, I was just doing some research on a very bad experience I have ptsd from and came across this forum. I feel as if this might open someone's eyes to the very serious possible side effects of this medication . I am a bipolar male with severe deprresion/mania, In one of my depressive episodes I thought it would be a good idea to "end it all" so, now that you know this, I must inform you what happened next. Which is, the attempt. 5 topamax (200mg)and 10 clonazapam's (pain killer) later, I was sitting in my bed waiting for these drugs to work their magic. Within the next 20 minutes of me lying in bed closing my eyes, I feel it coming on, first it was euphoric and then straight up demonic hell, but that's beside the point. When I had opened my eyes I knew there was something crazy happening. WHAT I SAW:When I opened my eyes, I looked at the table less than 2 feet away from me, and immediately felt very slow and out-of-control of my own body. I goto pick up my phone and noticed something horrific... My hands were upside down and pointed torward me opened. I felt as if I had just went to "hell", ran out to my mom and yelled "I don't know whether I am in heaven or hell", ran out the front door, and I don't remember it well, but I guess I ended up attacking (very slowly so I couldn't honestly do harm) my neighbors girlfriend coming at her like a "zombie"(his words) groaning loudly, and during this time was when I had trouble with perception and reality because, what happened next was straight up WEIRD. Have you ever had the feeling of Deja vu? where you feel as if something happened awhile ago but you were re-living the moment?? This is EXACTLY what happened for what felt like hours. I had actually been out of reality, having a seizure, recollecting my thoughts not knowing I was actually dying, everything I had just explained and a little bit of information I left out, had my mind on repeat, no, not repeat as in thinking of what I did, but actually RE-Living the situation just as I explained, multiple times, over and over, without stopping (continuous cycle for at least 20minutes in real-time, but what felt like an eternity---This is why I felt I was in hell..because I could not come back to reality until paramedics came and lifted me off the ground(when I had finally stopped siezing) I had the worst pain in my penis a man could ever feel, It hurt so bad that when I couldn't pee at the hospital and they had to put a cathoder in, I actually thought it wasn't that bad of pain and held still and kept composure fairly easily. Another side effect I had recieved other than my perceptional view / vision.. would be the slowness of me today, 1 year later, after that overdose and no continuance of the taking of that drug (as it wasn't even prescribed to me anyway) afterwards, I used to be a very intelligent person that had racing thoughts of innovation everywhere I looked, now, I can hardly remember any of my previous memories and relationships with friends, family, and acquatances. It's so bad that (today) I was saying hi to a friend at the gas station, and 2 seconds later I walked out in front of a car without even thinking of how the car could have hurt me, I felt as if I could walk past it without hitting it. So yeah this drug (and my actions) have taken an enormous toll on my brain function and scarred me for life from that near-death experience from the overdose,If this makes anyone realize how seriously bad this prescription can fuck you up mentally, I advise switching to something that doesn't change visual perception and/or give horrible brain damage or unstability in speech, or make you a "zombie" that chases your neighbors or turn your hands into a mutated object. Thanks for reading, Hope this helps, or makes you laugh, whichever is more prosperous. (TRUE STORY).

Hi, I was just doing some research on a very bad experience I have ptsd from and came across this forum. I feel as if this might open someone's eyes to the very serious possible side effects of this medication . I am a bipolar male with severe deprresion/mania, In one of my depressive episodes I thought it would be a good idea to "end it all" so, now that you know this, I must inform you what happened next. Which is, the attempt. 5 topamax (200mg)and 10 clonazapam's (pain killer) later, I was sitting in my bed waiting for these drugs to work their magic. Within the next 20 minutes of me lying in bed closing my eyes, I feel it coming on, first it was euphoric and then straight up demonic hell, but that's beside the point. When I had opened my eyes I knew there was something crazy happening.  WHAT I SAW:When I opened my eyes, I looked at the table less than 2 feet away from me, and immediately felt very slow and out-of-control of my own body. I goto pick up my phone and noticed something horrific... My hands were upside down and pointed torward me opened. I felt as if I had just went to "hell", ran out to my mom and yelled "I don't know whether I am in heaven or hell", ran out the front door, and I don't remember it well, but I guess I ended up attacking (very slowly so I couldn't honestly do harm) my neighbors girlfriend coming at her like a "zombie"(his words) groaning loudly, and during this time was when I had trouble with perception and reality because, what happened next was straight up WEIRD. Have you ever had the feeling of Deja vu? where you feel as if something happened awhile ago but you were re-living the moment?? This is EXACTLY what happened for what felt like hours. I had actually been out of reality, having a seizure, recollecting my thoughts not knowing I was actually dying, everything I had just explained and a little bit of information I left out, had my mind on repeat, no, not repeat as in thinking of what I did, but actually RE-Living the situation just as I explained, multiple times, over and over, without stopping (continuous cycle for at least 20minutes in real-time, but what felt like an eternity---This is why I felt I was in hell..because I could not come back to reality until paramedics came and lifted me off the ground(when I had finally stopped siezing) I had the worst pain in my penis a man could ever feel, It hurt so bad that when I couldn't pee at the hospital and they had to put a cathoder  in, I actually thought it wasn't that bad of pain and held still and kept composure fairly easily. Another side effect I had recieved other than my perceptional view / vision.. would be the slowness of me today, 1 year later, after that overdose and no continuance of the taking of that drug (as it wasn't even prescribed to me anyway) afterwards, I used to be a very intelligent person that had racing thoughts of innovation everywhere I looked, now, I can hardly remember any of my previous memories and relationships with friends, family, and acquatances. It's so bad that (today) I was saying hi to a friend at the gas station, and 2 seconds later I walked out in front of a car without even thinking of how the car could have hurt me, I felt as if I could walk past it without hitting it. So yeah this drug (and my actions) have taken an enormous toll on my brain function and scarred me for life from that near-death experience from the overdose,If this makes anyone realize how seriously bad this prescription can fuck you up mentally, I advise switching to something that doesn't change visual perception and/or give horrible brain damage or unstability in speech, or make you a "zombie" that chases your neighbors or turn your hands into a mutated object. Thanks for reading, Hope this helps, or makes you laugh, whichever is more prosperous. (TRUE STORY).

Hi, I was just doing some research on a very bad experience I have ptsd from and came across this forum. I feel as if this might open someone's eyes to the very serious possible side effects of this medication . I am a bipolar male with severe deprresion/mania, In one of my depressive episodes I thought it would be a good idea to "end it all" so, now that you know this, I must inform you what happened next. Which is, the attempt. 5 topamax (200mg)and 10 clonazapam's (pain killer) later, I was sitting in my bed waiting for these drugs to work their magic. Within the next 20 minutes of me lying in bed closing my eyes, I feel it coming on, first it was euphoric and then straight up demonic hell, but that's beside the point. When I had opened my eyes I knew there was something crazy happening. WHAT I SAW:When I opened my eyes, I looked at the table less than 2 feet away from me, and immediately felt very slow and out-of-control of my own body. I goto pick up my phone and noticed something horrific... My hands were upside down and pointed torward me opened. I felt as if I had just went to "hell", ran out to my mom and yelled "I don't know whether I am in heaven or hell", ran out the front door, and I don't remember it well, but I guess I ended up attacking (very slowly so I couldn't honestly do harm) my neighbors girlfriend coming at her like a "zombie"(his words) groaning loudly, and during this time was when I had trouble with perception and reality because, what happened next was straight up WEIRD. Have you ever had the feeling of Deja vu? where you feel as if something happened awhile ago but you were re-living the moment?? This is EXACTLY what happened for what felt like hours. I had actually been out of reality, having a seizure, recollecting my thoughts not knowing I was actually dying, everything I had just explained and a little bit of information I left out, had my mind on repeat, no, not repeat as in thinking of what I did, but actually RE-Living the situation just as I explained, multiple times, over and over, without stopping (continuous cycle for at least 20minutes in real-time, but what felt like an eternity---This is why I felt I was in hell..because I could not come back to reality until paramedics came and lifted me off the ground(when I had finally stopped siezing) I had the worst pain in my penis a man could ever feel, It hurt so bad that when I couldn't pee at the hospital and they had to put a cathoder in, I actually thought it wasn't that bad of pain and held still and kept composure fairly easily. Another side effect I had recieved other than my perceptional view / vision.. would be the slowness of me today, 1 year later, after that overdose and no continuance of the taking of that drug (as it wasn't even prescribed to me anyway) afterwards, I used to be a very intelligent person that had racing thoughts of innovation everywhere I looked, now, I can hardly remember any of my previous memories and relationships with friends, family, and acquatances. It's so bad that (today) I was saying hi to a friend at the gas station, and 2 seconds later I walked out in front of a car without even thinking of how the car could have hurt me, I felt as if I could walk past it without hitting it. So yeah this drug (and my actions) have taken an enormous toll on my brain function and scarred me for life from that near-death experience from the overdose,If this makes anyone realize how seriously bad this prescription can fuck you up mentally, I advise switching to something that doesn't change visual perception and/or give horrible brain damage or unstability in speech, or make you a "zombie" that chases your neighbors or turn your hands into a mutated object. Thanks for reading, Hope this helps, or makes you laugh, whichever is more prosperous. (TRUE STORY).

Hello Beau. I can empathise

Submitted by Dee_59053452a0f77 on Sat, 2017-04-29 - 20:48

Hello Beau. I can empathise as I have the same problem. Been taking Topamax 50mg twice a day for migraine for about 7 years and have cataracts in both eyes. I have almost no vision in my right eye and the vision in my left is deteriorating slowly every day. Topamax is an evil drug and should be banned IMHO.

I use to see perfect up close

Submitted by helena15 on Sun, 2019-05-19 - 15:22

I use to see perfect up close and my vision and I can no longer see perfect I have to wear glasses to read I have been taking it for 10 years yes it affects your vision it keeps getting worse as time goes by