Topiramate weight loss online

Researchers haven’t nailed down exactly how topiramate for weight loss works, but there are a few theories based on research to date. Specifically, topiramate supports weight loss by: 

1. Reducing how many calories you eat: Topiramate lowers appetite, so people taking it tend to consume fewer calories. This can lead to more weight loss on topiramate, particularly for people with higher initial body weights.
2. Limiting how much fat you gain: Topiramate stimulates thermogenesis — the process through which your body produces heat — and burns fat to do so. This leads to your body burning more fat. 
3. Influencing your brain’s food-reward system: Topiramate alters the sense of reward your brain feels when you eat, which has led it to be used as an off-label treatment for binge eating disorder.

Studies show that topiramate can help with significant weight loss. Among people with epilepsy, a clinical trial found that topiramate led to an average weight loss of 3.9% at 3 months and 7.3% at 1 year, with most of the weight loss coming from body fat. A separate study of people with obesity and hypertension found that topiramate led to a 5.9% or 6.5% body weight loss, depending on dosage, within 28 weeks (about 7 months).

Topiramate can also support weight maintenance after initial weight loss, according to a trial with 701 people with obesity who had lost at least 8% of their body weight. Participants followed a low-calorie diet and took either topiramate or a placebo for 44 weeks (about 10 months). Those who took topiramate lost up to an additional 16.5% of their body weight — compared to 8.9% for those on a placebo.

There’s no standard or FDA-approved dosage of topiramate for weight loss. Some studies suggest that doses between 96 and 192 milligrams per day are effective, with higher doses leading to more weight loss. If your provider prescribes topiramate for weight loss for you, they’ll work with you on an appropriate dosage schedule.

When prescribing topiramate, healthcare providers typically start with a low dose, such as 25 milligrams in the morning and evening or 50 milligrams once a day if you’re taking the extended-release form. They may have you gradually increase your dose by 25 to 50 milligrams a week over a period of weeks as needed up to a maximum daily dose of 400 milligrams.

Generic topiramate comes in standard-release and extended-release forms. Brand-name Topamax is the standard-release form. Brand names Trokendi XR and Qudexy XR are extended-release topiramate. Standard-release forms come in tablets and capsules while the extended-release form comes as capsules only. All forms are taken orally.

• The standard-release oral tablets and extended-release capsules come in 4 dosage strengths: 25, 50, 100, and 200 milligrams. Qudexy XR also comes in a 150-milligram strength. 
• The standard-release capsules and sprinkle capsules (which you can open and sprinkle onto food) come in 2 dosage strengths: 15 and 25 milligrams.

 Tablets and regular capsules should be swallowed whole, while the sprinkle capsules can be either swallowed whole or opened and sprinkled onto a teaspoon-sized amount of soft food and then swallowed.

Standard topiramate is taken twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. Extended-release is taken once a day at night. You don’t have to time your doses around meals, but you should take it at the same time each day.

Topiramate’s weight loss results are moderate compared to other medications. In 1 year, people taking topiramate lost an average of 7.3% of their body weight. In roughly the same time frame (56 weeks), people taking oral weight loss pills like Qsymia or Contrave (bupropion-naltrexone) lost 5 to 10% of their body weight. 

FDA-approved weight loss injections can lead to even more weight loss. People taking Saxenda (liraglutide) lost between 5% and 10% of their starting body weight in 56 weeks. In 68 weeks (almost a year and a half), people taking Wegovy (semaglutide) lost an average of 14.9% of their body weight. In 72 weeks, people taking Zepbound lost up to 20.9%.

Qsymia, Contrave, Saxenda, Wegovy, and Zepbound are all FDA-approved for weight loss or weight management in people with obesity and overweight when combined with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. All have side effects that may include, but aren’t limited to, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, and headaches. Phentermine is a controlled substance and can increase heart rate or blood pressure and cause dependency and misuse.

The best way to find out which weight loss medication is best for you is to talk to a weight loss provider.