Recently a study performed by the University of Virginia found that the drug Toprimate (Topamax) could be successful in treating alcohol addiction. In the past, other studies have shown that Topamax has had somewhat mixed results when used to battle obesity. Why would a drug which helps alcoholics stay sober only help some people lose weight?
It is well known that doctors have been prescribing drugs for off-label uses for years, but the number of off-label uses for Topamax is staggering. Although its FDA approved purpose is to treat migrane headaches and seizure disorders; Topamax has been used in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder, bulimia, smoking cessation, and other neurological disorders for years.
If Toprimate helps people stop drinking, quit smoking, and in some cases lose weight it seems to me that there would be a link between the action of addiction and Toprimate. Perhaps the reason the drug makes some people lose weight, while others do not notice an effect is because it only helps compulsive/binge eaters or people with food addictions.
Not that anyone didn’t already know this, but a study was recently published by Princeton that indicated that sugar had the same effect on the brain as a drug similar to heroin or cocaine. If this is the case the next logical step would be to classify “Sugar Addiction [Fructism, anyone?]” as a disease the same as Alcoholism and then work on treatments for folks effected by this.
I would imagine that a great percentage of obese people are addicted to food and aren’t really aware of it. Personally, I am aware of my own addiction and struggle with it constantly but I was 25 before I even knew binge eating disorder/food addiction was something that existed.
Anecdotally, I had a great deal of success with a combination of Toprimate/Topamax and Xenical (prescription Alli) lost a great deal of weight on it. Please keep in mind that I am not a doctor and that this article is not intended to be used as a replacement for advice from a trained medical professional.
-Drew