I love Tegretol XR and have been on a large dose 1400 mg0 for almost 8 years. For the last 7.5 years I've had virtually no side effects at all. It definitely doesn't make me "stupid". In fact, my thinking is clear and fast. I have no cognitive impairement at all. It is weight friendly for me. The only side effect I might have is a bit of clumsiness, which is no big deal for me.

When I first started Tegretol XR, there was a bit of an adjustment period. I forget exactly my complaints, but maybe a bit of dizziness. I think. I know that I experienced some vision issues. Bouts (not all of the time) of blurry and double vision. That was disconcerting, but fleeting. I'm so extremely happy that I waited the adjustment period out!

I don't remember being tired on Tegretol XR.

I took Depakote for about 1.5 years. It worked at ending my mania, but maybe even worsened the resulting depression. I gained 30 lbs on the combo of Depakote and Invega. All of my blood work became worrisome. I ended up getting ECT (with Depakote temporarily stopped) and it helped. After the ECT I was put back on Depakote and became depressed again. Depakote was clearly also starting to cause me to have PSOV.