[bewise93]

My pdoc wants to put me on Tegretol. I don't know much about it but read it makes people spacey. I'm already a space cadet. I don't need anything else making my mind fuzzy. Anyone have experience with it? It doesn't seem like a common bipolar med.

[Faltering]

I had a toxic level in my blood so I had balance and coordination issues. I also gained weight and lost my period. Overall it was a bad med for me. Hopefully it works well for you.

I've been be on either 1,400 mg (for 8 years) or 1,200 mg (these last 6 months or so) and have had few or negligible side effects almost the whole time. These doses are considered high, but like Lithium, a therapeutic level is usually sought so peoples' doses vary. I had a number of blood levels done when I first started taking the med, but very few afterwards, unlike Lithium. I take Tegretol XR generic (carbamazepine ER) not regular Tegretol.

I am so grateful for my Tegretol XR. It stopped musical hallucinations that I was having. As far as moodstabilization, it works fairly well for me in combination with Seroquel XR. It's never affected my moods in any negative way. I've read that it's the type of med that either works well or not, depending on the person.

When I first started Tegretol XR, there was a little adjustment period for me. If I recall correctly, when I first started it it made me feel a bit spacy. It also gave me intermittent blurry and double vision. That was a bit disconcerting, but it faded over time. I had zero side effects starting maybe four or six months in, and never had any again until about six months ago when I had a couple bouts of double vision. My psychiatrist lowered my dose slightly and that stopped. Tegretol XR has been weight neutral, or even friendly, all of the years I've been on it. It does not impair me cognitively. The only minor side effect it might give me is some clumsiness, but very minor. It has possible other side effects, but I've never had them. I've read it has a rare SJS risk, but lower than Lamictal's.

Tegretol can cause several drug interactions. A few are significant, many others not so much as long as your psychiatrist prescribes your medications appropriately. One significant interaction is with hormonal birth control. Tegretol can lower its effectiveness. That could be a big deal if you're a female. Condoms or copper IUDs are good options. Or talk to your gynecologist, if you're female and could get pregnant, for other options. Always tell all of your doctors about all of your medications.

My Tegretol XR interacts with my Seroquel XR and Lamictal, but that doesn't prevent my psychiatrist from prescribing them together. In these particular cases, the interactions just affect the effectiveness (up or down) so my doses need to be taken into consideration. Also, it's one of the meds where you shouldn't really drink or eat grapefruit.

[jerryjack]

bewise, I've been taking Tegretol/carbamazepine for years. Since 2001 I think.
I take it for bp, epilepsy and trigeminal neuralgia.

It's always been a good med for me. I take 700mg/day.

I do have to have labs regularly, not only to check Teg levels but also liver function/enzymes. Tegretol can be hard on the liver but I've never had any problems so far. I have labs every three months.

I honestly don't remember any side effects in the beginning, but when we tried to increase it to 800mg last year it was a no go, felt sick. Once we dropped back to 700mg I was fine.

After jerryjack's post, I should mention that I do get comprehensive blood testing done twice per year, though they don't really test my carbamazepine level anymore. Honestly, I think everyone on bipolar meds should have a thorough physical and blood work done a minimum of once per year or more, depending on the medications and some other factors.