tegretol xr and your side effects!

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Hand of Blood

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Post here what side effects you are getting with tegretol xr whoever is on them

would be nice for some input because im trying to see on the net side effects people have and most people seem to be fine.... but i feel sooooooo bad on them.... been on them 6 years now and they have always made me feel terrible

used to be on 800mg a day which helped for most of the time.... i felt side effects about 4 or 5 times a week
I just had a baby 6 months ago and started having seziures again only 2 tho i was put up another 200mg with the first sezuire and im not feeling bad everyday, all day!! my nerologist is now trying to get me to take keppra! and instead of just a small dose hes weaning me onto 1000mg!! which i still havent took i dont think i could take feeling any worse than i am

it be nice if anyone could tell me their symptoms with tegretol

mine are
out of body feeling
confusion
dizzy
twitching
deprssion
mood swings
a feeling as tho im going to have a fit but i dont
blurry visson when trying to read

this is everyday.... its so unbarable
anyone think i should try to change my tab all together i would be sccared of doin so

thank you. :comp:
 
Hi Hand of Blood --

Here's a handy site where folks give all the details of their experiences with Tegretol:

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=16608&name=TEGRETOL

It sounds as if one of your seizure triggers might be hormonal (high levels of estrogen or low levels of progesterone), since they recurred after your pregnancy. You might want to ask your neurologist if he'd familiar with catamenial epilepsy and hormonal treatments.

Do you have seizure control right now? If so, let your neuro know that the side effects of the Tegretol are driving you crazy, and ask about backing off the Tegretol XR dose slightly to see if you can maintain control while lessening the side effects. Is he recommending adding the Keppra, or using it to replace the Tegretol XR? If at all possible, it's much better to be on one med rather than two, and you should make sure your neuro considers this option.

Either way, feel free to push for a dosage that minimizes your side effects. Ask your neuro if it's at all possible that you can achieve seizure control at a lower dose, and if you can taper up slowly to explore this possibility (When I was tapering onto Lamictal, my neuro wanted me on 300mg of Lamictal, but I opted to stay at 250mg, and have since tapered down to 175mg, with no seizure-control problems.) Don't be afraid to express your concerns to your neurologist. Make sure he's listening! If he isn't, consider finding another doc.

Keppra is known for causing mood-related side effects, so it might not be the best option given the way the Tegretol is affecting you. One of Keppra's advantages is that you can taper onto it relatively quickly; if that's not an issue, then another med like Lamictal might be a better choice.
 
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Awe, I miss my tegretol already. It actually cured my seizures, and didn't give me any noticible side effects. Sadly my liver shut down after 3 weeks, so I had to be pulled off it though. I still blame the depakote that I was ramping down, but either way, no more tegretol for me :(

Anyways, I guess toss me down for liver failure...
 
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