Experience with Tegretol XR (VS Tegretol) for mood

[morkys]

Experience with Tegretol XR (vs Tegretol) for mood

I don't know where else to ask this. I am taking Carbamazepine in the form of tegretol. I take 200 mg twice a day. It has worked for controlling seizures. I also coincidentally suffer from depression sometimes due to stress. I don't believe I suffer from general depression because it's life situations that affect me. Anyhow, I notice that Tegretol seems to give me a couple of mood peaks and dips during the day. I wonder if there is any reason I couldn't try Tegretol XR to even out the affect it has on my mood. I admit sometimes I don't take my tegretol regularly enough, or at the exact same time every day. I will try and take it as close to the exact same time every day from here on out, and I will talk to my doctor. I am asking here checking for people's experience with tegretol XR. I also am not sure if this is the right place to ask. I skimmed over the different forum categories in here and I am not sure this was the best place to ask. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[Cint]

Some of the AEDs are also used as mood stabilizers and Tegretol is one of them. But stress is also a big factor in bringing on depression, so one needs to speak with their neuro before taking these powerful meds for depression. Usually, these meds are used for bi-polar and major depression:

many anti-seizure medications must reach an optimal level in the system to be effective, though how quickly they reach that level varies. Valproic acid is believed to be able to do this faster than lithium. For many of these drugs, ensuring they reach and stay at safe and effective levels can require regular blood tests.


WHO CAN TAKE IT

These drugs are commonly prescribed for people who have bipolar disorder, but there are conditions your physician should be aware of before you start using this class of drugs.

Common ones include, heart, kidney or liver disease; pregnancy or plans to become pregnant; breast-feeding mothers; cirrhosis of the liver, suicidal behavior or thoughts; and heart disease or irregularities.

Be sure to tell your doctor about any conditions you have to lessen chances of complications with your treatment.

AVAILABILITY

These drugs are widely available and usually come in the form of capsules or tablets. There are liquid formulations and even some that come in granules that can be sprinkled into food.

These drugs can be found under these brand names:

• valproic acid: Depacon, Depakene, and Stavzor.
• divalproex sodium (a variation of valproic acid): Depakote, Depakote ER, and Depakote Sprinkles.
* • carbamazepine: Tegretol XR, Tegretol, Equetro, Epitol and Carbatrol.
• lamotrigine: Lamictal , Lamictal Orange, Lamictal Blue and Lamictal Green.
• topiramate: Topamax Sprinkle and Topamax
• gabapentin: Neurontin and Gabarone .

 

[lindsayschu2]

I was on Tegretol XR for over 20 years--I wasn't great about taking it consistently throughout that whole time but was on it for a long time. I never noticed any mood impacts from the drug myself, even when skipping doses. Not to say it isn't giving you mood swings--if it is, then I would think XR would help maintain a more consistent level of the drug in your blood throughout the day, even if you don't take it exactly on schedule. Maybe it will help.

 

[jh2]

i switched from tegretol to tegretol XR years ago and it has benefited me in the long term as a result of controlling seizures and stabilising moods. however life experiemces and stresses can still cause breakthrough seizures. one factor with tegretol XR is knowing your triggers and taking them regularly or otherwise they will not be as effective as the normal tablets.

 

[Belinda5000]

Not everyone that takes Tegretol can also take Carbazepine.I take 200MGtablets.I take 900mgTegretol a day.Carbamazepine increases my seizures. I can only take the original Tegretol and nothing else in the Tegretol family I'm med resistant to everything else in that class.
Tegretol I can't come off of with out seizing like crazy.I'm refractory and the only drugs that help me are Tegretol,Topamax,Phenobarb.

 

[Ethelbert]

my spouse took Tegretol for a couple of years for his grand mal seizures. He ended up having petit mal seizures a few times before he had another grand mal that really hammered him. He lost almost all his short term memory capability. He takes lamotrigine now and has been totally seizure free for 15 years. And he also takes primidone too. I hope this information is helpful.