TEGRETOL-XR Reviews (CARBAMAZEPINE)Average Rating: 3.4 (51 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare TEGRETOL-XR with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Age oldest to youngest. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
More on TEGRETOL-XR: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR TEGRETOL-XR | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 3 | Epilepsy | Early morning joint stiffness is a definite side effect..it does wear off after 30 minutes or so.Walking down the stairs in the morning after getting up is very slow and precarious. I changed to Lamictal because of increase in appetite and resultant weight gain on Tegretol.Whilst on Lamictal I had no stiffness whatsoever-it was a surprise..totally unexpected bonus.Unfortunately it kept me awake and after a year on it I had v.bad seizures and went back on to Tegretol Retard.The stiffness returned and I noticed an immediate slowness in my thinking.I am 67 and and it is now 17 years since I went back on to it .. total no.of years taking Tegretol is 37 less 1 year when I changed to Lamictal. I have injury-induced aches and pains in addition to the Tegretol side effects.One morning I felt less stiff and realised I had forgotten to take a tablet the night before.As an anticonvulsant it works so I am afraid to try anything else.Another bad side effect is increase in cholesterol..mine was 10 plus!!Am now on statins..at least for now. | F | 67 | 10 years 600 mg | 10/15/2014 | 5 | Seizure disorder | I don't take Tegretol but rather Carbatrol ER capsules | F | 65 | 26 days | 10/5/2007 | 4 | Epilepsy | weight gain, tired, skin changes and brown marks, hair loss, osteoporosis | F | 65 | 21 years | 10/10/2009 | 2 | Seizures | Cognitive fatigue, pulsatile tinnitus, insomnia, agitation, low sodium and chloride levels, rapid eye movement, spacy. | 57 | 6 years 800 | 8/23/2019 | 3 | trigeminal neuralgia | Mostly effective in controlling severe and disabling TN, especially when switching to XR. But over time, the side effect for confused thinking and balance took hold. It had a severe and insidious impact on my life. | Looking back, I wish my MD had been more attentive to the side effects and considered alternatives to Tegretol. When I presented in 2012 with severe TN (levels 7-10 pain, couldn't talk, no solid food), I got immediate relief. My current MD says that my 1200 MG dosage is like constantly having two beers and knocks 5 pts off your IQ. It has a subtle influence on your judgment. While this was all happening I met a fantastic woman and became engaged. To merge our families with three kids meant I had to be sensitive to her needs, sell my house and buy a new house for us, while also holding a demanding job and going to school part time. I was very good with the fun tasks. But if it was complex, things got foggy. Contact a realtor, get a loan, fix my credit, create a list of things to fix in order to sell the house, create a list to invite to the wedding. I would step back and look at myself, "You're not doing this. How odd." I see now Tegretol made me into slug. And my fiancé saw this, didn't see the connection to Tegretol, and began to wonder about me. My MD knew the basics of our situation, had met my fiancé. If he had been more compassionate he might have seen what was happening and counseled me on what to expect. Ultimately my finance saw what I was doing, became angry and defensive, interpreted my actions as meaning that I really didn't want her and the marriage, and cancelled the wedding five weeks out. I was angry and confused, | M | 55 | 4 years 800-1200MG 3X day | 8/3/2016 | 1 | Seizures | Just about every side effect listed on your page, incompetence, mood disorders, instability, feeling like a drunk, could not remember what I had done that morning, started to contemplate suicide as I was not able to cope in my job and perform as a provider for my family. | Now on Epilim and I am back to the old me. Please if you are anything like I was go and persuade your neurologist to try something else. | M | 55 | 400 days 500 2X day | 7/30/2014 | 4 | seizure disorder | drowsiness, clumsiness, flat affect | superior to Dilantin | F | 54 | 8 months | 6/26/2002 | 4 | Trigeminal neuralgia | Weight gain, memory loss (technical words, names), depression | While Tegretol has been right for my pain, I would like to pursue a different treatment to avoid the side effects. Acupuncture has been mentioned as a possibility. | M | 52 | 6 months 400 2X day | 1/12/2013 | 4 | seizures | General fatigue, ability to fall asleep anywhere, anytime. Loss of sex drive. Weight gain. Serious brain fog. | It controls my complex partial seizures, which is good. I haven't had a seizure in more than three years, and I'm now starting to taper the dose downwards VERY slowly (going down by about 100 mg/day this year, maybe another 100 mg/day next year.) On the not-so-good side, Tegretol completely erased my sex drive. It also kind of blunts my emotional responses to events, so that I retain a kind of detachment (which makes sense when you remember that it's also prescribed as a mood stabiliser). I would go off it if I could. | F | 51 | 4 years 250 mg 2X day | 7/8/2010 | 1 | Epilepsy | Anxiety, reduced cognition, extreme agitation, lowered white blood count, and more. | The med was a secondary med and could not handle partials or complex partials, much less tonic clonic seizures. That was in my case. It might work for others and could be worth a try. | M | 50 | 200 days 2X day | 12/12/2016 | 5 | siezures | M | 49 | 10 years 400MG 2X day | 8/24/2010 | 5 | trigeminal neuralgia | slight drowsiness | Tegretol has been a miracle drug for me. After 8 years of being misdiagnosed with atypical facial pain, tmj, dental problems, even cervical facet joint syndrome, a family practitioner diagnosed trigeminal neuralgia and put me on tegretol. For 8 years I took Oxycontin, Vicoden, Darvocet, all kinds of muscle relaxers and antidepressants, etc. and nothing helped. I tried acupuncture, hypnosis, chiropractic, homeopathic medicine, biofeedback, and had counseling with a pain psychologist. Several days a week I experienced nausea and vomiting from the excruciating pain. I prayed for God to let me die. After the third day of taking Tegretol XR, the pain was reduced to an annoying cramp, and since then I have experienced almost complete relief. It has been a Godsend. | F | 48 | 10 days | 9/15/2004 | 3 | Epilepsy simple partial seizures | Tiredness after each increase in dose.Also slower in thinking. I find most days having to sleep during the day.Some days feel absolutely exhausted. | Currently taking 1000mg per day.Not had another seizure since last increase beginning of July.Considering changing to Keppra because of fatigue | F | 46 | 7 months | 7/25/2008 | 2 | mania | standing balance problems, wrists became so stiff and painful I could not do pushups any more. | blood tests are bothersome, getting off can cause siezures, after I got off my wrist pain went away. Do not overtake this medication, I know two people who did and their judgement of distances made it impossible to walk until the tegretol cleared. Drugs that slow liver cytochromes, like some antibiotics, can cause an overdose without any change to you normal dosage. | M | 46 | 2 years | 9/12/2005 | 1 | seizures | Side effects were very minimal. Mouth dryness. Mood was exceptional. Very happy all the time. Also slept really well and didn't even wake up tired. I had been on Keppra for 2 1/2 years and never slept and was tired all the time. I thought this was going well. Then I developed flu-like symptoms after about two weeks at full dose. I started out at 100mg. I had horrible head pain, neck pain, chills and body aches like I had been thrown down the stairs. I had a blood test and told to stop the tegretol immediately. | After I stopped the medication, I thought the symptoms would stop, but they did not. They got worse. I had toxic liver something. This has been going for a week and the doctors say it might be another week. I never would have taken this medication if I had known this might happen. | F | 45 | 1 months 200mg 2X day | 12/3/2010 | 5 | seizure control | none | F | 44 | 20 years | 4/4/2004 | 5 | nocturnal seizure disorder | Actually, none. | It's awesome. I am able to only use 250 mg a day (two big, one little), which is, I think, possibly beneath the lowest typical dosage. The timed-release is just grand. BTW, I was prescribed this because I am a woman of childbearing age and my two top-notch female neurologists told me that this was the best for childbearing. I had a child with it and had no problems either. Good job. | F | 44 | 19 years | 7/29/2005 | 5 | nocturnal seizure disorder | none | oops. sorry. I posted earlier and said I was taking 250 mg a day. I'm not. I'm taking 500 mg a day. 200 mg in the mornings and 300 at night. I was taking 600 but pushed my doc to lower it since I prefer to take less in the daytime. I heartily disliked dilantin. Ick. | F | 44 | 19 years | 7/29/2005 | 4 | epilepsy | Short term memory problems, have to concentrate to remember something detailed like an address for example | I take 200mg twice daily. Epilepsy caused me to have to re-train from a Chemical Engineer to Information Technology. Don't know if related to tegretol, but I have to frequently urinate, and feel fatigued. However, when I exercise it helps. I play squash three times a week to a good standard and have a no problems with the stress of my job. The quality of my life exceeds incomparably that without tegretol. I have driven for 14 years. | M | 44 | 16 years | 1/3/2007 | 3 | Seizures | Severe short-term memory loss, occasional blurred/double vision, speech difficulties. | I've been prescribed others, Depakote, Neurontin, Gabatril, Topamax, Keppra. Still on Keppra, speech problems worsened once Keppra was added. | M | 43 | 32 years | 11/20/2009 |
TEGRETOL-XR (CARBAMAZEPINE): Carbamazepine is used to prevent and control seizures. This medication is known as an anticonvulsant or anti-epileptic drug. It is also used to relieve certain types of nerve pain (such as trigeminal neuralgia). This medication works by reducing the spread of seizure activity in the brain and restoring the normal balance of nerve activity. Some forms of this medication are also used to treat bipolar disorder. Carbamazepine can help to decrease extreme changes in mood and help you feel less agitated. FDA Approval Date: 1996-03-25 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)