Drug Ratings for TRILEPTALAverage Rating: 3.2 (285 Ratings)
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Results are sorted by Satisfaction from highest to lowest Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 |
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR TRILEPTAL | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
  | F M | | | | |||
| 2 | migraines | stomach upset | F | 29 | 90 days | 11/23/2004 | 1 | BiPolar | It began on the second dose with a stiff neck on my right side. Over the next seven weeks the muscle stiffness, pain and muscle exhaustion intensified. I felt almost as if I was living in a dream. Itchy skin, Hives rash on back, red spots all over, walking became difficult due to joint pain. Confusion and memory loss. Dry cough and shaky hands. VERY PAINFULL headaches, stiff painfull joints and muscle fatigue. ER Dr. said it was coincidental to my meds and discharged me with a sore throat (which I did NOT have) I was treated COMPLETELY different when he asked WHY I was taking Trileptal and I told him BiPolar. | F | 35 | 2 months 300 MG 1X D | 2/25/2013 | 1 | seizures | bad insomnia, memory loss, frozen thoughts, 'smashed' feeling | The wacko neurologist who prescribed this med for me is the *same* md who wrongfully prescribed Seroquel for me for atypical trigeminal neuralgia, which I developed after having sinus surgery. Had I never had my right turbinate burned with a CO2 laser I would have never had the seizures which tore my rotator cuffs up on my shoulders and on one time in May of 2009 I went unconscious while driving and crashed into a tree. The damage to my trigeminal nerve from the CO2 laser burns were how (at least phsically ) the seizure started. Don't EVER have it. | M | 54 | 3 years 300-600mg 2X D | 9/4/2012 | 1 | BiPolar II | Headache, blurred vision, SEVERELY WORSENED DEPRESSION, paranoia, fear. This is the worst drug I have ever taken. | M | 61 | 5 days 150 1X D | 8/23/2012 | 1 | Bipolar | My son was on 600 mg in the evening and 150 in the morning when the Dr increased it to 600 in the morning and 600 at night he became very aggressive felt like he was going crazy and extremely hyper | M | 15 | 4 months 600 2X D | 1/15/2012 | 1 | bipolar 1 | Awful side effects hallucinations, lethargy, confusion, slurred speech | M | 45 | 2 weeks 300mg | 12/16/2011 | 1 | Bipolar II | Drowsiness, tiredness, depression, severe lack of motivation, lethargy | I did not like this medication at all. I hade been taking Lamictal before this, however I had to stop due to the severe side effects I experienced (unfortunate! Lamictal worked so well). While I was not completely stable when I first went on Trileptal, my instability became increasingly worse over the month that I was on this medicine. By the end of the month I was so depressed and lethargic I could barely make it to school. On the other hand, Trileptal did not cause any other side effects besides the severe drowsiness. I am also on 2mg Abilify, 100mg Wellbutrin, and 30mg Adderall XR. I was also taking 25mg Lamictal while I was on the Trileptal, however I've since had to stop taking the Lamictal, again, due to side effects. | F | 18 | 25 days 150 mg 1X D | 12/5/2011 | 1 | Tonic-Clonic Seizures | Twitching right eye, trouble focusing, memory loss, loss of appetite, tingling sensation in face, stability problems, vertigo, trouble remembering what I was doing 2 seconds ago, lack of social interest and sex drive, trouble sleeping, anxiety and/or impatience, nervousness, trouble accomplishing any task, new-found ability to move one eye indepently of the other, occassional "zoning" out for the first 6 or so hours after taking a dose, when I'm zoning out one eye tends to cross while the other stays normal | Generic Oxcarbazepine is the only anti-epileptic medicine I've taken except for dilantin (which was a temporary fix from ER doctor). So, I don't have a lot of experience in the matter. Also, I don't really remember but I think the side effects got MUCH worse when my dosage was raised from 450mg to 600mg | M | 30 | 7 months 600mg 2X D | 11/6/2011 | 1 | Bipolar II | Loss of libido, terrible upset stomach, nausea, diarrhea, start of an ulcer, ringing in my ears interfered with audio, numerous vision problems including feeling cross eyed, blurry vision and seeing spots in front of my eyes, deep pitted acne. Worst side effect: I became so suicidal I went shopping for a gun. | I got worse rather than better on Trileptal. I would not recommend it to anyone. I was in a car accident while on Triptal. I wrecked my car and totaled it. I was too loopy on Trileptal to be driving. I was taking 200 mg 3x a day when I wrecked my car. Previously, I have been hospitalized for suicidal ideation, but that experience was not as bad as being on Trileptal. Trileptal made me obsess over how to kill myself and not get caught or stopped. I became suicidal very, very quickly on this drug. If you want to kill someone secretly give them this med in their juice or smoothie and before you know it....they will attempt to kill themselves. | F | 47 | 5 months 200-600mg 1X D | 7/8/2011 | 1 | Bipolar II | Loss of libido, terrible upset stomach, nausea, diarrhea, start of an ulcer, ringing in my ears interfered with audio, numerous vision problems including feeling cross eyed, blurry vision and seeing spots in front of my eyes, deep pitted acne. Worst side effect: I became so suicidal I went shopping for a gun. | I got worse rather than better on Trileptal. I would not recommend it to anyone. I was in a car accident while on Triptal. I wrecked my car and totaled it. I was too loopy on Trileptal to be driving. I was taking 200 mg 3x a day when I wrecked my car. Previously, I have been hospitalized for suicidal ideation, but that experience was not as bad as being on Trileptal. Trileptal made me obsess over how to kill myself and not get caught or stopped. I became suicidal very, very quickly on this drug. If you want to kill someone secretly give them this med in their juice or smoothie and before you know it....they will attempt to kill themselves. | F | 47 | 5 months 200-600mg 1X D | 7/7/2011 | 1 | Bipolar I | Thought it was withdrawal from Effexor. Nausea, Blurred vision, sexual impotence, heightened anxiety, exhaustion. These side effects are still present 4 months later. Now I know it's the trileptal. | Almost went to Pysch Hospital about 5 times now due to extreme anxiety. Never had this anxiety on anything else. Quit taking it today. Started smoking again after quitting for 9 months. My doctor told me to keep taking it but I am going to stay on Wellbutrin and Ripserdone only. I'm using some amino acids-just basics like shakes. Can't wait to feel better soon. | 40 | 4 months 600mg 2X D | 7/4/2011 | 1 | partial Complex epilepsy | blurred/double vision, weakness, fatigue, startled, sleepy, cramps, tingling in mouth/ numb lips, dry eyes | Great to control my seizures at first but will be switching off next week. | F | 22 | 6 months 375mg 2X D | 5/9/2011 | 1 | Bi-Polar | I have all of a sudden developed serious nausea with unbelievable headaches | F | 46 | 2 days 40mg 1X D | 5/7/2011 | 1 | Bipolar I | nausea, dizziness, light-headed, my skin itched but there was no visible rash; body aches starting on the 4th day, throbbing headaches, sleeplessness | The side effects came on slowly and compounded until it got to be too much to handle. By the 6th day I was lying in bed with a bucket wishing to vomit so that maybe I would feel better. I felt so terrible that I took a pregnancy test. It was negative, but I have NEVER been that nauseated, not even when pregnant. Everything felt like it was spinning. I was dizzy even with my eyes closed. I will never swallow one of these pills again. | F | 32 | 6 days 300mg 2X D | 3/12/2011 | 1 | Bipolar 2 | constant headache, constant and woresening dizziness, cross-eyed, vertigo, etc. etc. etc. etc. | This is BY FAR the WORST MEDICATION I have ever been on for bipolar and I have gone through most of them. It should be BANNED by the FDA. DO NOT TAKE THIS!!! I think I am permanetly brain damaged thanks to this drug... | F | 54 | 3 weeks 600 1X D | 3/8/2011 | 1 | severe depression | horrible drug. side effects immediately were dry mouth, fatigue, twitching of my eye, lips, tongue, arms and legs. The tip of my tongue and my lips were constantly tingling to the point they got numb. the last night I took it, it gave me an asthma attack, then after tending to that I felt like I was having a heart attack. it felt like my blood was hurting as it ran thru my veins. Then I threw up for 6 hours straight. the next day I couldn't move at all my muscles hurt so much. horrible drug don't take it. there are better options out there. that episode was scary as I've had a heart attack before and it was very similar feeling. | my quack doctor started me off on this drug at 1800mgs. you are supposed to start at 150-300mg tops. he also started me at double the dose of wellbutrin after he took one day to wean me off Lexapro. not sure if this added to the episode I had from Trileptal. | F | 28 | 5 days 1800mg 1X D | 12/30/2010 | 1 | complex partial seizures/ epilepsy | Stumbling, dizziness, somnolence, double vision, blurred vision, very foggy to brain dead, could not be left alone, markedly impaired decision making, irritable, inability to process what others were saying, blanking out. | My partner is normally a high-functioning oncology nurse and has been out of work now for over six months due to increasing frequency of seizures. I think it's too early to determine if the med helps with her seizures but unless it stops them completely, we are not going to be able to tolerate this drug. It has made her a blubbering idiot and she is simply not the same person I have known and loved for the past 8 years. She is not safe to be left at home alone due to the disabling side effects. Doctors say to keep taking it and have even increased the dosage, telling us the side effects would diminish over time. I know there are many more options but the Docs seem resistant to change. | F | 38 | 2 weeks 600 2X D | 3/22/2010 | 1 | Anxiety, Bipolar II | This drug has been a horror for my wife. She has had her face swell up, trouble breathing, trouble walking, and trouble with her memory. We were advised to reduce her medication by 150mg every three days, but once we reached below 300mg, she started to have tremors. We increased the doses until they stopped, but now she's waking up in the middle of the night with convulsions. I've had to up the dose back to 600mg so she doesn't suffer any permanent damage, and we will talk to her doctor this morning. ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE HOPE THE TREMORS AND CONVULSIONS ARE NOT PERMANENT. | Think twice before taking this, my wife's convulsions and tremors are really frightening. She's taking this for Bipolar Disorder not for epilepsy. We hope to god these effects aren't lasting or permanent. No one seems to have an answer as to whether they are or not. I've even called Novartis, but they weren't much help. | M | 40 | 4 months 300 3X D | 2/6/2010 | 1 | facial pain | irritability, anxiousness | Has not helped one bit. | F | 55 | 5 weeks | 1/6/2010 | 1 | Possible bipolar | This drug was a living nightmare for me. Just a few days into it at 150 mg, I sank into a state of constant agony, despair, being unable to eat (did not eat for 7 days), just lying on the couch moaning, crying, calling my Mom, and wanting to kill myself. I started smoking a pack a day just so I could feel like I was breathing. I slept off and on during the day and woke up weeping in terror at night. I was deteriorating so fast I thought I would have to enter a hospital. The doc thought it was just my depression and upped the dose to 200mg. Then I started being unable to speak, find words, or talk on the phone. I was asking my Mom to move here to live with me and take care of me because I thought I was going to lose my house and car by not being able to work. That's when I decided to stop the Trileptal. Within 24 hours I was functioning again. I woke up, took a shower, made food, and felt like myself. I called the friends who were taking care of me and told them I was better. We cannot | F | 33 | 28 days | 12/29/2009 | 1 | Severe depression | Slight loss of feeling in hands, felt like my hands were huge when there was no change at all... it was like I lost track of the boundaries of my hands. My vision became worse and somewhat doubled at distances up to 20 feet. My emotions were limited to a zombie-like state of despair. I couldn't laugh, couldn't feel joy... The worst was that I couldn't sleep. I would wake up three hours after falling asleep, usually at 1:30AM every night. | This is by far the worst medication I have ever taken. This actually caused me to become more depressed, and the time that I have taken it has left some emotional scarring. I still get chills at the thought of what life was like during the few weeks I took this medication. I was put on this medicine to stabilize my mood spectrum, but instead it seemed to get me stuck in a zombie-like state, barely alive. It was torture not being able to feel. The feeling of your hands being bigger than they are scared me to death, it was weird and almost supernatural. Don't take this drug for depression, it's not worth the trouble... | F | 19 | 3 weeks | 12/4/2009 | 1 | bipolar 2 | Suicidal depression. I cried all day every day for days at a time. Hell on earth, and that's no joke. | My doctor didn't believe me when I told him the drug was making me worse...far worse off than I had ever been before. If you think this drug is making you worse, insist that your doctor take you off of it immediately. I'm thankful I survived without needing to be hospitalized. | F | 32 | 3 months | 11/19/2009 | 1 | Chronic daily migraines | Extreme nausea and vomiting, bad dreams, worsening of headaches, depression. | This was the worst drug I have ever taken. I was in the ER 3 times in one week due to excessive vomiting and horrible migraines. I started to have vivid nightmares, when I was actually able to sleep. I am a grad student and I couldn't function for the entire time I took it. | F | 29 | 2 weeks | 11/3/2009 | 1 | Bipolar Manic Insomnia | Vomited for the two days I was on it. | Would not recommend this drug to anyone. If they are lucky enough not to get the severe nausea, that's a different story. | F | 55 | 2 days | 10/30/2009 | 1 | Bi-Polar II | Extreme dizziness, extreme confusion, swelling and pain in feet, rapid heart-beat, tiredness, irritability | I was so dizzy that I fell in the bathroom, and would have to hold on to sides of shower so that I wouldn't fall again. Very confused while driving, so had to limit driving. Slept 10-12 hours a day. This medication can be VERY dangerous. Brain swelling, stroke, even death. My dr disregarded my symptoms and insisted that I keep taking it until I was "adjusted". Almost ended up going to ER from the side-effects. | F | 54 | 3 weeks | 10/22/2009 | 1 | Bipolar I | Itching, hives, swelling of the throat | WARNING - Trileptal, Lamictal, and Tegretol are all in the same category of anti-seizure medications. If you get a rash while taking one, you are very likely to get it on the other two as well. Trileptal caused my throat to swell and close. I almost died! Do not "tolerate" the itching as other people have said on here unless you are under a doctor's supervision. | F | 28 | 20 days | 7/31/2009 | 1 | epilepsy | severy itching after the first time perscribed. 4 days latter taken off and given some steroids to help get over the hives and itch | Dr. asked me to try the trileptal again, I did day before yesterday at 9am by Noon I was itching in several places, and by 3pm the hives started showing. The next morning most of the itch and hives were gone, Guess I can'n/won't take that drug again. | M | 66 | 4 days | 3/2/2009 | 1 | Bipolar II - Mixed State | I was put on this drug while staying in Horsham Clinic for severe depression and suicidal thoughts. I cannot say whether it did anything for my mood. I can report that I got the severe drug rash. Though less than 4% of patiences reportedly get it, it's a horrible experience that lasts for seven to ten days. To make matters worse, the doctors in the ER initially attributed the rash to my testing postitive for Mono and they did not take me off the Trileptal. They treated me with steriods to control the rash and as soon as I came off the steriods, the rash came back which is when they determined that it was, in fact, the trileptal. | About two months later, I saw an allergist who confirmed that I am allergic to this drug and to Lamictial. If you are sensitive to medication and you have a history of other allergies (I also have seasonal allergies and am allergic to wheat), I highly recommend you go for an allergy test before taking this medication. Even if you are allergic, they might be able to put you on the medication by doing an 'oral trial' where they send you to a compounding pharmacy to have the medication diluted and simply have you build it up in your system very slowly. Just be careful. These two drug rashes were among the most painful experiences of my life. | F | 33 | 12 days | 2/20/2009 | 1 | Epilepsy | Exhaustion, Visual Disturbences, Memory Loss, Zombie-ness, Loss of Concentration | This was a nightmare of a drug. DO NOT TAKE IT! It robbed me of about 6 months of my life (there is so much I can't remember). Didn't control seizures at all - I have night time ones. I heard it is usually given to guys (not girls) and people with more severe epilepsy - have no idea why they put me on it! Changed to Lamictal - not as bad but caused loss of libido. Now changing over to Keppra to try to fix that. | F | 25 | 6 months | 10/14/2008 | 1 | seizures | became very weak and depressed on this drug.loss of appetite,abd pain and muscle cramping.did not control seizures and had auras during day. | had been on tegretol 200mg/day and neurontin 600mg/day for 18 years.neurologist changed to trileptal because he thouht fewer side effects. i'm back on tegretol but depression continues and have been put on prozac.all because of a medicine change! | F | 56 | 4 months | 7/11/2008 | 1 | bipolar II disorder | HIVES and PETECHAIE (red, pinpoint dots all over) 48 hrs after starting very low dose. I've stopped it and am on a wk of prednisone. This is the 3rd time I've tried this med during the past 8 yrs. Good ex of how you can become sensitived to a drug once, stop it, and have an allergic reaction on a 2nd or 3rd trial much later. | F | 58 | 2 days | 3/4/2008 | 1 | Bipolar II (depressed episode) | Just started taking it, still on very low dose due to my sensitivity to any meds side-effects. Tired, dizzy, stomach pain - which can be severe at times, nausea, just feeling out of it, dry mouth, loss of appetite but then a feeling that I just want to eat uncontrollably, no weight gain yet. But I am feeling more irritable, which is not good! | I am only on 150mg, and yesterday should have upped the dose to twice a day at 150mg, but am afraid due to the side-effects. I could not tolerate depakote or lamictal at all. I would like to go back on topomax, but my doctor probably won't let me and also I will feel dumb again! I am just scared of the weight gain that many people on here are describing. Once I am stablized my doc wants to put me back on Wellbutrin, which in the past only makes me manic when on monotherapy...so we will have to wait and see! | F | 30 | 4 days | 12/5/2007 | 1 | complex partial seizures | Extreme Fatigue, weight gain, irritability, flatness, puffy face, clumsiness, I couldn't find right word (very frustrating), expressing ideas took a lot of mental effort, difficulty concentrating, and low blood sodium. | Trileptal controlled my seizures but the side effects almost cost me my marriage. My husband said that I wasn't fun anymore. I didn't have an interest in anything. All I wanted to do was sleep and eat. Now I am taking lamictal and am feeling much better. The only side effects that I have with lamictal are dry mouth (thirst), and eye twitching. I've been taking it for 3 months. I actually feel like I have my life back somewhat. | F | 35 | 3 days | 9/25/2007 | 1 | bipolar disorder, PTSD | My brain would feel high upon taking it each dose. It would level out by the end of the day. Severe weight gain! | I was on Trileptal 600mg at night and 600mg in the AM. If I missed a dose no doubt Id hate life and not want to live in it. Id been taking for over a year now and am weaning off of it to try something else. This makes me really fat as I exercise 5 days a week and eat primarily organic whole foods! What gives? I did begin to feel ok emotionally regarding the mania. But if the dose was missed even once the world was gonna end. Just not for me. | F | 34 | 1.5 years | 3/11/2007 | 1 | seizures | I experienced depression that made me feel like I was trapped in a box where my feelings were trapped. | I stopped taking it, and switched to another medicine. | F | 13 | 7 months | 11/4/2006 | 1 | one seizure | dazed, dumb as a post, can't concentrate, depression. | I've been on this drug for 1.5 years for a single unexplained seizure incident. I just moved and have a new neurologist, and when I go for my first visit I am informing him that I am finished with trileptal as soon as I receive a step-down dosing schedule. For those with an actual seizure disorder it may be your best alternative. If you only had a single seizure with no prior history, do NOT let them put you on this drug. I have had two traffic tickets in less than a year due to the trileptal blanking my mind. My record was clean until then. Used to drive for a living; good luck finding a job now. | M | 35 | 1.5 years | 10/29/2006 | 1 | seizures | I am having some high blood pressure, low blood sugar, passing out, headaches, depression, dizziness, shakiness. | I am not happy at all with it. I was on Topomax it gave me seizures and they switched me to trileptal which is giving me every kind of side effect!!!!!!!!! | F | 30 | 110 days | 10/25/2006 | 1 | Bipolar Disorder | I'm the same 32 year old who gave the drug a "2" before. I'm submitting another comment because the inability to talk that I described before now returns periodically although I only took trileptal for 2 weeks and have been off of it for several months. THIS DRUG WAS POISON FOR ME. PERMANENT SIDE EFFECTS. | F | 32 | 2 weeks | 7/29/2006 | 1 | bipolar | well, it worked to control my mood. unfortunately, the method of it was by turning me into an unintelligent robot. i wasn't aware of much i was doing when i was on it. and i was tired. | yet another novartis failure. i took tegretol in my teens with some success, but still experienced fatigue, though it was nowhere near as bad as trileptal. i've since moved to lamictal and have been amazed by it. it works extremely well and lacks the fatigue effect. (though lamictal does impair some cognitive functions, but not so bad as to make the drug undesirable.) | M | 26 | 2 months | 4/24/2006 | 1 | Mood Swings/Depression | Headaches that were unbearable. Increased sleepiness during daytime, but insomnia at night. Felt anti-social and unwanted. Gained 10 lbs in 2 months. Felt extremly lazy. Decreased effort in sports and school. | I do not recomend this medication because ti worsened my condition, but then again, my psychiatrist was a bitch. Make sure to get a psychiatrist who really wants to help you, becuae mine didnt care and thats why i ended up on so many medinceines and gained 30 lbs in a year. | F | 16 | | 1/14/2006 | 1 | Grand Mal Seizures | I needed a babysitter after taking this medicine. I was dizzy, had low concentration, couldn't drive, cloudy brain, muscle weakness. Took about a week to adapt. That week seemed like eternity because I didn't know how I was going to watch my two kids and get through the week or so. Hair loss now. | Don't know if works for seizures yet. Too soon to tell. Make sure you don't drive on this medicine until you know how it affects you. It was like I was a drunk person and I wasn't happy. I am starting to get used to this medicine now, but still don't feel good. Feel like I am in a brain dead state. | F | 35 | 2 weeks | 11/10/2005 | 1 | Epilepsy | Skin Rash Tremors Simple Partial Siezures Drop Attacks Tiredness | My Son Began taking Trileptal after doing very poorly on Depakote and Dilantin. It did get rid of the grand-mal seizures, but then he started having drop attacks when he would just drop to the ground and hit his face. He also has partial seizures at least 10 a day. We are now following our Neurologists' advice, and getting him off of this drug! He said that sometimes this drug will cause the seizures to evolve into a different type. Good Bye Trileptal! | M | 5 | 6 weeks | 7/18/2005 | 1 | bipolar | unable to sleep, perhaps mania | drug seemed ok until increased dosage by psychiatrist. | M | 61 | 2 years | 5/27/2005 | 1 | trigeminal neuralgia | I have MS, and the trileptal appeared to really aggravate my MS symptoms. I was literally paralyzed from the waist down within a day of being on the medication. When I went off it, I recovered to my normal level of disability (walking with a walker) within a day. | M | 50 | 3 days | 5/23/2005 | 1 | nerve damage | just started | F | 32 | | 4/23/2004 |