Tegretol symptoms and conditions

I've been on Topamax for almost a year. I've had auras for years which were misdiagnosed as hypoglycemia episodes, then started having grand mals after detoxing from alcohol (I'm sober now), continued to have them in sobriety (I guess I messed up my brain from alcohol). I tried Tegretol but it made me groggy. Anyway, a few months into using Topamax I stopped sweating completely and got the numbness and tingling in my extremities, which drives me crazy. I also have trouble with urination, I've been put on water pills. I live in a desert climate and during the summer had bad problems with overheating, had to drink so much water that I had trouble with water retention and my electrolytes got messed up. I had no idea that it was the Topamax--the doctors put me through multiple blood tests, I discovered it might be the medicine by doing my own research online. I'm tapering off Topamax and trying the Low Glycemic Index Treatment to see if I can be off meds and not have auras because I don't want to be on seizure meds if I can help it. The withdrawal is pretty bad--anyone else have the problems with no sweating and wicked withdrawal?

I started taking an increased dose of Lamictal from 100mg to 200g BD along with Tegretol CR200 and Tegretol CR400 BD. This mixture has resulted in fatigue, depression and an erotic sex drive - mostly on the side of decreased libido. My poor darling husband....

I had an agonizing migraine this Saturday, with all the usual delightful symptoms: pain, violent vomiting,... Went to the ER. After many hours I was hooked up to an IV with Tegretol (an anti-seizure med that's effective with migraine) and Reglan (for the nausea). Within a couple of minutes after the IV drip started I realized something was wrong. My migraine pain was actually increasing. I felt a desperate sense of being connected to this IV that was feeding me drugs whose effects were suddenly unexpected. Then things spiraled from there. I went into a panic. This sense of panic was unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life (and I've had my share of hospital horrors). I thought my heart was going to explode. Luckily my friend was next to me. I told him to get a nurse. I told the nurse frantically that I didn't know what was happening to me, I was freaking out, but I begged him to do something. He said I was probably having an "anxiety attack", which can happen with Reglan ("anxiety" sounds like a euphemism for what I was living through, but whatever...). He moved quickly, and hooked up some Benadryl to the IV. I also asked him to get me out of the dark, airless room I was in, as I felt like I was going to choke from the claustrophobia. Between the Benadryl (which apparently counters the panic effects of a Reglan reaction) and standing out in a spacious, well-lit hallway, I felt a couple of degrees removed from hell. Anyhow, there's my Reglan tale. R.M., Newton, MA

I was wondering if topomax causes high blood pressure? Also I'm on 350 mg a day plus 1600 mg of tegretol a day . I was wondering if any one was on such a high dose?

I have been on Lamictal and Topamax for approximately 4-5 years now. I also take effexor. I have a seizure disorder. At first everything was alright, however now I have been having double vision, staggering, memory loss that has occurred slowly within the last two years or so, and of course as with most meds the usual diarrhea or constipation. I wonder how long does it take being on medication for these side effects to kick in? I read all literature whenever I start a new medication even if it is a OTC drug. (over the counter). I just got out of the hospital and am being sent from one doc to another. I feel like a guinea pig in a lab! Please help!

Hi. I went on Lamictal April 2007 after being diagnosed w/ BiPolar. The key issue that brought me to the psychiatrist to begin with was acute depression following a divorce, move cross country, losing my job and my only son going off to college. All the big stress factors - short of death in family. Nonetheless, I was nervous that one year after all these crises that I was, if anything, feeling worse. I had been able to handle all the changes during them, but now that they were over all I wanted to do was sleep all day.... Anyway, I had been on Paxil for years re anxiety, and my psychiatrist decided to keep my on the Paxil till I tolerated the Lamictal, then get me off the Paxil..... Well, the 20 mg of Paxil and the 100 mg of Lamictal worked great, I thought; the Lamictal really raised the bottom.... BUT, apparently Paxil fuels mania, so after a few months, I was taken off the Paxil completely and my Lamictal went up to 200 mg. Almost IMMEDIATELY upon going to 200 mg Lamictal my ankles / feet / legs got enormously swollen. Plus, I noticed that my hair started to fall out // thin out.... Plus -- and I don't know if this is the Lamictal or the absence of the Paxil, but I sob uncontrollably almost 24/7. The sobbing and anxiety and sense of dread and sadnessness has persisted even when the Lamictal was dropped to 100 mg and the shrink added first Clonazepam .5 mg, then when that wasn't calming me, changed me to 1mg Xanax -- each as needed. The Xanax isn't helping me either, and now I also feel paranoid. So, in short: Lamictal at 200 mg makes my feet / ankles / legs swell or suffer edema; Lamcital as low as 100 mg makes my hair thin out; and either the Lamictal or the loss of the Paxil or these anti-anxieity meds (Clonazepam or Xanax) are making me paranoid, profoundly sad and depressed, panicked, anxious, stressed out and, most urgently, make me sob uncontrollably 24/7... My shrink says that we should use anti-depressants with bipolar, and that Paxil fuels the mania, but I tell you, I'd rather be manic and screaming at everyone than so depressed that I'm fearful and sobbing constantly.... Any answers out there: Any anti-depressants for your bipolar?

This is in answer to concernedcitizen. My son, when he began to have behavior issues, was placed on Tegretol, Wellbutrin, and Abilify. He could not tolerate the Tegretol. So he stopped that. His "depression" seemed better so they took him off the Wellbutrin, he continues to be on the Abilify. We tried to take him off of that once, it wasn't pretty. His anger, frustration, rage, crying, depression, etc all came back....of course he was still taking the Singulair. (little did we know then....) We see his neurologist very soon. I am going to ask about trying again to remove the Abilify. My son is 7. He was started on these meds 4 months after having surgery to remove a cyst in his brain....we thought all the problems were just who he had become after having brain surgery. It was very depressing. I read all of your research with great interest. I had thought it had to be a something in the brain being triggered. My son had a tendency toward these things due to the location of his cyst....we had the "luxury" of knowing he would have behavior problems. So did his doctors.... Now with all the research it would seem someone like my son, who has a cyst in the left temporal lobe (a region that controls behavior) should not have EVER been placed on a medicine like Singulair. At the very least, he should have been taken off that medicine, before being placed on anti-psychotics. Good Grief. Thanks again for all your work. I will be taking some of the literature with me to the Dr. As I am sure others on this board will.
By the way - My son has been off Singulair for 10 days now. He is a very happy boy. Downright giddy. He is annoying his sister to no end. Dad and I are enjoying every blissful minute.

Wow. I can't even express how blown away I am by all of this.My son is 7 and has been on singulair since he was 2. He was moved to the 5 mg last year in March. The only difference between my son and all of your stories is that when he was in kindergarten we discovered a rather large arachnoid cyst in his brain that had to be drained. It was easy to blame some if not all of his behavioral problems on the location of the cyst. It is in the left temperol lobe. Having something in that region of the brain can cause behavior problems. His cyst was also big enough to push on his pituitary gland making him think he needed to use the bathroom all the time. He had a slight case of diabetes insipidus. During all of this he was complaining of headaches, fatigue, leg pain, the boy could not walk from one end of the mall to the other, he would melt down at the slightest provocation and turn into an angry little monster at around diner time. We attributed it to low sodium levels messing with his head, but his blood work never reflected someone who was THAT bad. After his surgery he had some normal depression, but in March, four months after, he became a different person. He was full of rage and anger and almost got kicked out of school. He broke things at home and lashed out at people, he said awful things. He was put on Tegretol, (that made him very sick) and Wellbutrin. Since he couldn't tolerate the tegretol they switched him to abilify. He still takes this. The one time we tried to take him off he went completely nuts again. Same kind of aggressive behavior, lashing out, no self control, crying all the time, very moody, saying things like "nobody loves me." My son is the sweetest person you will ever know. Before all of this, he would melt your heart with his kind words. Now he has been diagnosed with ADD, Aspergers, and has all of one friend at school. I go every day to eat lunch with him so he doesn't have to sit alone. I completely understand that my son will continue to have problems once this medicine is out of his system, because he does have other issues, but this morning the first thing he said to me was, "Mom it's weird, I don't know why but I feel so happy."
He has been off the Singulair for 6 days now. I called his allergist and he was VERY interested in all of this and wants to meet with me. He has always been so heartbroken by how my son has struggled. Don't think all doctors are bad. This one isn't. He is going to help me report all of this. He is really upset too. Of course he is older, been around for ever. I don't know. He cares about his patients. His receptionist said she thought they would be getting a ton of calls about this and I was the only one. Hang in there everyone. Alone we are quite together we are LOUD.

I started taking Lamictal about six weeks ago for epilepsy. Now keep in mind, I was on Dilantin which worked great for 17 years and then suddenly stopped working. I have been in medication hell since then. First Topamax made me dumb as a rock. I would space out all the time. Worst drug ever. Then Keppra which was better in that my memory/ability to speak came back but I had these intense ups and down. I had rages constantly. Now I'm on Lamictal. So far, it's better than the Topamax and the Keppra, however the dreams are very intense as are the night sweats. I'm also experiencing much hair loss. Fortunately I have a full head of hair but I'm afraid I will eventually lose it all.

I'm on my first month of Topamax and going to work for the first time in two weeks! Someone mentioned feeling like a box of rocks on this stuff, its true, but in my case the dosage increase might have been too abrupt. I take it for epilepsy, 100 mg. I was completely non-functional during the transition! Not only was I so tired I couldn't move, so sick I couldn't eat (I've lost a lot of weight), but I was constantly dizzy. I would often get icy to touch and pass out, mores after eating.

Cognitively, I was severely depressed, and had a constant "noise" sensation in my head which I started yelling at during odd moments. I believe I even hallucinated at one point that the room was expanding. Mostly, people thought I was stoned because I would just stare at the wall and have difficulty talking to them without slurring my words.

It's been a truly terrifying couple weeks, however I've settled pretty quickly out of the major side effects. I think thats pretty much what happens for everyone. I'm happy to have my brain back.

I have been taking some form of Lithium Carbonate since 1972. About one year ago after taking a routine blood test prescribed by my psychiatrist, I was told my creatine level was somewhat spiked. The psych referred me to a nephrologist. After examination by the nephrologist, I was told I had 50% less kidney function and he believed to be my long-time intake of lithium carbonate products. The nephrologist also informed me that I would not regain function and perhaps suffer further loss of kidney function which would require dialysis. My psych immediately took me off Lithium and I suffered the extreme side effects of replacement meds like Carbamabazine (generic Tegretol).

my 13 yr. old daughter has been on 150mg. per day for about 9 months, have noticed major acne(cheeks,chin -very inflamed), huge wt. gain-from 92-134 lbs. in 6mo., she started her periods mid April and has had long periods with heavy bleeding and now for the second time in 31/2 months is anemic despite being put on birth control pills to stop the bleeding- she is exhausted-sleeping 12-14 hours per day-this is not her usual pattern.Previously thought her wt. gain was from Seroquel but even after being off it for 61/2 months there has been no wt. loss. The only other time she has had wt. gain with a med. is Tegretol- so maybe I shouldn't be suprised that she has this response to anothe AE.

Hi all. I was diagnosed 3 or 4 years ago with epilepsy. So far, I have on about 5 different epilepsy meds. I can't recall the first 3 but had to get off them because of physical side-effects. My last one was Dilatin which worked pretty well for a year. I slept great - 8 hours on the dot. Then, I started to have short seizures that began to successively lengthen. So, I was switched to Keppra.

I started at 250mg/2xday on Keppra and now am up to 1000mg/2xday. I also started taking B6 100mg/day. A couple of days after starting Keppra, I started to get slight headaches. These went away after about 2 weeks. I also got a numb patch on the same place on the bottom of each foot. When I went up to 500mg/2xday, the numb patch spread, I started to feel off-balance, and I started to get the "rage" symptoms. I went up to 1000mg/2xday and most of the bottom of my two feet went numb and cold, I began to get slight tingling in my fingers and a mild case of tightness in my chest. I still felt off-balance and the rage symptoms were there. It began to get hard to get to sleep and I would get up unnecessarily early and not be able to fall back asleep. I want off this med. Maybe it works great for other people but for me it I take it at the levels I need to, I won't be able to work or do much of anything.

ive taken flexeril since 03 due to a broken neck.this drug helps better than any other i know,but gives me many mood swings, espeacilly taken with tegretol.

I have taken Lamictal over a yr now and find it the best for mood stablizer along with Wellbutrin for AD. When was taking 10 mg am and 200 nights was feeling zombie like. Now take 25 am and 100 pm. (I got lost driving home on higher dose) I seem to tolerate it well. None of the meds areperfect, just like any other condition. On my "poison" list is Effexor and Tegretol

I have son takes Depanke Liquid because he can't swallow the tablet for Depakote. And also he takes Tegretol. His behavior was terrible and get worst since he takes two medications together. Now the dr is cutting off Tegretol down slowly. And he will be on Depanke Liquid for good. SOme day he will learn to swallow the pills instead of carrying the liquid all the time. Do you think Tegretal and Depanke make him worst behavior? Thank you I need your opinion please t hank you again

I've taken Felbatol for 10 years. Have experienced enormous relief in symptoms (complex partial seizures). When news of aplastic anemia came out, my neurologist asked me to try another new drug. It was very disappointing. I asked to resume Felbatol, and it's been the only drug that has really helped with very few (if any) side effects. Had previous tried the standard dilantin, tegretol, phenobarb with all the problems that come along with those drugs. Felbatol has been a miracle drug for me.

To who it may concern,
Hello, my name is christel mahler. I have a question to ask you which I hope you can help me with. I've been getting seiures since 4 years old and i've been taking different kinds of medications until it was under control. I get seiures every week, and my neuroligest is trying on me different medication on me. I'm taking right now, Lamictal 25 mLg and 100 mlg. I'm also taking trilepal 150 mlg which is a new medication and so is keppra 500 mlg, which I'm taking right now. I just got off tegretol XR-400 and 100 mlg, which I took also. I'm taking trileptal now which my DR. subscribed to me, which he just put me on besides keppra 500 mlg. I like to know if the Tegretol that I've been taking,(which I'm off now),if that has side efects like seeing double vision and not be able to see straight and lose balance? Please let me know? Does keppra 500 mlg, trileptol 150 mlg, and Lamictal 100 and 25 mlg also causes that also? Please let me know, Please? My dr. got me off slowly on the Tegretol 100 mlg and increased my Trileptal 150 mlg to 10 pills a day, 5 in the morning, and 5 at dinner time, and seeing double also.
So I told my dr. that I've been getting double vision, and he said to go down to 4 pills in the morning, and 4 pills at dinner time, which I'm taking now at this time. I've been seeing double vision everday when I took 10 pills a day. Since I'm down to 8 pills a day of the Trileptal, I've been seeing double every so often. Why is this happening? Does the medications that I'm taking causes this? Is this side effects of the medication? Let me know. I/m really nervous about this. If this is not the medication thats causing this, then what could it be from? I like to know very much. I hope you can help me? Please get back to me as soon as possible, I really would like to know about this? Thanks for listening to me and being patient with me, I appreciate it very much. Please Respond.

P.S. I hope to hear from you.
My E-Mail is: christelsplace@earthlink.net

Sincerely,
Christel Mahler