Tegretol side effects

Hi my name is Chrissy.
I was diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolor disorder. I just wanted to see if anyone else has had a few of these side effects and if so could you do anything to help them. Since starting Tegretol i have noticed that I pee a lot, have dry mouth, and my hair is falling out like crazy. I have kinda been more disconnected and depressed. Also I have had this tingle feeling in my head and right after that I get this crazy head ache, not a bad one just a small ache and im also very sensitive to light of any kind. I found all of this to be kinda weird. Can anyone help with this or have any suggestions? Thanks a bunch.

IM steve,been on tegretol 3x100mg dailyonly took 2x100 daily for about last 5 year been on them 18 years los of balance muscles wasting away now,elbows very sore like oesteo arthrites. headaches,heart muscle pain, knee pain,pinger pain 3 from pinky up severe spine pain and shoulder pain,just get on with it and grow your own??????

I've been on and off Tegretol for about 15 years. In just the past 6months I've been suffering from severe constipation. I have to stop taking it for a couple days so i can just go to the bathroom. Has anyone else experienced this problem and if so what was the solution? I've tried all laxatives but I want a permanent solution.

On Tegretol for bipolar. My wife feels my BP is improved. I only note improved in my manic side. Depressive side still unpleasant and dangerous. When started and when dosing changed, I had grogginess, with abated after a few few. Am on many meds, Haldol and clonazepam (for Tourette's) and lithium and now Tegretol (for bipolar), and feel this combination of meds has resulting in debilitating sexual dysfunction. Do not believe E.D. caused by any one med, but by the combination. Do not know what to do about this as I need this meds. Ain't life fun?

I also experienced stabbing localized headaches for a few weeks after my Tegretol dose was increased from 100mg 2x daily to 200mg 2x daily. The pain was so severe that I would have to stop what was doing for the (albeit brief) duration. The pains usually radiated from just over one eye, but could occur from any point. They stopped completely after approximately three (miserable) weeks.

Tegretol was prescribed to help mood swings and agitation and I must say it has worked beautifully in conjunction with an anti-depressant to aid sleep and CBT. I wish I'd found this combination 15 years ago!

anemia

I took Tegretol for years to stabilize mood swings; diagnosis was schizoaffective, but probably that was due to side effects of antidepressants. I had never had any mania until prescribed antidepressants for depression and bulimia.

Tegretol: any time dose was changed, I would have headaches. Fierce headaches. If I tried to increase dose too fast, the result was sedation to the point of acting like I was drunk(staggering and grogginess.) I thought the Tegretol was stabilizing my moods for some time, but still had mood swings and irritability. Was put on SSDI during the time I took it, since I became unable to hold a job. My behavior was sometimes very illogical and inappropriate on this medication.
Also, was always either anemic or on the verge of anemia due to the effects of the Tegretol. This was while taking iron supplements.
I did not gain much weight (5 pounds?) but only because I dieted and exercised a LOT.
My dr found it hard to believe Tegretol gave me headaches, and told me that Tegretol is given to prevent trigeminal nerve pain etc., but the headaches decreased dramatically when I went off the med.

I have been on tegretol since I was approx. 15years old, I am now 41years old. In the beginning (probably since I was so young) I really don't remember too many side effects. Until 2 years ago when after complaining to my doctor about extreme weight gain did he take me off tegretol and move me over to this "new miracle drug called Topamax". Well maybe it would have worked if the dosage was correct. I personally feel my doctor did not equate the dosage I was taking with tegretol to topamax. Well after eight weeks of suffering and I mean having 3 seizures a day from 0 a day. I demanded to go back weight gain or not. That's when the side effects hit! and well!!! All of a sudden I had migraines daily, I now suffered from Vertigo, I went into depression and was seriously talking suicide. It was bad for about a month. Good news a year later everything went back to normal... I will now stay with Tegretol. I have been taking seizure meds since I was 7yrs old and this one seems to be the best after your body stabilizes.

for a number of years i had been taking tegretol for depression, my dr. then switched me to trileptal suggesting it was a purer form of the same drug, i've been on trileptol for over 3 years now, my face is a mess rash, itching alot of the time , i have never ever had any such problem before, also i am experiencing musle and joint pain, another big one is my hair is thinning loss of condition, my question is can long term rx use be causing too many toxins in my system?

i've been on tegretol for well over 15 years now, for my Status Epilepticus (severe epilepsy). i was always on a small dose (600mg daily i think). but due to my epilepsy being poorly controlled, the dose got increased to 800mg - that was around 10yrs ago.

i am 6' 5", and used to weigh around 224 pounds. Since the dosage was upped to 800mg/day, i have gained around 84 pounds in weight, and have allways had drowsiness, lack of concentration, poor short-term memory, double vision and terrible balance. And still the epilepsy has been poorly controlled, still suffering petitmal and grandmal seizures.

So around a month ago, my neurologist was informed of my side effects becoming so severe. He told me they are "toxic side effects" of the tegretol.. Yet told me to increase the dose, by 200mg/day, increasing it every fortnight.

i.e. up to 1000mg/day, then 2 weeks later go up to 1200mg/day, etc.. he told me to keep doing this till i get to 1600mg/day. then possibly go as high as 2000mg/day.. !!

i have to tell you all, that since i started following his advice and increasing the dosage past 1000mg, i have felt absolutely terrible. I find myself needing over 13hrs sleep, then more sleep a few hours later. I also have difficulty reading (despite my eyesight testing ok), and unbearable migraine-style headaches.

at 30years old, my daily routine is not too good at present. And still no benefits have been noticed since upping the dose. On 13th October, i increase it to 1400mg/daily.. :(

Have been on tegretol for about 12 years now for grand mal seizures... I started when I was 12 years old. Main side effect has been memory loss- Can't remember much short term.. Also have bad joint pain in the knees and elbows since I was 16. Have had good success with the med stopping seizures, but don't really like the side effects.. Recently, have had bad dizziness and lightheaded feeling after almost having a seizure a few days ago .... Mostly ok with tegretol thou..

I have been on Tegretol since 1999, 800mg daily (2 pills, twice a day, with food) to treat two grand mal and several petit mal seizures I had throughout that year. Since that time I've definitely noticed drowsiness initially, a lack of mental focus, loss of both long and short term memory (I can't remember a thing any more, so I have to write everything down within two minutes otherwise it's just gone) as well as occasional spasms of my right eyelid and calves. I get mild anxiety attacks when I forget to take my meds, so I'm afraid to totally go off it or reduce the dosage myself.

Good luck to everyone else dealing with seizure disorder / epilepsy.

- RQ, Vancouver, Canada

22 months old with severe diaper rash exposing blood with taking tegretol

My side affects have been nausea, sweats, blurred vision,headaches - I am taking 200m twice a day. Dr said it will take time to get use to the meds, but has anyone else had these side effects, & will they subside in a week or so?? Also have itching on my body.

tell me the side effects of this medication. what is it in general and why people take this tegretol.

Does Tegretol couse a decress in Taste of Food?

I don't see side effects with this medicine. I ahev been on it for 6 years and nothing has really changed.

canker sores

change in the visual acuity

muscle aches and head aches

I have been on Tegretol since 2/22/03. Started with 3 doses a day, and then March 12 went to 4 doses a day. I have no appetite. Have recently lost 80 lbs. and since I have been on have gained 5 lbs. Also, notice that I am just letting out the water I take in. Today, feel a numbness in my mouth, and tingling in toes. I would like to just go off it. Don't know what to do.

had to switch from dilantin to tegretol aprox.3 yrs.ago 30 lb. weight gain and right eyelid a little droopy. concerns me am unsure what to do

My daughter has taken TWO doses of Tegretol so far. She slept from 10am to 3pm without being able to be woken up by shouts, sitting her up, nothing. I had to take her to the ER where she slept another hour and a half. Her blood work was normal so was advised to continut giving the tegretol.

I have just recently started taking Tegretol, recently as in Thursday and it is now Monday, I am very lethargic, and need afternoon naps already, I just moved from 2 to 3 pills a day of the CR type, Thurs - Sat 2 pills, Sunday 3 pills.

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

i've been on tegretol since october 2002- i've noticed lethargy, double vision ,lack of mental aquity(poor concentration and memory), and my favorite - 30 lb weight gain. i have decreased my dosage on my own and the side effects seem less-good luck and God bless

I have been taking Tegretol 200 mg CR - twice daily for treatment of Jacksonian seizure since last 3.5 months. There is no recurrence of seizure (which happened 4-5 times on single day before I started treatment)but I had encountered for few times some shaking sensation (like one responds when attacked physically by raising hand towards the face!). Also I have observed increased boils on head and armpits, increase in sleep and increase of weight.

I have been on Tegretol since November of 2001. I have had a 20 pound weight gain since then and I am constantly tired.