Tegretol and headaches

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 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!

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'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.. :(

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.