Get Informed: Tegretol

39

Patient Comments about
Tegretol

Active Ingredient(s)

Carbamazepine

What does it do?

Tegretol

This product is used in the treatment of epilepsy and trigeminal neuralgia. It is believed to reduce polysynaptic responses and post-tetanic episodes, but the exact mechanism of action is unknown.

Last Text Update:
 2009-Nov-20 8:11 PM
Last Data Update:
 2009-Nov-20 6:52 PM

Other Names

  • Tegretol
  • Carbatrol
  • Carbamazepine
  • Tegretol XR
  • Carbamazepin
  • Epitol
  • Equetro
  • Teril

How Safe Is It?

Your Risk Rating
Please log in
Average Risk Rating
0: On hold
Pregnancy Category:
D

Black Box Warning

This product has a black box warning relating to prescribers needing to be familiar with complete prescribing information, and its risk of potentially fatal skin reactions and increased risk of aplastic anemia.)

Facts & Figures

Date Approved
11 Mar 1968
Est US Patients*
625,700
Generic Available
Yes
OTC Available
No

User Age Distribution*

10

< 21

19

21-39

49

40-59

22

60+

Age (Years)

* Estimated number of US people currently taking Tegretol or its active ingredient based on population adjusted patient numbers registered with iGuard.org.

Other Resources

Recent alerts for Tegretol

Tegretol Safety Report

0: On hold

The iGuard risk rating for Tegretol is on hold. It means that we're waiting for more patients taking this medication to join iGuard before we can provide a more accurate safety assessment of this product.

Learn more about iGuard's risk ratings

  • Please login or register (it's free) so iGuard can check how Tegretol interacts with other drugs and diseases in your profile.

What is Tegretol used for?

iGuard.org is currently tracking more than 3,600 patients that use Tegretol (or similar drugs with the same active ingredient(s)). Use the table below to learn why iGuard users take this product; click on any underlined condition to get information on other medications used for treatment.

Disease / Condition % Average Severity
Epilepsy / Seizures 45% 5
Bipolar Disorder 21% 6
Neuropathic Pain 13% 6
Muscle Spasms 3% 5
Huntington's Chorea 3% 5
Depression 3% 5
Psychosis 3% 5
Other 13% 5

How well does Tegretol work?

iGuard.org regularly polls our more than 3,600 users taking Tegretol (or similar drugs with the same active ingredient(s)) using the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medications (TSQM) . This feedback is continuously updated in tables below for the benefit of the iGuard community. To request scores for specific patient subgroups, please contact research@iguard.org.

Average Satisfaction Score

(out of 10)

Average Effectiveness Score

(out of 10)

70 73
81%
of patients are confident that the good things about Tegretol outweigh the bad things.
28%
of patients wish they were told more before they started taking Tegretol.

Common Side Effects of Tegretol

iGuard.org regularly polls our more than 3,600 users taking Tegretol (or similar drugs with the same active ingredient(s)) to monitor the development and frequency of side-effects. This feedback is continuously updated in tables and graphs below for the benefit of the iGuard community.

56%

56% of patients experience side-effects on Tegretol

10%

10% of patients experience signifcant side-effects on Tegretol


Most Common Side Effects...

  • 20% Drowsiness
  • 10% Dizziness
  • 10% Weight Gain
  • 5% Nausea/Vomiting
  • 5% Mental Haziness
  • 5% Fatigue
  • 5% Constipation
  • 5% Grogginess/Confusion
  • 5% Weakness
  • 5% Bone Loss
  • 5% Mood/Behavior Changes
  • 5% Increased Appetite
  • 5% Light Sensitivity
  • 5% Loss of Libido
  • 5% Memory/Speech Problems
  • 5% Diarrhea
  • 5% Tremor
  • = 10%

Global Patient Feedback for Tegretol (Carbamazepine) ( Post a comment )

Comments, Questions, and Answers
Show Newest | Oldest first

Question/Comment:

I have been on carbamazepine or tegretol for almost 20 years. I have had to adjust the amounts up or down off and down over the years, the only real problems I have had are when I have to take antibotic for an infections it conteract with allot of them. 67 year old famale 5-1- 2009--4:01 pm

68 year old Female

Posted: 2009-05-01 18:02:03

Answer/Reply:

I have been on carbmazepine for more than 34 yrs. In the beginning, the dosage was
adjusted but has been the same and I've never had a problem interferring with other
drugs. My doctor always checks it's compatibility with other drugs I am/will be
taking.
65 yrs. old female
5/16/09

65 year old Female

Posted: 2009-05-16 08:16:53

Answer/Reply:

i been on tegretol xr 200mg for 10 yrs now . i get terrible migraines and a rash when i am in the sun and i live in florida so i asked my doc how do i avoid this rash he said stay out of the sun? I ask how when i live in fla? he said move to a cooler climate? has any doc ever told you this? i use cortizone cream. do you get a rash if so what do you use? i also get migraines and take MIDRIN my insurance stop paying for my midrin so now i just deal with it.
43 yr old male

44 year old Male

Posted: 2009-05-17 03:41:50

Answer/Reply:

AN ADDICTIONOLOGIST CAN COVER YOU WITH ANOTHER DRUG DURING YOUR ROUR ROUND OF AB. I WOULD NOT HAVE ANY OTHER KIND OF PSYCHIATRIST B/C MY MEDS INTERACT WITH SO MANY THINGS AND MANY THINGS MAKE MY BIPOLAR MEDS LESS EFFECTIVE. YOU NEVER WANT TO SEE ME MANIC--I'M EVIL AND PURSUE CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES.

43 Y/O FEMALE

44 year old Female

Posted: 2009-05-17 06:50:29

Answer/Reply:

I have been on tegretol 12 years ago and never had side effects, but since my brain surgery I am on Carbetrol. It has been working well. 52 yr old female 5-18-2009 8:15am

53 year old Female

Posted: 2009-05-18 09:15:24

Answer/Reply:

After brain surgery 18 years ago I was left tumor free but with partial seizures. I was put on 400 mg of Tegretol per day which eliminated the seizures. Over the years I have reached thresholds where I have had some occurrances of partial seizures and the Tegretol dose needed increased to work. I'm now up to 1200 mg of tegretol XR per day and this keeps me seizure free (the XR is time-release capsules).

66 year old Female

Posted: 2009-05-27 01:24:44

Question/Comment:

I have been on Tegretol for 8 years. I would be more concerned with the bone marrow suppression, liver issues, and bleeding issues that is causes then with weight gain honestly. I gained weight Like crazy when I was pregnant, it was harder for me to take it off then the average person but I took it off. I gained about 75 to 100 lbs with each of my kids, but I have lost almost all of it. However, I bleed like crazy. Even an IV takes 10 minutes to stop bleeding. Make sure that you get your Liver panels, Teg Panels, and you Bone Marrow Panels done. If you are still having headaches and migranes (which i still do) talk to your doctor. Do not stop taking your Teg for any reason. Teg is a step med. You are supposed to be stepped up and down. If you just stop and start it you run the risk of increasing seaizure activity.

30 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-12 21:46:57

Question/Comment:

i just started taking tegretol a few days ago. but i was reading up on it and with the health problems i have im not sure if its the right med for me. i dont take it for seziers the doc put me on it for my moods. but i have deabities and nuropithy and im on lyrica. should i really be taking this med?

29 year old Male

Posted: 2009-04-10 01:21:27

Question/Comment:

Can Tegrtetol 100mg have any effect on one's cholesterol level's. I now take just one tablet in the morning, I have been on this tablet for over 3yrs and started off on 1x3 tabs a day, this went up until I was on 3x3 tabs a day. 1 1/2 yrs ago this was reduced down to now the one and another tablet introduced for the evening, but my cholesterol has got up to 6.4 and had when I first started on the drug as there is no other reason for this to happen, Would be very happy if someone could answer this question.

54 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-07 14:49:14

iGuard.org Answer/Reply:

There have been occasional reports of elevated levels of cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides in patients taking anticonvulsants, however, not specific to Tegretol. There may be other factors that may contribute to an increase in cholesterol, so it may be a good idea to discuss your concerns with your doctor.

Posted: 2009-04-10 12:07:06

Question/Comment:

I am new to carbamazepine (generic). I have occasional muscular or headache pain. What pain reliever is safe to take? I read above that acetaminophen can increase liver effects. How about ibuprofen? Naproxen sodium?

48 year old Female

Posted: 2009-03-15 21:53:33

Answer/Reply:

I take Ibuprofen

52 year old Male

Posted: 2009-03-23 17:53:24

Answer/Reply:

When I WAS on Carba I would take stuff like Aleve.. It seemed to help. I personally must tell you that my neurologist has stated that it is better for Epiletics' etc to have the brand name pills. IE Tegretol vs. Carbamazepine. I'll go back to why brand name is better than generic. To my understanding and per what my neurologist has stated; generic drugs can have as much as 40% difference between it and generic. Being as the case is, well I should say mine is, it opens up more of a seizure threshhold-- In laymens terms what I am trying to say about all of this is.. If you want to take a chance with your seizures than use a generic. If you don't than I would personnaly tell you to get the brand name... Also there are ways to obtain medicine if you are low income or are at an income that is to high for help and too low for being able to afford medicine.. Go to the company that makes the medicine and look for help.

33 year old Female

Posted: 2009-03-31 18:58:38

Answer/Reply:

Not all drug companies help everyone that needs help in paying for drugs. I had to stop taking tegretol XR and switch to generic as I couldn't afford to take the name brand anymore. The drug
company that made the tegretol XR would not help me because I was insured through my husband. If I wasn't insured they would pay for it. The fact I couldn't afford it didn't make a difference. I've been having headaches since I switched to the generic brand of the tegretol (carbamezepine). I rarely had headaches when on the name brand.

48 year old Female

Posted: 2009-04-22 09:03:22

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