I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions for me, I have been using this for weeks now and am on the maximum dose alongside the max solpodol. all was going ok and then on Friday I decided to have a few drinks, 3 beers and 1 glass of wine, fell asleep, feeling fine, woke up feeling fine, however, sunday evening and monday all day my head has been agony, crazy headaches and slight gum ache but the headaches are the worst!! I was just wondering if people know of whether or not alcohol has an effect on the effectiveness of this drug!! i am aware that i can make you drunk more easily or sleepy. but does it have other effects on the drug??!!! thank you x
its not a goos idea drinking on trgredol iam on 3 thousand 600 mg of gabapentine and 8 solphdol a day and only had a very glass of balieys i was very bad next day and the next 3 days after that with the tn pain the worset it ever been it says it counteracts the tablets
Suggest you read the following warning on Tegretal and Alcholol from drugs.com:
http://www.drugs.com/food-interactions/carbamazepine.html
I would add a thought that comes from deep personal experience. ANYONE who "decides" to have a few drinks, three beers, and a glass of wine has a potential alcohol dependency problem, whether they are taking other medications or not. I realize my position on this might seem rather extreme to some people, and I don't do this casually. I am the son of an alcoholic and the step-father of an alcoholic. I've seen this territory up close and personal. You are at risk, Chloe -- and if your first instinct is to rant, rave, and generally react defensively to this input, then you have CONFIRMED you are at risk. Alcohol when abused is a life taker. And many people who consider themselves "only social drinkers" may be only a short step from abuse.
Think about it.
Regards, Red
My own experience is that alcohol - even one glass of wine - makes the drugs less effective AND the pain worse. If you're feeling the need to drink despite the experience that you describe of having worse pain, you need to consider why you're drinking. Is it because your pain is out of control? Because TN is making you miserable? Because you're wishing you could go back to the way your life was before? Those would all be totally valid. But drinking on top of the medication is probably hard on your liver/kidneys and making your pain and health worse. So I would talk to your doctor about it. A lot of people (including a family member who's a doctor!) encourage me to drink socially, but it's really not worth it.
I will react defensively for general purposes - - personally and professionally
because 4 drinks in an evening does not qualify for the definition of binge drinker or anything else - not dependent, not anything.
I come from a forrest of textbook alcoholics - I'm lucky it skipped me - only bit by the cigg. bug previously.
and your question should be answered by a pharmacist. They will be able to tell you which med it was. I have never had this problem on trileptal - and do not know what your other med is like.
These boards should sometimes be a little more compasionate - HUMAN
With compassion and from my own experience -- worried because it seems like a lot of people here are undertreated for their pain, including myself. Tried drinking more as a possible solution, and it made things worse. If it makes things better, and the health implications are lesser than some of the other awful meds, then by all means. But I think it would be good to discuss with the doctor, given the warnings on the labels that I've been given for this. Also surrounded by alcoholics in my family, many of them high-functioning and wonderful people. Not wanting to judge, just suggesting a medical opinion. I actually feel pretty judged for not drinking, which seems less socially acceptable.
I do not take solpodol, but I reckon it treats nerve pain. Whenever I collect my medicines for my TN, the pharmacist would advise me not to take any alcoholic drink , saying both work on nerves, so it is best to avoid it. I also made known to others that I cannot take to alcoholic drinks as I am on medication and this ‘excuse’ is acceptable. However it is your choice.
I am NOT an alcoholic!!!! this was just a question in general, i am not drinking to get rid of the pain or escape the reality of the pain or because i feel soo low about TN!! I have a few weddings coming up and my birthday on Saturday so I wanted some information and advice on whether it was ok for me to have a few drinks with friends, so i tried a few in the house first so that i was safe if i fell asleep or got very drunk quickly!! I stress i do NOT have a problem, I have had TN and been on the heavy dose of drugs a while now and have not felt the need to drink, i simply wanted som advice. Thank you for the comments. I am NOT an alcoholic trying to escape TN. I will celebrate my birthday like last year and go for afternoon tea, but this year minus the pink bubbles. (that is of course if i feel ok! I have had a week of bad pain, but today i can say, I felt like me!! its been soooooooooo long since that has happened!! so hopefully all will be well and I will not be nursing pain)
thanx xx
you know i hear you i myself love my margaritas in summer and my grasshoppers during the holidays, no I'm not a drunk either but unfortantely tn has taken my ability to even have a few away, plain and simple no drinking on the meds period, no it's not fair but thats our reality, if you do you will get sick, your meds stop working and theres always the chance of oding so thats again our reality
You do what's right for YOU
I think sometimes it's easy for others to get emotional triggers - seemingly out of nowhere- on any message boards ( I found myself doing it on a cruiseship message board of all things!), if somebody relays something that terribly impacted THEIR lives, forgetting that it is you that needs the current help, quetions answered - do not take it personally. This is 99% safe place to vent -- in
one year I've only had
one incident where somebody took out their %#!+ out on me - and I let it slide because emotions run high here
I hope you can enjoy a glass of whatever you like on your birthday without reprecussions - In the past, it has been THAT important to me to stop/lower dose of a med (antibiotic, trileptal etc) for a wedding, my birthday, college graduation, vacation -- UNDER the supervision of doctor or pharmacist -- for example - I was on an antibiotic for something on a short cruise -- the antibiotic side effect was bad sunburn if you go in the sun -- well I was not about to avoid the sun for 4 days - so I did otherwise under medical supervision - different or lowered med
So I had 2 more days of whatever it was that was ailing me when we got back -- it was WORTH it! Sometimes there is a gray area and everything is not so black and white
Another time I was on a med that had a way bigger warning than Trileptal - NO DRINKING at all -- could cause death -- wellllll I didn't chance that one!
Let us know how it went!
Happy Birthday! Hope it's pain free!
hey there!! well i called off all birthday plans as I had a pants week, on Sunday I slept ALL day which resulted in Monday being a GREAT day and then tuesday a little less great Wednesday and Thursday not so good, so I slept after wrok from 5 straight through till 6 am and Friday i had another great day, so it seems that for me sleep is the key!! Saturday was my birthday, i didnt do anything as i had cancelled all plans, but having loads of sleep, i decidec with a friend to go to our local seaside holiday location of Tenby (where my brother has a flat) and have a few drinks, to her 2 i had one and we had a lovely evening, a few hours, had a great night sleep and continued all meds and have felt fine today!
I think as with the pain, the side effects everything seems to work differently for everyone, so at the moment, sleep is my hero!!! I have no need to drink at all anyway, its only ever been now and again, but knowing that in Tenby if there was a problem, I could go straight to the flat and sleep, plus the friend that came wiht me has seen me at EVERY stage and she has been amazing, so was constantly checking on my, if i was tired, felt poorly, if i wanted to go back, so i was in good hands. this was not me getting crazy drunk with 20 other girls, dancing mad and going to loads of pubs having shots!!! this was a few drinks in very sensible company!! for me, it was fine, even on the maximum dose of everything. and so far today i feel fine! had a power nap, as I am doing more recently anyhow.
so I strongly believe thatwe are not all text book, we can advise each other and help but it seems ultimaletly this is so individual,.
Hope you are all ok
Chloe xx
Yes, we are like snowflakes, same as in cold, white, wet -- different as no two snowflakes are the same shape!
Glad you got plenty of rest --- most of us have no pain then -- some do --- and got to have your birthday drink!
Glad that you have a few good days. Sleep is also my hero. I feel better after a good night sleep. However, I can’t sleep well when there is a ‘flare up’. Hope that we do not have any of it.
Best wishes.