Help wanted please

well im still on 1/2 tab twice a day but they seem so strong as i could not drive untill about 3 to4 hours after takeing tab i have no pain at all im very lucky so i thought a i would stop takeing them and see what happens shall i just take 1/2 tab a day and then every other day advice needed please

Is this Tegretol? With any medications at all you should always seek medical advice before stopping as they may have “rebound” side effects. Your MD could talk to you about titrating the dose down, or using an alternative medication within the same family - they often do not have as many side effects. Tegretol is a very old drug as has lots of side effects, there are newer ones around now.

yes its carbamazepine and a couple of weeks ago i burst out crying whilst walking
along a road and i get very confused at times

I was very emotional on carbamazepine too so I understand. After two weeks i had to come off the medicine because it was so awful - but I did that under the guidance of my MD. Of course the pain came back too…

i think i will try 1/2 tab only each day and see how that goes i just dont want the pain to come back i think i would be a little confused than have the suicide pain come back

Hi Chris,

I find it difficult getting the balance right between pain control and being a zombie.

I started taking 100mg daily, but as time passed the pain crept up so I had to increase. I now take 600mg daily and at each increase I did feel very spaced out but found it passed in time, though most of the time I feel very tired and a bit dizzy. I haven’t yet achieved total pain control but compared to a few months ago when I would have 200+ attacks a day its more bearable. I now have only a few bad zaps a day.

Kind regards,

Jo

HI Chris, I tend to agree with Maeve that its probably not a “if” the pain comes back but a “when” the pain comes back. I have Bipolar Disorder and I have to take medication for that too. I also work with people who have the disorder. One of the main problems is that patients will get to feeling good and think its gone, so they quit taking the meds and then they go down again. It’s the ups and downs that are terrible. I agree that you should talk to your doc, and I agree that you should work to find that point where you have the least amount of the drug that you possibly can, but still have some going because unfortunately, it will come back! I also take tegretol and have had a hard time of it, I understand. Danni