I have been taking carbamazapine for 8 weeks. I’ve increased to dose from 300mg to 600mg a day and taking ibroprophen and cocodamol in between...just to help me get through my day at work! IM STRUGGLING....and in constant pain! Is this all normal? Should I be taking other drugs? No one seems to understand....and the doctor doesn’t know what to do with me! I’ve got a horrible ear infection on the opposite side and am on strong antibiotics, will this affect my medication? I’ve had vitamin b12 injections and am now on oral vitamin b12 as the doctor said my levels where extremely low. Please help
Hi Dicky,
I’m so sorry you’re still struggling.
Most people only start to get good relief with Tegretol around the 600-800mg dose, I ended up switching to the slow release version of Tegretol which worked way better for me. 300-600mg is considered a low dose in my opinion.
Let your doctor know you are not getting relief and ask if you can increase your meds and how. Your pharmacist can tell you about your antibiotic and the other meds you’re on.
I hope you’re able to find relief soon, Mimi
Thank you. Im on the slow release version already, is tegretol a brand name for carbamazipine? Is there anything else that I could take along side these drugs that may help? I have already spoken to my Doctor the other week who advised me to increase my tablets one a day for a week and see how I get on. To be honest it was only because of this site that enabled me to do that, my doctor just started me off on three a day and is not very knowledgeable about this condition.
Hi, I can tell you only of my own experience that when I got to 800mg I had adequate pain relief. The side effects diminshed as my body became adjusted.
I use(d) a heating bag ( the ones you warm in a microwave) to help take the edge off once in awhile. I am now on 1600mg Tegretol ( my max) and 50mg Baclofen, as my pain has been harder to treat this past year. I did try tramadol for breakthru pain but that left me with headaches the next day and a horrid drugged up feeling, made me pass out within an hour. Hated it, but was desperate, only used it a few times.
I really would try to up the Tegretol ( carbamazepine) and see how you get on, it takes time unfortunately to build up…if at a higher dose you’re still not getting relief then you and your doctor could look at the other anticonvulsant meds…there are a few different kinds.
Read as much as you can on this forum as well as online, you can always print off to bring with your doctor.
If you haven’t already done so, check out our TN fact sheets on the main page as well as the Face Pain Info tab.
Take care of you, mimi
Mimi has given you excellent advice. You may need to increase, you could be helped by Baclofen which can boost the effect of Tegretol aka Carbamazepine. Or as Mimi says it could be that another med will work better for you. If you are having some pain decrease with the Tegretol then an increase could help. I wish you relief soon.
Following another telephone consultation today with my GP, he has agreed that I can increase my dosage by 100mg per week. He has also said that the ear infection (on the opposite side) should not have any correlation or negative impact on the way I am feeling presently. He has also confirmed that the antibiotics are not having a negative impact on the Carbamazepine.
He has now prescribed 600mg of Ibruprofen to start using instead of the 400 mg which I currently use. My wife and I have also discussed that as soon as the pain is under control I will get a dentist appointment, we don’t want him to cause any further damage or set me back!
I had a dizzy spell last night at home and occasionally I feel a little spaced out; I know that it is one of the side effects of taking Carbamazepine which I suppose I just have to get used to. The only saving grace with the whole situation is that my friend has agreed to continue to bring me to work to minimise my driving.
So the action plan is to continue to increase my medication, and top up with Ibruprofen and Cocodomol to manage the pain, and look forward to a pain free day sometime in the future.
I feel particularly bad as I have a couple of girls who want to do this, that, and the other all the time, I want to do nice things with them (and in the main I try my best to do) but this makes me really tired and I end up in bed about 20:00h I don’t want my kids to think that they are missing out on their childhood because of this.
My wife has done a lot of research about my condition and spends hours at night going on line trying to get advice, even though she has no idea what I am going through or feeling she is making a real effort to try. She remains strong and positive, even when I am not – but I guess that is one of the reasons why I married her....
Can I say a big thank you to Sara in Louisville TX who was a great help to her on Saturday Night.
Dicky, you may want to be a little careful about Ibuprofen in large doses. Don’t exceed the maximum recommended dose per day. There have been reports of patients with liver problems due to effects of Ibuprofen. And I believe you are correct in assessing dizziness as a side effect of Carbamazepine. It’s frequently reported. You might acclimate to the medication somewhat over time, with less noticeable effects.
There are information materials here for your wife too. If she’s struggling to understand what it’s like for you, then suggest she read “Coping With Crisis” under our Face Pain Info tab on the menus. If she wants to join, she can friend me and send me mail with questions. Otherwise, I answer mail at ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■.
Go in Peace and Power
Red Lawhern, Ph.D.
Resident Research Analyst
Living With TN