I have such awful nausea on Trileptal that I can't function. Not that I can function anyway. My neuro prescribed a antinausea med that doesn't work at all- am asking for a different one. The thing is that it works for my pain and I really don't want to move to another drug with worse side effects yet. Ginger candy works sometimes but I am not eating that much and eating meat is not possible anymore.
How much worse is Tegretol?
Even though my doc said ondansetron is more effective for nausea than phenergan (promethegan), the phenergan is what works for me. I've also tried dramamine and I think it's the same as meclizine. These work for me too and you can buy them at the pharmacy over counter. I can't take trileptal or tegretol due to allergic reaction, but they sure worked for my TN.
Strong ginger tea can help sometimes too. I've even chewed on shredded ginger root.
I also had an allergic reaction to Trileptal, so I refuse to go on Tegretol. But I didn’t remember having really bad nausea on it, although I don’t remember much being on Trileptal, gave me extreme memory loss. Don’t know how much better Tegretol would be for that.
I do not know how long you have been taking Trileptal but maybe ask your pharmacist if the nausea goes away once your body gets used to the drug.
I took Tegretol and remember feeling sick and very foggy. I lived on ginger capsules which helped immensely.
Hope you find a solution that works for you.
I've been on Trileptal for 3 months. My body is already used to it.
I found Tegretol to have worse side effects that Trileptal. Although I couldn't tolerate either one because strangely Trileptal made my TN pain worse. Tegretol "dumbed me down" to the point that I could not function at work. I could barely think straight, drive, or handle normal daily activities. I've read that many people can tolerate it though. I think anti-convulsant meds affect everyone VERY differently.
As others have suggested, patient response to anti-seizure meds like Tegretol and Trileptal tends to be highly individual. There is also a period of about a month to two months,where you might acclimate to some of the effects of these drugs. Trileptal tends to be better tolerated than Tegretol, and Neur0ntin is better yet, but not as fully effective against classic TN pain (electric shock stabs).
However, it would be wisest for you to coordinate any and all over the counter meds that you take, with the primary physician who prescribed the Trileptal. There is a lot of "try this and see" in this field of medicine. Likewise, do NOT unilaterally take yourself off Trileptal without consulting first with your doctor about what to replace it with. Depending on the present dose, "going cold turkey" can occasionally cause seizures in some people, and it's almost guaranteed to cause a flare of breakthrough pain.
Go in Peace and Power
Red
I started Tegretol in May and am now up to 1000 mg but have nausea and some vomiting even now. I take what my kids call “anti-hurl” meds and that helps some but still “hurl-a-whirl” at times (again my kid’s term). Food helps some too but I just try to live with it because the med does dumb down the pain. For me right now I just have to try to live with it.
These meds are cousins - your pharmcist will know the percentage of nausea on each med!