I have been on Tegretol, 100mg twice a day for a month now, and am still so nauseated. How long does this last? I can hardly eat. It is helping the TN pain about 70% tho.
Jean
There are other versions of tegretol - and you may be on just too high a dose for now --- call doctor's nurse and get switched or lowered and it's all trial and error..... I would not accept being nauseated for a month. BUT we have to pick our poisons here ------ I hated the cousin trileptal so bad == I had my brain cut open! Tired of being stupid --
There is hope -- it a can get better --BUT you have to be your best advocate and ressearcher!
Hopefully you were started on low dose and gradually increased. The first 2 months I was on it, I was very nauseas and of corse in pain until I was able to get the dose that worked for me (1200mg). The only thing I could eat was apple sauce, grilled cheese, and once in a while mac n cheese. I find carbonated beverages help a lot for me.
I still get an upset tummy once in a while but, not too bad. Make sure to take it with food. I know it doesn't sound good, but it helps.
I was on Tegretol but stopped taking it due to side effects as well... against my doctors advice. It was very frustrating. I started on 100mg once a day, and did not feel 'right' (and I don't take any other meds, so I knew that was what it had to be...). The doctor recommended I jump up to 200mg twice per day. I tried to explain to my doctor how I was feeling (dizzy, tripping over my own feet, slurred speech, word finding difficulties, balance difficulties..). I tried what the Dr. suggested because he is the specialist, and he knew how I was feeling and wanted me to do it anyways. As expected, increasing the dose made me feel way worse... I gradually decreased the dose myself, and once I was off of it... the side effects went away. If it was really helping my pain, I think the side effects would have been a small price to pay-- but I was having pain either way. I am starting to get sick of doctors saying the medications all have side effects and drowsiness is common... I am feeling very hopeless. We shouldn't have to feel "dopey" all the time. And the worst part is, I am having such nasty side effects, AND very little if any pain relief. Ugh! I hope others are having better results with medications than I am!
When I first started I couldn’t tolerate the Tegretol either, many side effects that you listed , I did that for a month with not much pain relief and small increases. Finally my neuro put me on the slow release Tegretol and that worked way better for me. I still had side effects, but not as intense and better coverage for pain.
Everyone is different, so definately talk to your doctor about what can be done to alleviate your pain and minimize your side effects! Good luck.
Ugh ... I remember the nausea. I am a fan of ginger capsules ... you can find them in any health food store and they helped me. Hope they help you too.
Hi, i was on 800mg of Teg prolonged release and was painfree but suffered severe tiredness, skin rash on arms chest and legs, mouth ulcers and lowered immune system and possibly pins and needles sensations in my arms and back (this may not be a side effect as i switched to another med quickly after stopping so i dont know if thats just mine) but anyways difficult drug but if you can tolerate it it can be very useful for stopping pain, im on gabapentin now and the high dose is doing nothing really :(
good luck x
Hi Jean, I had similar reactions to tegretol in the beginning but now I consider it a blessing as it reduces the level of pain shocks. Presently I take 600 mgs daily. The two things I notice about this drug is it affects my memory a bit and if I am out in the sun to much I get a rash or two....it took me several weeks to get used to...