Has anyone been put on tegratol and not been able to tolerate it but then tried Trileptal and did just fien on it?
I have. I did not like the way Tegretaol made me feel. I maybe did not give it enough time for the side effects to go away, but when I was taking it I felt like I shouldn't be driving. I was on a low dose also. I have been on Trileptal for 3 weeks now and have really now side effects and about 85% pain relief. I can function again. Two weeks ago there were periods of time I could not talk at all the pain was so bad. I take 300mg three times a day. I started out at 150mg twice a day and worked up from there. The only side effects I have had were a little bit of a strange feeling in my head when I first started it...kinda hard to explain. Also, my tongue sometimes burns a little...weird. Neither of these is bothersome enough for me to stop taking it.
Tegretol worked well for me but messed up my hypothyroid meds, clearing them from my system too quickly causing return of old hypothyroid symptoms and weeks of trying to adjust that without success. Switching to trileptal a couple months ago was OK for thyroid non-interaction but I can't get the dosage and frequency right to give me relief yet. Back up is vicodin which makes me constipated and woozy.
Tegretol made me feel a bit "jumpy" and restless. I haven't switched yet to trileptal but I hear good things about it so far. :)
I was on Tegretol before my MVD in 2005, then managed my TN pain with Neurontin, Lyrica, etc. afterward. When the pain increased, I tried Tegretol and couldn't tolerate it at all. I've been on Trileptal for the last 5 years or so, and it has performed well. Now I'm on 1200-1500 mg. daily, and the side effects are less manageable, but I'm also taking Topamax, so many of the side effects are from Topamax. I highly recommend it - it's been a godsend.