Carbamazepine for Bipolar Disorder User Reviews (Page 3)

• Ash
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 6, 2018

"I take a low dose of Tegretol (200mg) 30 year old male 85kg. I find it isn't hugely noticeable however, it stops me getting a little too excited/frustrated and function better at work. No noticeable side effects at this dose. Taking 600mg dampened feelings such as love which I didn't like. I then stopped it but became prone to being a little too passionate again. So I started a very low dose which doesn't do heaps but I think it helps. I don't think it will change the world but may stop huge manic outbreaks. Not sure about hypomania though."

• Airbo...
• November 9, 2014

Epitol (carbamazepine) "I have only been on Epitol for a few days but so far so good. Starting on 300mg twice a day. I have clear thoughts, no wants to destroy people who do simple stupid things, no impulsive decisions, nerve pain is controlled and overall I just feel good. I'm also on Celexa, hoping this combination will do me justice."

• frogirl
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 19, 2016

"I have tried so many medications for my illnesses but nothing worked until I was put on carbamazepine, it worked wonders. It took a little while to get use to. I was really dizzy for awhile but once I adjusted to it i feel great. Best i ever tried"

• Tabitha
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 24, 2022

"At age 38 years old ,my new doctor diagnosed me with Bipolar Disorder, hypomania, and lengthy mixed states.He prescribed Tegretol XR. Within 48-72 hours, my world and everything in it changed. Colors were brighter. My fear of going places and doing things slowly dissipated. My attention was being drawn towards the outdoors & hobbies. First grade was a special kind of hell for me. Poor social skills with people my own age.I was 6 yrs old and knew that on a fundamental level,I was broken, somehow wrong. Later diagnosis were Adult ADD. An OCD like behavior & study methods led me to look at a potential learning disability. I had been an A/B student most of my life, yet it was true. I have overcome much in my life, but Tegretol XR opened that door for me. Side effects were barely noticeable to nonexistent. On a scale of 1-10, sorry, but I give it a 50 It changed my life."

• alllt...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 17, 2018

"I was put on this for Bipolar and WOW I have not had a worse experience since Paxil. This medication, instead of stabilizing my mood, brought out two severe manic episodes in the 5 days I was on it during the day, and it made me self harm after i’d been clean for so long. Worst experience ever and had to stop taking immediately"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 29, 2015

"In my honest opinion I find this drug has worked in stabilizing my rapid cycling bipolar.This is the first time in years that I feel like I am well.I started this medication when I was an inpatient in a psychiatric hospital and it worked within the first month it made the manic episode less severe .I am on 800 at night along with 600 seroquel XR and 25 lamictal .The only symptoms I have is slight constipation"

• Crack...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 12, 2013

"For effectiveness in my case, this medicine gets a 1. For keeping me manic the entire time it was prescribed, it gets a 10. My bipolar mania even seemed to be triggered and brought on originally from this. A huge and long episode ensued about 2 weeks into its initial use. For the most part, the mania was of the more pleasant and euphoric type, rather than the agitated and awful one. It did do one thing. It made me absolutely certain that I had bipolar disorder, without a single doubt. It worked effectively on my late mother, but just kept me artificially happy. Like any psych med, it's hit or miss and, essentially, I struck out."

• willy
• September 10, 2017

"I've been taking tegretol close to twenty years now I found it fantastic for my moods but I've just found out it can also make the sodium in your blood go low. I was recently hospitalised for this problem. My psych is in the middle of getting me off it. I was taking 800 mgs a day 400mgs in the morning and 400 mgs at night. Has anybody else had this experience if so how did you go coming off it"

• Katie
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 9, 2021

"I’m a 20 something female w/rapid cycling bipolar 1 and Crohn's disease. I've been on all psych meds out there:. SSRI’s, SNRI’s and Wellbutrin. Then the mood stabilizers: ) gained 20 lbs on them except Lamictal. The dreadful antipsychotics, left me like a fat zombie ( gained @ 50 lbs). Some worked briefly- about a month. Some left me like an empty shell. Some I was aggressive, Lost friends due Keppra rage. Finally, dr. placed me on Tegretol, 2.5 months ago. by day 3 people started saying “You seem relaxed and calm”. I was first on 600mg in am and pm but I was too sleepy. I’m usually the opposite - chronic insomnia. Now I’m sleeping All night and day. Called doc, he cut me down to 300 mg morning and night. I’m actually sleeping like typical people. , If you’re bored, please give this med a chance."

• Anonymous
• December 2, 2010

Epitol (carbamazepine) "I started taking Epitol 2 1/2weeks ago. I know I'm supposed to wait for the medicine to enter my system but it's made me so sick already. I started on a medium dose for 7 days then bumped up to more twice a day. Well I dropped myself down because my doctor appointment isn't for a while and It's making me so sick! It makes me dizzy, unsteady, my head "floats", and I even swear Ive been more depressed. I'm hoping it's just a dosage and time thing because it's a very inexpensive medicine and I need that!"

• mommy
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 25, 2013

Equetro (carbamazepine) "I have taken a lot of medicines and hated all of them or they didn't work for me. This one actually works but my sex drive, well I have none now and that in turn makes me depressed so I think my doctors going to have to try something else."

• Charly
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 28, 2020

"I have been on Carbamazepine for 1.5 years. It controlled the very ugly feelings I had before, my mind got blocked most of the time, I couldn't drink a Coke, it felt terrible, or sleep in the afternoon, it was very unpleasent. I have bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, with a low dose of Haloperidol, Risperidone and 700 mg of Carbamazepine my life changed completely for good. Now I can stand all day, awake and I really feel very happy with this treatment."

• Early...
• February 23, 2017

"I've been on carbamazepine for 1 week. My head is empty and, I don't feel like myself at all. Feeling nauseous and, the only time I feel 'normal' is when I eat. I have been doing more around the house but, it's like being on auto pilot. This is the first mood stabiliser I've been on so, hoping I get my brain back soon or, I will definitely stop taking it."

• Anony...
• May 2, 2015

"This drug was pretty scary to use. I was warned that it could cause vision problems, feeling off-balance, hard to walk, etc. The symptoms got worse and worse quickly, not better. Very dangerous for me, couldn't see right, couldn't walk safely. Took around 2 hours the third and last time I took it to be able to see correctly. Very scary!"

• Lynnie...
• September 20, 2009

"I have been on 400mg once a day at night since I got diagnosed with bipolar 4 months ago and I am definitely more stable. I haven't had a manic episode since. I have had a few depressed times but not to the extent of before. Carbamazepine is definitely doing it's job at stabilizing my moods."

• My ex...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 21, 2017

"I have been on this medication for about 8 months now. I started at a low dose 200mg a day and now I'm on 600 mg. 300mg in the morning and at night. I find that it makes me sleepy but what doesn't. I am not so sleepy that I cannot function just sleepy when I know I has a good nights sleep. Anyway, I am moody and my moods swing from very happy to super mad like many people with bipolar. This helps we control that. I does nothing for depression but it's not meant to. The side effects are very mild."

• aggra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 26, 2015

Epitol (carbamazepine) "As far as the depression goes, it works. But at the same time, I'm so sleepy all the time. I go from them making me sleepy to knocking me out. They have affected my mind, from making my memory worse to making me feel out of it."

• Was...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 12, 2022

"It’s been a year in taking tegretol and escitalopram for bipolar With some changes, 300mg of tegretol and 20mg of escitalopram now seems the perfect dose and has brought me out of misery into more balanced more of the time. It has been a wonder drug. My memory isn’t great, but I don’t really care because my mood is so much better. I didn’t take meds for a long time and suffered a lot of depression. Meds are worth considering, but it’s important to be able to communicate your experience with your doctor well so they can properly diagnose. I’m so grateful for my doctor identifying what seems the right diagnosis for me (Cyclothymia- Bipolar)"

• Kaz
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 22, 2020

"So, I was previously on Valproate for 13 years, but my bipolar kept kept relapsing. I demanded a medication change and 16 weeks ago I was put on carbamazepine and quetiapine. In terms of treating the manic symptoms it's working really well, but it doesn't seem to work for the depression side of things, so my Dr is going to add a low dose anti-depressant. The big problem I have is migraines. I'm a chronic migraine sufferer anyway and since taking this medication I have had a migraine every day, that doesn't respond to my migraine medication. I'm really hoping that they subside because I'm going to have to come off this medication if they don't. Having exhausted all of the other mood stabalisers and anti-psychotics (allergic to them) I'm going to be screwed."

• Andy
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 14, 2022

"I am taking Tegretol 200 mg since 4 years. My doctor has prescribed me 2 Tablets at night and one tablet in the morning. I am OK with it. However, recently I got my Serum Carbamazepine test done and I found that my results were within given range.i.e. 7.8. However, my Gamma result was high, outside given range (145). Is this normal?"

• Yelle...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 31, 2017

"Well I've been taking depakote 250mg twice a day with citalpram 25mg for 10+ years. It has worked genius for me. Love it. Here recently, the last month or so it's working so well. Tried taking Carbamazepine and it through me for a loop. I had suicidal thoughts again, I broke out in rashes on my shoulders and arms, my face would get flushed and I started my cycle 2 weeks early. Which my Dr then immediately took me off of it 4 that last reason. I wanted a bump up from my 500mg so that's why she prescribed me that. Two 300mg pills a day along with my citalpram. My dr said alot of her patients love it. I did not! Lol. I told her I took one for the team. Now on to try something else. Shit. BTW I'm 35."

• Lumpy...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 16, 2016

"I have found this drug to balance me out I can actually cope with everyday life I also take other drugs my cocktail is right for me venaflaxine propanadol mertatazapine and carbamazapine work well at the moment ...... who knows how long it will last I find my body gets use to the drugs then plays me up ...... my mind goes all over the bloody place ...... once my sleep goes a miss so does everything else ..... has anyone out there got any tips about living with bipolar could do with some tips x"

• Celeste
• May 7, 2015

"I just started carbamazepine today but my sister is very upset with me about it. She said that I listen to whatever someone says. And I took the pill without thinking. But if my doctor prescribed it to me then shouldn't I take it? I was diagnosed bipolar manic depressed..I need advice please."

• Highlow
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 10, 2016

"I took Carbamazepine for 4 days but could stand it no longer. I felt very ill, had sinus pain, runny nose, headaches and feeling so ill I had to go back to bed every day. By day 4, I was feeling like I had 'flu and, after reading the advice leaflet, decided this medication is not for me. I do react badly to a lot of medication, so it is not surprising that this one also was a no go for me. I'm in the UK and am over 60, so my meds are free."

• qwert...
• July 12, 2011

"Didn't help with my mood swings. I was on 200mg twice daily, switched to Depakote 500 mg twice daily, and I felt improvement in the first 10 days. My mood is stable and my severe anxiety has disappeared. Also I see improvement in OCD and I now can better focus. I'm also on Seroquel 100mg twice daily."