Carbamazepine User Reviews & Ratings (Page 2)
Brand names: Tegretol, Carbatrol, Tegretol XR, Equetro, Epitol
Carbamazepine has an average rating of 6.9 out of 10 from a total of 334 reviews on Drugs.com. 58% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 22% reported a negative experience.
Reviews for Carbamazepine
- Anonymous
- Taken for 2 to 5 years
- November 29, 2012
Epitol (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "This medicine brought almost instant relief for a very painful neurological condition caused by a root canal procedure that went bad. I suffered for two years before someone suggested this medicine. After 4 doses I was free of pain and continue to be. I understand I will be on this medicine for life."
- TN co...
- April 23, 2016
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "First time when I took Tegretol, it worked immediately and the pain went away. The pain comes and go every year and the most importantly the pain was not bad last 4 years that I did not even take Tegretol. This time the pain is unbearable so I'm on Tegretol. Even with the medication still feel the shock once in awhile. Definately feels better with Tegretol. The side effects, for me, sleepiness, weight gain, excitement with no reason."
- Flyin...
- Taken for 10 years or more
- October 23, 2015
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Bipolar Disorder "I have been on Tegretol for 15 years and it definitely controls the hypomania and rapid cycling, though not the depression so well. It sort of leaves you feeling flat, but I had tried lithium, Depakote, and a few of the atypical antipsychotics and they were too heavy duty or left me with extreme weight gain. When I went on Tegretol I have 50 pounds of extra weight from Depakote....it came off within 4 months. I am not thin now, as I have gotten older, but I suppose it is still the drug for me. At this stage of the game I don't feel like trying other meds as I have to work and function. I also take a small dose of Lamictal too."
- LFano
- Taken for 1 to 2 years
- August 5, 2019
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "After 5 long years of incorrect diagnosis, unnecessary dental and ear surgeries, I was finally diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) about 12 months ago and put on 3 x 200mg of Tegretol daily. I have had horrific side effects with serious changes to my menstrual cycle (8 week non stop bleeding) but it is still better than living with the TN episodes that I would have almost daily. I have recently been having milder episodes and may have to try something else."
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- Yankee...
- Taken for less than 1 month
- September 3, 2015
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Bipolar Disorder "I have been on Tegretol for 8 days now, I'm very happy with the results so far. My mood and energy seems to have improved. I'm taking Tegretol 200mg twice a day along with Prosac and Ambien for my insomnia. The only side effect so far is a little bit lightheaded, but no biggie. I have begun a journal/to do list and I'm very happy when I cross off the items I have completed, in addition in my daily journal I'm drafting my daily feelings and my accomplishments. I would highly recommend this as this is helping me out tremendously. My memory is not as sharp and this HELPS big time."
- AB 103
- December 8, 2009
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "I was having severe attacks several times a day and within two days on tegretol they stopped. I still get very minor twinges at times from trigger areas. It has been two weeks plus now and I can still recall beginning to brush my teeth and ending up on the floor, so I would be happy if I retain this level of control forever."
- soooo...
- Taken for 10 years or more
- June 3, 2019
Carbatrol (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "I’ve been using carbatrol for at least 15 to 20 years and have noticed my front teeth are getting loose . But after my second MVD I AM STILL 5yrs painfree. Except when my brother passed away in Feb 2019, started crying and had three massive face pains so I had to stop crying So that was due to strees. So I keep up to date on my blood test but just realized a side effect is loose teeth which is a VERY small price to pay for no pain"
- lockets
- March 5, 2017
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "Diagnosed a year ago. The tegratol helps with the pain massively, reducing it to more of and ache. My g.p has me on a step up and and step down routine so I'm not in them long term. It's working for me at the moment"
- Anonymous
- June 14, 2011
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Bipolar Disorder "I had a very good experience on Tegretol. I had no side effects and was feeling better within three days. On top of stabilizing my moods it also reduced my fibromyalgia pain by a good 90% (which also helped my mood a lot). The only reason I stopped taking it is because I'm working on becoming pregnant and it does have some nasty side effects there. The new medicines I'm on don't work quite as well and I plan to go back on Tegretol as soon as I have a child."
- Thebi...
- Taken for 5 to 10 years
- August 12, 2014
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "I have spent 17 years with atypical trigeminal neuralgia. This medicine gave me 4 years pain free. It took a long time to work, seems like almost a year, but worked great for a time. Guess now it's on to something else."
- Leftc...
- Taken for less than 1 month
- February 9, 2021
For Trigeminal Neuralgia "The first time I felt TN pain on my right cheek I thought I had been hit by lightning. Second time I started looking for stray current. Carbamazepine ER (extended release) definitely seems to be helping reduce the frequency of the shocks unless I was coincidentally entering a remission. I was prescribed 2x/day. This gets me through the night, pain free, but not through the day. I split the dose into 3x/day which seems to work better, but still not enough: I end up slowing down, sitting down, and biding my time until the next dose. Getting through the day is going to take a higher dose or other strategies. Looking at facial pain and seizure/ epilepsy web sites has given me two tips to help medication effectiveness: 1) eat something to keep blood sugar from getting too low, and 2) choose foods that are low in glutamate such as pears, apples, corn, or rice."
- feeling...
- Taken for 6 months to 1 year
- March 14, 2013
For Bipolar Disorder "This is the ONLY thing that has worked for me. I was diagnosed with a 'nonspecified mood disorder', feeling totally out of control, no concentration, extremely irritable, suicidally depressed, angry, extremely everything, you name it. Tried on Lexapro (small effect, then nothing), Effexor (killed my whole soul- left me feeling nothing at all and HORRIBLE to wean off off and gained 30 pounds in two months), Zoloft (turned me into a raging psychotic mess- violently angry ideations, a real nightmare), Xanax (psychosis), self-medication (won't go into that, but obviously not a good idea)....anyway, you get the gist. This medication gives me NO side effects and just took away my 'craziness' it changed my life."
- Anonymous
- March 21, 2010
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Bipolar Disorder "I've used Tegretol for the last three years and it's still working like it did in the beginning. My moods have been so much better over this time and I have a lot better outlook now versus the time before I started taking this medicine. I love these good moods I stay in throughout the day."
- Trige...
- Taken for less than 1 month
- August 5, 2018
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "I've been living with unbearable pain for 3 years. My official diagnosis is trigeminal neuralgia, although I'm still not sure the diagnosis is correct. Like many others, I've had endless dental procedures to no avail. They tried to put me on Tegretol and other anticonvulsants, but I can't tolerate it. The pain went away like magic from the first pill but the side effects were unbearable. It's as if someone hands you a life jacket and then it blows up in your face. I get a horrific state of agitation that lasts for many hours. I have to move, hit, kick, to relieve this madness (akathisia). My question: can I have relief from pain with Tegretol if the pain is caused by something ELSE (such as a dental implant, in my case)? Or is the diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia definitive if the pain goes away? Thank you."
- Anonymous
- Taken for 1 to 6 months
- April 21, 2013
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Schizoaffective Disorder "Tegretol is very effective for my mood swings and hallucinations. It helps slow the racing thoughts and hyperactivity and thinking people are out to get me and helps with hearing voices. When I do not take it, everyone can notice a huge difference in how I act."
- laurel
- August 22, 2009
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "I have been on Tegretol for only 2 weeks and it gave me much relief. Neurontin and Topomax did not work for me. Only side effect of Tegretol is sleepiness. I sleep very well at night. I was prescribed 200mg twice a day, but only take it once a day. Sometime I take it twice a day if pain in morning is constant."
- Gurin...
- August 26, 2016
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "I started taking Tegretol 500mg every night after dinner. Initial ten days were extremely tough....very sleepy and was sleeping over 12 hours a day. Slowly there was some improvement but still very lethargic, struggling to concentrate, do day to day activities. Going back to doc. for a reassessment. The pain is down almost 70% and has given me some relief and relaxed me a bit."
- Crazi...
- March 1, 2014
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Bipolar Disorder "I have been taking Tegretol for a couple of years and it really helps with my bipolar. I can notice a big difference compared to if I'm not taking it. I just don't like how it makes my head and tongue feel numb, but it's a small price to pay."
- jmsne...
- July 11, 2010
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Bipolar Disorder "Tegretol has slowed the rapid cycling I was experiencing with bipolar. I have noticed improved mood. I currently take a large dose, so I experience side effects. It's my only complaint about the drug. I would recommend anyone who is considering Tegretol for Bipolar to have a backup for depressed mood, as I don't feel it's effective for extreme low mood, mainly for bipolar mania."
- Kim-ds
- June 20, 2013
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Epilepsy "There is nothing more scarier than that first few seconds when your seizure starts and nobody is around. Tegretol has saved my life! I am so thankful my doc put me on these tablets 200mg three times a day and I'm happily seizure free."
- Rainy
- April 6, 2016
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "Diagnosed with TN (glad to learn about it and find out I'm not dying of a brain tumor or something) - the pain is horrific. I've been on the generic form of Tegretol (Carbamazepine) 100 mg 3x per day for 3 weeks. I still have episodes of pain a couple times a day, but at least I can walk around, talk and eat without the excruciating pain I had been experiencing. Only downside is I feel like a zombie - tired, and "out of it" - but like others have said - I'd take that any day over the near constant pain I was having."
- missb...
- Taken for less than 1 month
- January 12, 2014
Tegretol XR (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "I have been on Tegretol XR for about 3 weeks now for Trigeminal Neuralgia. I take 100 mg 2x a day. It took like two days for it to work. I only start to have pain from the attacks when I'm due for my next dose. And it's not nearly as bad. The only problem is that I'm already on pregabalin for fibromyalgia, so the Tegretol added makes me totally out of it. I can't remember things, I'm double drowsy all day, I zone out, and I don't like that it has negative interactions with about 500 medications including Tylenol, which I usually take for breakthrough pain because ibuprofen doesn't work on me. So overall, it helps but I really hope I don't have to take this for a long period of time."
- Annie...
- June 20, 2016
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Trigeminal Neuralgia "I started taking Tegretol for TN and it did greatly improve my ability to function. Pain was much duller during episodes and had stopped being totally debilitating. 6-7 weeks after use I began to be so lethargic I couldn't get out of bed and was relying so much more on my husband to see to our toddler son. It was very worrying. I then developed severely enlarged glands under my chin, lumps on my neck and started to feel generally unwell. I then had a full blood count done and it returned a very low white blood and abnormal looking cells also. Enlarged spleen also occurred. Now being referred to haematology and had to be taken off Tegretol as they believe I am taking quite a severe reaction to it."
- Miona
- Taken for 1 to 6 months
- January 24, 2019
For Trigeminal Neuralgia "Was diagnosed with TN pretty swiftly after about three weeks of face pain one week of which was worse than giving birth! Was put on 100mg twice a day and after one week the pain subsided. I was very happy. Only side affect was a terrible drowsiness most of the day but better than the pain. However by week three (still on only 200mg per day) I started to feel very unwell. I felt like I was dying. I got terrible fever and the drowsiness got so unbearable I could hardly walk. I got a mouth ulcer (never get them) then another. I could hardly eat, felt nauseous, dizzy and very unwell. Finally the doctor ordered a blood test and he then called me up a couple of days later to tell me to stop taking the drug immediately because I had an allergic reaction and it had affected my liver. Off it now and feeling more like my old self. Luckily the TN has subsided and hopefully it won't come back for a long time. If it does I won't be taking Carbamazepine again."
Reviews may be edited to correct grammar/spelling or to remove inappropriate language and content. Reviews that appear to be created by parties with a vested interest are not published. This information is not intended to endorse any particular medication. While these reviews may be helpful, they are not a substitute for the expertise, knowledge, and judgement of healthcare professionals.
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- Drug class: dibenzazepine anticonvulsants
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Patient resources
- Carbamazepine drug information
- Carbamazepine (Intravenous) (Advanced Reading)
- Carbamazepine (Oral) (Advanced Reading)
- Carbamazepine Chewable Tablets
- Carbamazepine Extended-Release Capsules (Carbatrol)
Other brands
Tegretol, Carbatrol, Tegretol XR, Equetro, ... +2 more
Professional resources
- Carbamazepine monograph
- Carbamazepine (FDA)
- Carbamazepine Capsules (FDA)
- Carbamazepine Chewable (FDA)
- Carbamazepine ER (FDA)
- Carbamazepine Oral Suspension (FDA)
Other brands
Tegretol, Carbatrol, Equetro, Epitol, Carnexiv
Tegretol (carbamazepine) for Bipolar Disorder "my son age 5 has used tegretol for the past 6 months for bipolar disorder - it has shown a great improvement in his mood changes and has allowed others to accept him more. if the tegretol is not given we notice a huge mood swing and rage and depression becomes more apparent."