Carbamazepine for Bipolar Disorder User Reviews (Page 3)

• dmm...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 15, 2015

"No good made me with no energy, zero libido, foggy thoughts, drowsiness, forgetfulness, made me more irritable, and after a few weeks got the feeling I was going to snap and lose it. Got taken off this medicine and changed to Lamictal, and things got a lot better."

• Kat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 9, 2021

"I’m a 20-something female with rapid cycling bipolar 1 and Crohn's disease. I've been on all psych meds out there: SSRIs, SNRIs, and Wellbutrin. Then the mood stabilizers: gained 20 lbs on them except Lamictal. The dreadful antipsychotics left me like a fat zombie (gained about 50 lbs). Some worked briefly-about a month. Some left me like an empty shell. Some I was aggressive, lost friends due to Keppra rage. Finally, the doctor placed me on Tegretol 2.5 months ago. By day 3, people started saying, “You seem relaxed and calm.” I was first on 600 mg in the am and pm, but I was too sleepy. I’m usually the opposite-chronic insomnia. Now I’m sleeping all night and day. Called the doctor, 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."

• mom...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 25, 2013

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 doctor's going to have to try something else."

• Air...
• November 9, 2014

Carbamazepine "I have only been on Epitol for a few days, but so far, so good. Starting on 300 mg 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."

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

"I take a low dose of Tegretol (200 mg). 30-year-old male, 85 kg. I find it isn't hugely noticeable, however, it stops me from getting a little too excited/frustrated and functioning better at work. No noticeable side effects at this dose. Taking 600 mg 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."

• Anonymous
• December 2, 2010

Carbamazepine "I started taking Epitol 2 1/2 weeks 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 I've 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!"

• Cra...
• 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."

• 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 are slight constipation."

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

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."

• sab...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 5, 2016

Carbamazepine "As I've only been on the medication for a week, don't take this review exactly to heart. My first day on this medication was extremely brain foggy, trouble concentrating, and very sleepy. I was already sleeping excessively to begin with, which is something I was needing help with. The first night I took this, I slept for 14 hours, which is actually way more than I usually do. I also didn't really feel like myself taking this medication, it kinda sucks the life right out of you. I would reply slower to things, take longer to think of responses, and, all in all, lack the normal enthusiasm I usually had. Now, as far as my mood swings went, I believe I have a mild case of bipolar. My doctor prescribed me 200 mg twice a day, which I've just been halving."

• Lyn...
• September 20, 2009

"I have been on 400 mg 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 its job at stabilizing my moods."

• Lco...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 25, 2016

Carbamazepine "To be honest, I am not a fan of anticonvulsants. They have the craziest side effects, and every time I've taken them, I instantly feel like I consumed alcohol. I've taken Lyrica, Gabapentin, and now Tegretol XR. I stopped this medication at my own disclosure because I was terrified once I read that this medication is known for 'drug-induced liver failure.' Not to mention, it interacts with almost every other drug I take. That is not something I want to risk and am very upset that my doc didn't disclose this to me. He didn't even run a blood test to check my liver enzyme level prior to starting treatment, so that's a whole other conversation. But the point is, I do not like this drug and would advise everyone to avoid it if you can."

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

"So, I was previously on Valproate for 13 years, but my bipolar 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 doctor is going to add a low dose antidepressant. 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 stabilizers and antipsychotics (allergic to them), I'm going to be screwed."

• 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, 300 mg of Tegretol and 20 mg of escitalopram now seem the perfect dose and have 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)."

• Cha...
• 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 unpleasant. 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."

• Ear...
• 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 autopilot. This is the first mood stabilizer I've been on, so hoping I get my brain back soon or I will definitely stop taking it."

• My ...
• 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, 200 mg a day, and now I'm on 600 mg, 300 mg 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 had a good night's sleep. Anyway, I am moody, and my moods swing from very happy to super mad, like many people with bipolar. This helps me control that. It does nothing for depression, but it's not meant to. The side effects are very mild."

• Ano...
• 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!"

• And...
• 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 the given range, i.e., 7.8. However, my gamma result was high, outside the given range (145). Is this normal?"

• Lum...
• 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: venlafaxine, propranolol, mirtazapine, and carbamazepine work well at the moment. Who knows how long it will last. I find my body gets used to the drugs then plays me up. My mind goes all over the bloody place. Once my sleep goes amiss, so does everything else. Has anyone out there got any tips about living with bipolar? Could do with some tips x"

• be2...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 4, 2015

Carbamazepine "Was effective for mood stabilization, took 400 mg 2x/day. Went off it because it caused water retention, elevated liver enzymes, and mild neutropenia. Also, carbamazepine interacts with lots of meds, making them ineffective (i.e., Seroquel). Depakote ER is better for me."

• Gre...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 19, 2023

"I find Tegretol fantastic as a mood stabilizer for my bipolar disorder. We trialed coming off it and trialing different mood stabilizers during a hospital stay, but it went so badly that after 3 weeks, I begged my psychiatrist to put me back on it and was back to my non-manic self within a day or two. It's not a 'one and done' med for me, and we need to pair it with an atypical antipsychotic to help cover the depressive episodes, but it works well for me. I'm on 800 mg/day. I will say that the side effects when starting it or increasing the dose can be a bit crazy. I get some full-on ataxia for a couple of days, but it dies down and is worth it overall."

• qwe...
• July 12, 2011

"Didn't help with my mood swings. I was on 200 mg 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 100 mg twice daily."

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

"Well, I've been taking Depakote 250 mg twice a day with Citalopram 25 mg for 10+ years. It has worked brilliantly for me. Love it. Here recently, the last month or so, it's working so well. Tried taking Carbamazepine, and it threw 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 doctor then immediately took me off of it for that last reason. I wanted a bump up from my 500 mg, so that's why she prescribed me that. Two 300 mg pills a day along with my Citalopram. My doctor said a lot 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. By the way, I'm 35."

• all...
• 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."