lemonflavor Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 For those who are normally sensitive to withdrawal from drugs, is going off Trileptal especially difficult? For me going off Effexor, Lexapro and coming down on Risperdal are terrible and going off Zyprexa was an absolute nightmare (although I didn't taper off gradually enough). Going off tricyclics weren't so bad. How is it coming off of Trileptal? Ironically I may end up back on Zyprexa but if I do I will never go off it again for my entire life. I don't know yet, but want to know what I may be in for. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMF Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 DD had her dose reduced about a week ago from 1800 mg. a day to 1500 mg. Things seemed to be going well (she's been very stable for months now). Yesterday she forgot her 300 mg. mid-day dose and today she's been back to swinging up and down all day long. This also happened quite a number of months ago when they tried to titrate down to 1200 mg. I'm telling you this because it appears that you are going to tell very quickly at what point the dosage is not being effective. If you are completely titrating off, and don't need it for moods, maybe you won't have the return of mood problems. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halation Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 lemonflavor - how long have you been on the trilepital, and what is your dose? when stopping trilepital, or any anticonvulsant medication, your prescribing doctor should be giving you a discontinuation schedule, so you can come off safely. it'll likely take a few weeks, unless your liver is about to explode or something and stopping the trilipetal is a medical emergency. usually you come off anticonvulsants as slowly as you started them. there is no "withdrawl" in the traditional sense, but because anticonvulsants mess with various parts of your brain, stopping them suddenly can lower your seizure threshold - that is, make having seizures more likely for you. unlikely to happen, particularly if you have no history of seizure, but you still want to stop gradually, rather than all at once, just to be safe. no discontinuation syndrome associated with trilepital, though, as far as i know. just follow the instructions of your doc, and you should be fine. luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemonflavor Posted June 11, 2006 Author Share Posted June 11, 2006 I've been on 900mg for a month or two. I'm aware of the need for slow discontinuation and of course this would be directed by my pdoc, just wondering if I would get the same anxiety, brain zaps etc. from Trileptal as from other stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halation Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 it's extraordinarily unlikely you'll notice much of anything - i was slightly more sensitive to light and sound when i came off tegretol, but i have spazzy funbrain, and i am sensitive to light and sound mostly all the time. i've never heard of the brain zap phenomenon associated with ACs, though. if the trilepital was doing good things for you, you may notice the return of symptoms, but probably nothing in the way of withdrawl symptoms. so yay for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Susan_* Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 I have taken myself Trileptal a couple of times ran out a couple of times too. I take it for bipolar though not for seizures. I have every single time this tingling, numb feeling all over!! My face, my hands especially. If you have ever hyperventilated before it feels like that. Lasts a couple of days or so. Not sure why and never heard anyone else report this but it happens to me and so I thought I would pass it along....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DFS Posted November 25, 2007 Share Posted November 25, 2007 I have taken myself Trileptal a couple of times ran out a couple of times too. I take it for bipolar though not for seizures. I have every single time this tingling, numb feeling all over!! My face, my hands especially. If you have ever hyperventilated before it feels like that. Lasts a couple of days or so. Not sure why and never heard anyone else report this but it happens to me and so I thought I would pass it along....... I have taken Tripeptal for about 2 months and had an allergic reaction and had to stop suddenly. I had to go off of 1200 mg per day at once. It has been terrible. I have that same numb, tingling feeling in my face and hands but ihave it in my legs and arms too. In addition, i ache all over and am incredibly weak like i have a really bad flu. I'm on my forth day without any trileptal and i am still having some severe withdrawls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennedy6500 Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 I have taken myself Trileptal a couple of times ran out a couple of times too. I take it for bipolar though not for seizures. I have every single time this tingling, numb feeling all over!! My face, my hands especially. If you have ever hyperventilated before it feels like that. Lasts a couple of days or so. Not sure why and never heard anyone else report this but it happens to me and so I thought I would pass it along....... yes!!!! i have the same thing. i've been on 3600/day for like four years and i'm moving to lithium. i can't take both together--i have these wild hallucinations, almost--and i cannot how difficult it is to come down off trileptal. anyone know of anything that helps? my hands feel so...weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest qqqqguest Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 I am trying to come off Tripleptal as well, and it sucks. I feel flu-y and numb all over and my ankles have swollen up. I'm itchy and I'm thinking about going back on it just to not be sick. There is indeed withdrawl. I have taken myself Trileptal a couple of times ran out a couple of times too. I take it for bipolar though not for seizures. I have every single time this tingling, numb feeling all over!! My face, my hands especially. If you have ever hyperventilated before it feels like that. Lasts a couple of days or so. Not sure why and never heard anyone else report this but it happens to me and so I thought I would pass it along....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennedy6500 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 i am still struggling with this---everything i read says non-addictive, easy to quit. yeah, whatever. and i am supposed to be getting on lithium. but i am having big problems with The Mighty Lith. has anyone ever had any like sound or hearing issues with lithium? maybe it's a function of trileptal and lithium at the same time. but seriously, i need something to help me get off trileptal or i'm just going back on it. i don't think a rehab would take me. hmmm...maybe i'll start drinking madly or doing heroin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Peter_* Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 My girlfriend stared on psychiatric drugs a year and half ago for "depression". Since then she has had so many problems and goes into spells where she is not herself at all. Shes been on everything from Zoloft to lithium to Trileptal and gets a new diagnosis every few weeks for what she must have...shes been bipolar, and ODC and everything in between. Shes been on 2 or 3 of these psychiatric drugs at a time. Psychiatric doctors and the whole subject is complete bullcrap. I made her parents start to take her off and she is slowly recovering. The last one to go is Trileptal and its being hard to come off but Im sure she is going to be much better once she is totaly off. She went to being drugged up to a point she coudnt be around people with out freaking out to just having spells every once in awhile and side effects and withdrawal symptoms. psychiatric drugs stole a year and a half of our lives and made it miserable. If you are on any type of psychiatric drug I would recommend visiting http://chaada.org/ and reading the following books to better understand what is happening to your body and brain. The Myth of Depression as Disease: by Allan Leventhal Artificial Happiness: by Ronald Dworkin I'm not just taking anyones word for it. I have experienced it first hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 If you are on any type of psychiatric drug I would recommend visiting http://chaada.org/ I'm going to basically ignore that entire post and the entire page it links to except for one thing. Near the top of that page is a picture from a newspaper of people from Eli Lilly donating money to support National Depression Screening Day. It seems to imply that their only possible motivation for that is that they're evil or that it's part of some vast conspiracy to get people to use their products (medications). Probably some combination of the two, judging by the tone taken. To that, I respond with this: Oh my god! There's an EVIL VIDEO GAME CONSPIRACY after our children! The people who both produce and play the games are going after our kids when they're sick and at their most vulnerable to ensnare them with their nasty, horrible games and get them hooked on them for life! There is no possible way they could be doing it out of some motivation to help people or make their lives better, because it's clearly only for their own financial gain! Won't somebody think of the children and help stop this insidious plot?! (Disclaimer: I'm probably in on the conspiracy, because not only do I take and advocate the use of psychiatric medications when justified or necessary, I grew up near McLean, presumably under their evil influence. On top of that, I'm an amateur game developer, avid consumer of games, and contribute to Child's Play yearly, so your kids, should you have any, are fucked. Also, you're an asshat (but you don't have to take my word for it; I've experienced it first-hand).) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resonance Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 I was going to make a "why anti-drug websites are dumb and can screw people over" but Nal's post was beter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null0trooper Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Artificial Happiness: by Ronald Dworkin I'm not just taking anyones word for it. I have experienced it first hand. Good for you. Now send some of that happiness *MY* way. At this point I'll take artificial over biodegradable any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Peter_* Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 If you are on any type of psychiatric drug I would recommend visiting [link=http://chaada.org/"'>http://chaada.org/" target="_blank]http://chaada.org/[/link] I'm going to basically ignore that entire post and the entire page it links to except for one thing. Near the top of that page is a picture from a newspaper of people from Eli Lilly donating money to support National Depression Screening Day. It seems to imply that their only possible motivation for that is that they're evil or that it's part of some vast conspiracy to get people to use their products (medications). Probably some combination of the two, judging by the tone taken. To that, I respond with this: Oh my god! There's an [link=http://www.childsplaycharity.org/" target="_blank]EVIL VIDEO GAME CONSPIRACY[/link] after our children! The people who both produce and play the games are going after our kids when they're sick and at their most vulnerable to ensnare them with their nasty, horrible games and get them hooked on them for life! There is no possible way they could be doing it out of some motivation to help people or make their lives better, because it's clearly only for their own financial gain! Won't somebody think of the children and help stop this insidious plot?! (Disclaimer: I'm probably in on the conspiracy, because not only do I take and advocate the use of psychiatric medications when justified or necessary, I grew up near McLean, presumably under their evil influence. On top of that, I'm an amateur game developer, avid consumer of games, and contribute to Child's Play yearly, so your kids, should you have any, are fucked. Also, you're an asshat ([link=http://youtube.com/watch?v=c6j8EiWIVZs" target="_blank]but you don't have to take my word for it[/link]; I've experienced it first-hand).) I love GTAsA and Unreal tournament. I wouldn't want a 8 year old playing then but to each his own. I don't give too much credit to CHAADA.org because they are extremely one sided but at least it gives some incite into the other side of the argument about psychiatric drugs. Drugs and video games are two very different things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Annie_* Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I recently forgot my Trileptal for a holiday trip and ceased taking it.(about 2 weeks ago)..I have been on 1200 mg / day for about 3 years. Frankly, I thought why not give the liver a break and just see what happens. The only things are - some kind of shakes or tinglies - and strange sensations in my face - like around the eyes / cheeks. Those symptoms for the most part stopped about 4 days after taking it or so. I am much much more awake - which is nice - and suddenly very sensitive to caffeine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tami Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 My girlfriend stared on psychiatric drugs a year and half ago for "depression". Since then she has had so many problems and goes into spells where she is not herself at all. Shes been on everything from Zoloft to lithium to Trileptal and gets a new diagnosis every few weeks for what she must have...shes been bipolar, and ODC and everything in between. Shes been on 2 or 3 of these psychiatric drugs at a time. Psychiatric doctors and the whole subject is complete bullcrap. I made her parents start to take her off and she is slowly recovering. The last one to go is Trileptal and its being hard to come off but Im sure she is going to be much better once she is totaly off. She went to being drugged up to a point she coudnt be around people with out freaking out to just having spells every once in awhile and side effects and withdrawal symptoms. psychiatric drugs stole a year and a half of our lives and made it miserable. If you are on any type of psychiatric drug I would recommend visiting [link=http://chaada.org/"'>http://chaada.org/" target="_blank]http://chaada.org/[/link] and reading the following books to better understand what is happening to your body and brain. The Myth of Depression as Disease: by Allan Leventhal Artificial Happiness: by Ronald Dworkin I'm not just taking anyones word for it. I have experienced it first hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Glenn Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 My girlfriend stared on psychiatric drugs a year and half ago for "depression". Since then she has had so many problems and goes into spells where she is not herself at all. Shes been on everything from Zoloft to lithium to Trileptal and gets a new diagnosis every few weeks for what she must have...shes been bipolar, and ODC and everything in between. Shes been on 2 or 3 of these psychiatric drugs at a time. Psychiatric doctors and the whole subject is complete bullcrap. I made her parents start to take her off and she is slowly recovering. The last one to go is Trileptal and its being hard to come off but Im sure she is going to be much better once she is totaly off. She went to being drugged up to a point she coudnt be around people with out freaking out to just having spells every once in awhile and side effects and withdrawal symptoms. psychiatric drugs stole a year and a half of our lives and made it miserable. If you are on any type of psychiatric drug I would recommend visiting [link=http://chaada.org/"'>http://chaada.org/" target="_blank]http://chaada.org/[/link] and reading the following books to better understand what is happening to your body and brain. The Myth of Depression as Disease: by Allan Leventhal Artificial Happiness: by Ronald Dworkin I'm not just taking anyones word for it. I have experienced it first hand. Your girlfriend sounds a bit like my daughter who at age 14 developed the list of symptoms you describe. Her psychiatrists all said that they had never seen a case like hers and recommended that we take her back to our physician for more medical tests. It was discovered that she has chronic Lyme disease and while this treatment has taken over four years she is better. Please check into is. Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hate This Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Watch out for counterfeits in Tripletal. I recently had all the numbness, tingly, shaky, feels like someone's zapping me with a cattle prod feelings. Couldn't figure it out and then realized it stopped abruptly when I started on a new bottle of Trileptal. This had happened once before and I thought I was crazy. I know now that they probably imported some Chinese shit and I took it. The maker was Watson Labs and usually everything has been good with them but there are all kinds of counterfeits nowadays. The pills looked identical but weren't. I'm on 600mg. for 8 years now. Can't imagine what it must feel like to come off of the megadoses. I never knew Trileptal was used for mood. Thanks for all the info out here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ruggerkeg Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 I have taken myself Trileptal a couple of times ran out a couple of times too. I take it for bipolar though not for seizures. I have every single time this tingling, numb feeling all over!! My face, my hands especially. If you have ever hyperventilated before it feels like that. Lasts a couple of days or so. Not sure why and never heard anyone else report this but it happens to me and so I thought I would pass it along....... I've noticed a slight tingling, but also a dizziness/lightheadedness when I forget a couple doses. It's not a dizziness I've felt before though, it kind of starts in my chest and resonates up through my head real fast. This sensation occurs more frequently the longer I go without the Trileptal. Has anyone else experienced this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Tom_* Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 My girlfriend stared on psychiatric drugs a year and half ago for "depression". Since then she has had so many problems and goes into spells where she is not herself at all. Shes been on everything from Zoloft to lithium to Trileptal and gets a new diagnosis every few weeks for what she must have...shes been bipolar, and ODC and everything in between. Shes been on 2 or 3 of these psychiatric drugs at a time. Psychiatric doctors and the whole subject is complete bullcrap. I made her parents start to take her off and she is slowly recovering. The last one to go is Trileptal and its being hard to come off but Im sure she is going to be much better once she is totaly off. She went to being drugged up to a point she coudnt be around people with out freaking out to just having spells every once in awhile and side effects and withdrawal symptoms. psychiatric drugs stole a year and a half of our lives and made it miserable. If you are on any type of psychiatric drug I would recommend visiting [link=http://chaada.org/"'>http://chaada.org/" target="_blank]http://chaada.org/[/link] and reading the following books to better understand what is happening to your body and brain. The Myth of Depression as Disease: by Allan Leventhal Artificial Happiness: by Ronald Dworkin I'm not just taking anyones word for it. I have experienced it first hand. Funny how pill head people believe in these meds so strongly. Everyone I know who was experimented with on these drugs who just quit was normal and felt so much better after discontinuing. I'm never going to be pushed to taking overpriced, overrated, pills again. Conspiracy?, no just commercialism at it's absolute worst. If you have seizures, take your meds. If you are depressed, get off the couch, get some friends, get a hobby, or simply be a retard for the rest of your miserable life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bec Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 I'm really curious about Trileptal withdrawal too. My sister was on something like 700 mg, went off cold turkey, and said she didn't notice a thing. I'm not sure how long she was on them though, and how consistently. I've been on it for about a year, if not a tiny bit longer, and am on 225 mg. I reduced to 150 mg last night and plan on staying there for a few months. Does anyone know what I can expect for the next few days? My psychiatrist is rather useless sometimes when it comes to questions like these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 My sister was on something like 700 mg, went off cold turkey, and said she didn't notice a thing. I'm not sure how long she was on them though, and how consistently. I've been on it for about a year, if not a tiny bit longer, and am on 225 mg. I reduced to 150 mg last night and plan on staying there for a few months. Does anyone know what I can expect for the next few days? My psychiatrist is rather useless sometimes when it comes to questions like these. I wasn't even aware that it came in sizes small enough to add up to either of those numbers, or that it even did anything at that low a dose. Both times I was on it, I started at 300, which is actually fairly conservative and a single pill (I guess they might make a 150 that could be split, so you could end up with 225 that way if that exists. Yeah, thinking out loud...). I didn't notice anything at all starting right at 300 or stopping directly from there, either. It barely had any effect at 600mg/day and only really became noticeable at 900. I don't know about for mood, but at least for seizures the normal starting/stopping dose is 600mg/day, split between morning and night. Just based on my past experience and the usual dosing schedule, you should probably expect absolutely nothing for the next few days, unless you're unusually sensitive to it and have noticed a difference between such small amounts before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bec Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Thank you for the reply. My sister also started at 300 and worked her way up until she noticed a difference with her bipolar. It does come in 150 pills so I take a pill and a half to make the 225. I'm just pretty sensitive to drugs in general so not much is needed to have an effect. I suppose that's why i worry when it comes to withdrawal effects, that it'll be just as difficult to get off than it was to get on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Robbie_* Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 I have taken myself Trileptal a couple of times ran out a couple of times too. I take it for bipolar though not for seizures. I have every single time this tingling, numb feeling all over!! My face, my hands especially. If you have ever hyperventilated before it feels like that. Lasts a couple of days or so. Not sure why and never heard anyone else report this but it happens to me and so I thought I would pass it along....... Coming off right now and having the same symptoms really bad. Major vibrations in my body too when trying to sleep. Horrible. Spiking blood pressure issues too that I usually don't have. Go slowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KittyMaison Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 (edited) Ugh ... to all that are taking psychiatric drugs. I took the lowest level of Remeron ... half of 15 mg. Ended up in the hostpital because I was awake for 4 days. So know they think I am bipolar. And giving me Tripletal. I DID not feel bad before these meds ... now I am apathetic ... and when I don't take the Tripleptal I feel like I have the flu. When I do take it I am mildly depressed and somewhat agitated. I am trying to come off and balance myself with 5-HTP and Omega-3. Anyone with advice please write ... k.........@gamail.com Edited April 5, 2010 by AirMarshall removed personal email. fwiw. a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy10 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I came off 800mg Carbamazepine (Tegretol Retard) over the space of about 8-10 months after 10 yrs on the drug. Felt fine, not much different except a bit lighter. The first few days after each dose reduction I'd get tingles in my head but that was no big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest beach bum Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Under my pdoc guidance: I have taken 1500 mg of Trileptal for 6 years (5-300mg tabs). I am in the 5th week of the withdrawal process and down to one more dose of 300 mg tonight. I have noticed that I wake up at least once during the night. I remind myself that I am withdrawing and somehow get back to sleep. I am sleeping less at night overall...from about 7.5 hours to about 6. My energy level has somewhat increased in the last week or so. I take Trileptal and Seroquel for bipolar and ocd. I have been somewhat symptom free for appx 4 years, but heavily medicated to the point of feeling like I am in a stupor. I have been mentally sluggish and lost my ability to understand/retain information (such as when attempting a Spanish class). After one month free of Trileptal, I am starting a Seroquel decrease. I currently take 400mg per night...I have severe RLS (a side effect of the long term use of Seroquel) and must take medicine for that too. It feels good to finally have a plan for reduction of these meds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest everwood Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 i am currently on 600 mg of trileptal (300mg 12 hours apart) for bipolar II. i've noticed that when i miss a few doses, i become dizzy & lightheaded. it's not too bad, but it can be annoying, especially since i'm prone to have panic attacks when i don't feel "normal." it's nice to know other people have felt some type of withdrawal effects. i'm typically VERY sensitive to withdrawals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nicky Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I have taken myself Trileptal a couple of times ran out a couple of times too. I take it for bipolar though not for seizures. I have every single time this tingling, numb feeling all over!! My face, my hands especially. If you have ever hyperventilated before it feels like that. Lasts a couple of days or so. Not sure why and never heard anyone else report this but it happens to me and so I thought I would pass it along....... i would talk to ur doctor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Dawn_* Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 (edited) Ugh ... to all that are taking psychiatric drugs. I took the lowest level of Remeron ... half of 15 mg. Ended up in the hostpital because I was awake for 4 days. So know they think I am bipolar. And giving me Tripletal. I DID not feel bad before these meds ... now I am apathetic ... and when I don't take the Tripleptal I feel like I have the flu. When I do take it I am mildly depressed and somewhat agitated. I am trying to come off and balance myself with 5-HTP and Omega-3. Anyone with advice please write ... k.......@gamail.com I started on trileptal about 4 months ago after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I started on 150mg/day and gradually went up to 450mg/day, which is apparently a very small amount. However, I am very sensitive to meds, and I was having manic symptoms e.g. couldn't sleep, would have crazy bouts of energy and then feel really lethargic, apathy, etc. After about the first 2 months, my doctor and I realized that I was having an allergic reaction and that my body was not liking this med. So, I have been reducing the trileptal now for about 6 weeks. I am now on 75 mg/day and have tried to reduce that amount in half, but every time i try to reduce it, i have those flu-like symptoms, achey body, extreme fatigue, mental confusion. It But I also read about the positive effects of Omega-3 oils in people with bipolar, so I have been taking them now for about a month, and I think that helps a lot. I have a lot of withdrawal symptoms, such as low energy, brain zaps, fits of crying, etc. But I also have been on Zoloft for 5 years now, so it could be because of that. Anyway, if I could give any advice, I would say just keep looking forward, towards what you know will be a better future. And especially if you're sensitive, go off the meds very slowly. It's a rough ride, I'm not going to lie. But if you can just keep your goal in mind, and make sure to be honest and communicate with your doctor, you'll be fine. I'm only saying that because I've been there, and still am! Good luck! Edited April 5, 2010 by AirMarshall removed personal email. a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy10 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 I am seriously glad I was put on Lamictal after a bout of suicidal depression. If I don't take it before middayish, I feel strange - disconnected, emotional, 'craving', weak, dizzy, empty, v weird...it's not nice. I don't see it as withdrawal as such. It appears to me that I'm in the habit of taking it first thing and my brain/body reacts if it doesn't get it. Neural pathways, habit, whatever, etc...end of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I have taken myself Trileptal a couple of times ran out a couple of times too. I take it for bipolar though not for seizures. I have every single time this tingling, numb feeling all over!! My face, my hands especially. If you have ever hyperventilated before it feels like that. Lasts a couple of days or so. Not sure why and never heard anyone else report this but it happens to me and so I thought I would pass it along....... I have taken Tripeptal for about 2 months and had an allergic reaction and had to stop suddenly. I had to go off of 1200 mg per day at once. It has been terrible. I have that same numb, tingling feeling in my face and hands but ihave it in my legs and arms too. In addition, i ache all over and am incredibly weak like i have a really bad flu. I'm on my forth day without any trileptal and i am still having some severe withdrawls. I've been taking 1800 mg Trileptol for Bipolar disorder for 2 yrs. My Dr failed to authorize my refill, was off it for 5 days, had the tingling for a while, the panic, excruciating leg cramps, couldn't stand up, threw up and diarhea, all night, called an ambulance, and had a seizure at the hospital. All my bloodwork looked great though! My advice is no matter how badly it makes you feel, wean off or it can potentially kill you if you are not in good health or you're a long distance from good medical help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Courtney Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I have taken myself Trileptal a couple of times ran out a couple of times too. I take it for bipolar though not for seizures. I have every single time this tingling, numb feeling all over!! My face, my hands especially. If you have ever hyperventilated before it feels like that. Lasts a couple of days or so. Not sure why and never heard anyone else report this but it happens to me and so I thought I would pass it along....... This is for "Guest_Guest_Susan_*_*" and anyone else with the tingling face (etc) while off Trileptal. . . I take it for Bi-Polar as well...how ever I don't take it when I drink...so the next day always sucls! Even if I don't drink much because being off 1,500 mg (even for a day) makes me "withdrawl." I get the tingling face, hands, etc. I get really drowsy and kind of itchy. Its NOT fun! But I guess it's common to have these symptoms after reading some of the posts. I just don't know of anything to really help it but time and rest.. it goes away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldorado Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 I was on 900mg of Trileptal a day. The combo of Trileptal leaching sodium and the inderal thinning my blood and the extreme thirst from all the meds, I wound up in the hospital with water intoxication. I had dangerously low levels of sodium and chloride (salt). When he took me off Trileptal cold turkey, the only trouble I noticed was that for about a month things were strange. But I think that was just due taking away that altered my feeling and thoughts. No problem with with drawl though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jarrod, colorado Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 i was taking 4800mg of neurontin and 2400mg of trileptal for the past year or so. i had trigeminal neuralgia then i got MVD surgery. i did about the dumbest thing i've done in a while and assumed kicking these two meds would be like any other drug kick i had done. normally i just stop taking, have about a day or two of hell and then come back from being all dope sick. not the case with these. it was gnarly, hardest kick i have ever done and i have stopped taking some serious business. the first two nights i had both auditory and physical hallucinations. i couldn't sleep at all starting out. maybe an hour at a time. it was like being in the ICU where you wake up every hour. after a couple of nights of that it moved to a couple of hours at a time. cold sweats, weird tastes in my mouth, horrible, i shoulda have done my homework a little more and stepped down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Susan Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Has anyone had aching bones coming off of trileptal? I am aching all over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Laurie Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 Holy crow, I just found this post and I'm going through the same thing! I took Trileptal for bipolar, though, just 600 mg/day, and tapered down by 150 per week, then off, and now I'm twitchy and feeling tingly and numb all over...thought I was going crazy...but thank you for the validation!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sonny Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 I have been on 500mg/day for over a year for bipolar disorder & I missed my appointment on Friday so I have been off of trileptal for 3 nights so far & so far my head feels SO weird. like i'm about to have a seizure (I have a history of seizures so I know what it feels like). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 I have been on 500mg/day for over a year for bipolar disorder & I missed my appointment on Friday so I have been off of trileptal for 3 nights so far & so far my head feels SO weird. like i'm about to have a seizure (I have a history of seizures so I know what it feels like). That's not terribly surprising, considering it's an anticonvulsant. Probably not a bad idea to see if the doctor can call in a refill for your prescription without having to wait until the next time you can make it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tapering away Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 I know everyone experiences different symptoms when coming off of psychatric drugs so please keep that in mind when you read my reply.Getting off of trileptal has been nothing short of a nightmare for me.I'm up all night,have a very short fuse,am overcome with feelings of sadness that feel so intense that I need to lay down until they pass,and just feel out of it.I was prescibed this drug for bipolar.There have been some positives too I must say.I do feel more clear headed and the fog that's been hanging above me is slowly lifting but it hasn't been easy.This is not a drug you should go on lightly.Effexor was much much worse but trileptal is subtle in the discomfort it's causing.It feels like I am coming off a benzo.After this experience I never want to touch another psychatric med again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 4x4crazyplay Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 Well I have been takin trileptal for about 7 and a half yrs. Now and I have 1 time run out and could not afford it because I had no ins. I got pretty sick eating was difficult and had absolutely no focus on anything no matter how hard I would try. Really bad shakes numbness in hands and tingling real bad. Nausea and not want to eat. Cry really bad and anxiety was unmanagable. I take 1200 mg every day. I take it for bipolar. Never went all of the way away. I finally got my script money 3 week later and felt like a new person. I m terrified to not have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Easy E Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I have taken myself Trileptal a couple of times ran out a couple of times too. I take it for bipolar though not for seizures. I have every single time this tingling, numb feeling all over!! My face, my hands especially. If you have ever hyperventilated before it feels like that. Lasts a couple of days or so. Not sure why and never heard anyone else report this but it happens to me and so I thought I would pass it along....... I am currently in the middle of titration off Trileptal because of it causing low sodium in me(I have seizures and too low sodium levels cause seizures). I am also feeling the numb, tingling feeling in my face, hands, and feet. Whenever I forgot a dose or the Trileptal was low in my system before, I would feel this way. I took Tegretol and had non-tingly but also weird feelings when my dose got low. Switching to Trileptal (almost the same chemical composition) was easy but now I'm switching to Keppra. Feeling very tingly! Glad to know it goes away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jilly7 Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 I was on 1500 mgs. of Trileptal for about 3 years. I've gone down to 300mgs. in about 2 months. I feel achy, spacey, hot and cold, skin crawling, flu-ish and shaky. Does anyone know how long this will last? It is difficult to function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etkearne Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 I did well on going off of it, except one brief seizure induced by lights. I went down very slowly, but know that all is possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Recently, my doc started weaning me off trileptol, and I'm having hellish mood swings, am very impatient and get depressed and angry at the drop of a hat, none of which happened before I was on trileptol. Is that normal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Well, tapering and stopping any med you can have increased mood swings, irritabilty and whatnot, so it's not outside the realm of possibility. Or it could be just your sx returning and a) you don't remember their intensity or b) your disease has progressed and the tx via trileptal kept you stabilized. do you plan to replace it with something else? Anna (soon to be Laila) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korr1121 Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I was on 600mg Trileptal a day for Bipolar. Now I'm trying to taper off and have tingling/numb hands and face, get angry really quick, and I feel hungry but when I try to eat I get nauseous. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpolar1 Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 i forgot my trileptal dose about 5 days ago and stopped since. i went down from 600-900/day to 35mg day over cupl weeks. (for BP) had to get off med due to EXTREMELY scary crap. so now ive been off trileptal for 5 days and i feel like hell! uncontrolable irritability swings/ achy/ flu-ish feeling and my depression has totally worsened. oh yeah and now im totally forgetful and hav ridiculous mental confusion- i feel like an angry depressed idiot (no mental clarity whatsoever) with the flu!! anyone kno how long this will last? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECT works Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I've been taking 750 mg of trileptalfor the past 2 months. I missed it for a day and by the evening of the next day, I felt like I was all sweaty and had the worst panic attack EVER coming on! Has anyone else had this happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen1one0358 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 I'm currently taking 450mgs of trileptal 1x a day at night, I want to get off of medication, my doctor doesn't seem to want to let me, I was never hospitalized or had any crazy outbursts or anything of that nature, how did any of u Manage to come off it and what did you experience? I was on anti depressants for 9 years prior to my bipolar diagnosis, the withdrawals I had with those were rather wretched is that what I have to look forward to? Please help anything would be helpful thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 3 hours ago, Queen1one0358 said: I'm currently taking 450mgs of trileptal 1x a day at night, I want to get off of medication, my doctor doesn't seem to want to let me, I was never hospitalized or had any crazy outbursts or anything of that nature, how did any of u Manage to come off it and what did you experience? I was on anti depressants for 9 years prior to my bipolar diagnosis, the withdrawals I had with those were rather wretched is that what I have to look forward to? Please help anything would be helpful thank you We encourage people to work with their doctors when coming off medications. This is especially true when coming off an anti-seizure med like Trileptal. I know your doctor doesn't want to take you off the Trileptal, but I think you need to talk this over with him making clear your position. Have you ever considered the fact that maybe you haven't had any hospitalizations precisely because you are on medication? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen1one0358 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Thank you for your input, that was definitely a fear I had reading all sorts of horror stories about others who have bipolar disorder, I do have a somewhat hectic life, husband, kids, parents, living situation and lack of income myself, I self diagnosed the bipolar and then had it confirmed by professionals, I sought help out of fear of these horrific stories and it's probably not the best time either, but I hate having to depend on medication and am currently having insurance issues and having to pay out of pocket for my meds and asking others for help in doing so is just too much, on top of having to remember to take them Uhg I'm beyond overwhelmed, I used to smoke marijuana but am now clean 625 days, quitting smoking was part one of my getting off the meds, my doctors talking about being on them for additional 2 years atleast but says I'm already in partial remission, "years" is definitely not what I want to hear or want, again thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen1one0358 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Also, I've never had any breakdowns, my symptoms were always some depression manifesting as anger and insomnia still dealing with the insomnia have since teen years and hyper sexual, also always been that way just got worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuna Posted May 2, 2017 Share Posted May 2, 2017 On 7/26/2008 at 0:46 AM, bec said: I'm really curious about Trileptal withdrawal too.  My sister was on something like 700 mg, went off cold turkey, and said she didn't notice a thing. I'm not sure how long she was on them though, and how consistently.  I've been on it for about a year, if not a tiny bit longer, and am on 225 mg. I reduced to 150 mg last night and plan on staying there for a few months. Does anyone know what I can expect for the next few days? My psychiatrist is rather useless sometimes when it comes to questions like these. This brings up a good point- psychiatrists are useless about alot of things. Which is why I'm trying to find a different one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 I know that we're several pages into this thread now but I just wanted to pitch in my two cents. I noticed Trileptal withdrawal when I was dosing twice per day. I would get to my 6PM dose and feel achy and have the electric shock sensation that you get when you're coming off of an antidepressant and about 1-2 hours after my 6PM dose it would go away. When I switched from 300mg twice a day to 300mg three times a day this problem stopped. I ultimately ended up going to the brand name XR version Oxtellar. It's worked really well for me so far. Because I had to make oxcarbazepine last 24 hours instead of 18 hours I had to go from 900mg to 1200mg. Have had no issues since switching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted October 5, 2017 Share Posted October 5, 2017 Hey all, I titrated down from 900mg trileptal a night, to 300, to off for about a week. And can I just say, what the actual hell. I woke up one morning and my legs cramped so hard it felt like a convulsion. Right now I'm sitting at work and I feel like I'm going to pass out. My guess is this whole "low carb" diet stuff was not a really good idea when withdrawing off of all my meds, but hey, if I'm gonna feel like garbage, I might as well benefit. I have no health insurance and a doctor's going to see me about two weeks from now. Still, I have been "stable" since a kinda-bad bout in May. I find it difficult to believe I'm ill at all (despite a couple professional dx) because I'm so functional. But that's a little off topic. Anyway, I'll check back in a week to see if the withdrawal is going any better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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