tegretol issues

[Guest Guest_susanlynn_*]

So I'm lucky to be on Tegretol, right. I just get squeamish that it is eating away at my awareness. No big deal. Does anyone know what I am talking about? Thank yoy

[nalgas]

Does anyone know what I am talking about?

To be completely honest with you, no, I don't. That was a bit too vague for me to guess at. What's lucky about it (I'm not sure what's lucky or unlucky about any given med)? Are you squeamish because you feel like it is eating away at your awareness in some way, or that it might if you keep taking it, or what? And why would or wouldn't that be a big deal compared to not taking it? Just trying to get some idea what inspired that post, since it sort of seems to have come out of nowhere.

[susanlynn]

Does anyone know what I am talking about?

To be completely honest with you, no, I don't. That was a bit too vague for me to guess at. What's lucky about it (I'm not sure what's lucky or unlucky about any given med)? Are you squeamish because you feel like it is eating away at your awareness in some way, or that it might if you keep taking it, or what? And why would or wouldn't that be a big deal compared to not taking it? Just trying to get some idea what inspired that post, since it sort of seems to have come out of nowhere.

I'm not allergic to Tegretol, so in that regard I feel lucky. Every day that I take it I feel I play some part in helping or hindering my health. A little Back to the Future, I miss my past, before I took this medication, before I had a head injury. It seems lotsa people used to take it, and that now that's not so much the case.

So my taking the medication is intertwined with my acquired disability, having begun taking it under two years following my disabling incident (those early years are very foggy). Yes I am less aware with my disabilty. It's scary feeling a little drunk for so many years, attributing much of the feeling to a pill, and not knowing too much about it. I feel I can do more concerning my medication than I can the disability, as in, the disability was the first accident; lets see how we can clean up the second accident, the medication, given to deal with accident number one.

[susanlynn]

Now I read that people on Dilantin or Tegretol have a far greater chance of stroke or vascular failure, and should be switched to Keppra or Lamictal.

[Newtonium]

Now I read that people on Dilantin or Tegretol have a far greater chance of stroke or vascular failure, and should be switched to Keppra or Lamictal.

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents, since I've tried just about every med there is.

(1) Just about every anti-BP med does something to your awareness. If you mean what I think you mean, yes, they do tend to make you feel a bit forgetful, foggy, and like a few IQ points have been knocked off. Tegretol didn't do much to my awareness, but it didn't help my mania either, and it made everything smell like weed. That was fun for a while, but it got to be a pain after a few weeks. Seroquel & Lamictal really kick my mania down, but I sometimes forget how to spell things, can't think of the right word, and I have to look twice to see whether a blueprint is upside-down or right-side-up. I don't love that, but it's a fair trade-off for being functional and (I'm almost afraid to say it!) happy.

(2) Don't let the "this med has a high risk of such-and-such" thing put you off. They all have a risk of something, but there is an excellent chance you'll never get whatever it is. Seroquel is supposed to have a risk of weight gain and/or diabetes...well, I haven't gained a pound and my blood sugar is still low.

What I'm trying to say is, if a med is working for you, you can work with it. Sometimes dose changes help. If Tegretol is helping your BP symptoms, try sticking with it, as the side effects can even abate over time. Don't stress about what might happen. Save the worrying for if something happens you really need to worry about.

HTH,

Jackee

[susanlynn]

Now I read that people on Dilantin or Tegretol have a far greater chance of stroke or vascular failure, and should be switched to Keppra or Lamictal.

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents, since I've tried just about every med there is.

(1) Just about every anti-BP med does something to your awareness. If you mean what I think you mean, yes, they do tend to make you feel a bit forgetful, foggy, and like a few IQ points have been knocked off. Tegretol didn't do much to my awareness, but it didn't help my mania either, and it made everything smell like weed. That was fun for a while, but it got to be a pain after a few weeks. Seroquel & Lamictal really kick my mania down, but I sometimes forget how to spell things, can't think of the right word, and I have to look twice to see whether a blueprint is upside-down or right-side-up. I don't love that, but it's a fair trade-off for being functional and (I'm almost afraid to say it!) happy.

(2) Don't let the "this med has a high risk of such-and-such" thing put you off. They all have a risk of something, but there is an excellent chance you'll never get whatever it is. Seroquel is supposed to have a risk of weight gain and/or diabetes...well, I haven't gained a pound and my blood sugar is still low.

What I'm trying to say is, if a med is working for you, you can work with it. Sometimes dose changes help. If Tegretol is helping your BP symptoms, try sticking with it, as the side effects can even abate over time. Don't stress about what might happen. Save the worrying for if something happens you really need to worry about.

HTH,

Jackee

[susanlynn]

Now I read that people on Dilantin or Tegretol have a far greater chance of stroke or vascular failure, and should be switched to Keppra or Lamictal.

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents, since I've tried just about every med there is.

(1) Just about every anti-BP med does something to your awareness. If you mean what I think you mean, yes, they do tend to make you feel a bit forgetful, foggy, and like a few IQ points have been knocked off. Tegretol didn't do much to my awareness, but it didn't help my mania either, and it made everything smell like weed. That was fun for a while, but it got to be a pain after a few weeks. Seroquel & Lamictal really kick my mania down, but I sometimes forget how to spell things, can't think of the right word, and I have to look twice to see whether a blueprint is upside-down or right-side-up. I don't love that, but it's a fair trade-off for being functional and (I'm almost afraid to say it!) happy.

(2) Don't let the "this med has a high risk of such-and-such" thing put you off. They all have a risk of something, but there is an excellent chance you'll never get whatever it is. Seroquel is supposed to have a risk of weight gain and/or diabetes...well, I haven't gained a pound and my blood sugar is still low.

What I'm trying to say is, if a med is working for you, you can work with it. Sometimes dose changes help. If Tegretol is helping your BP symptoms, try sticking with it, as the side effects can even abate over time. Don't stress about what might happen. Save the worrying for if something happens you really need to worry about.

HTH,

Jackee

[susanlynn]

Oops- maybe being on Tegretol 19 years hasn't all been so good. I feel dioriented. I'm trying to get in front of the ball, but I guess I can't have everything.

[Guest Guest_susanlynn_*]

Maybe the tegretol smoking gun is d-cycloserine, a memory abolisher. See ya.

[Silver]

Maybe the tegretol smoking gun is d-cycloserine, a memory abolisher. See ya.

Um... explain, please?

d-cycloserine ups the seizure threshold (here) and they seem to have additive bad effects on memory, but, um, what other relationship are you finding? References, please.

[susanlynn]

Sorry- a few articles lately have applauded the recent gains of neuroscientists, a recent Economist, and a June 2008 Harper's magazine. My footnoting is shoddy. Regrets- I didn't consider that tegretol is much older than d-cycloserine.