Posted by missliz on November 20, 2002, at 0:41:23
In reply to thanks Eddie (nm) (nm), posted by Anna Laura on November 19, 2002, at 7:59:03
I took Tegretol for eight years for bipolar II, and have nothing but praise for it. Saved my life. Actually, it got me my normal life back. Fixed my sleep, fixed me up. Don't waste your money on the generic- that doesn't work, there's bioavailability problems with it. Get the real thing. They're like two different drugs. Unlike most anti convulsants, Tegretol doesn't have big vile weight gain troubles and if you self injure it will stop that in it's tracks.
The drugs you listed are, in my humble opinion, all crap. Strong words, but did they work? Not for me either. You should like the Tegretol much better. This is your first real anti-convulsant/ mood stabilizer? About time. You'll be drowsy and slow for a while while you adjust to the drug but then you should feel much better. I used the slow release, all at bedtime, and slept so well. It really works in the background so you can have a life.
A lot of Bi II's take a mood stabilizer and an anti depressent, so the T may not fix everything at once. It beats the dickens out of lithium, depakote et al though, the side effect profile is fairly benign. Don't use Allegra or Claritin with it, or Erythromycin antibiotics- Nasty intractions. Also, if your blood levels get too high you can get wiggy, I mean bizarre wiggy. Tell your doc if the going gets weird, it sometimes means the dose is a little high. You shouldn't need anti psychotics if the mood stabilizer is right, (my opinion) so check the Teg dose first.
I'm taking Trileptal now, a sort of second generation Tegretol. It's pricy, but very good. And weight neutral. I developed some side effects after all those years on Tegretol, but then medication is a proccess.missliz
poster:missliz
thread:128048
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021116/msgs/128402.html