Posted by ed_uk on March 20, 2005, at 14:55:41
In reply to Ed_uk Question about Carbamazepine, posted by Nickengland on March 20, 2005, at 10:33:56
Hi Nick!
>Thanks for your replys to the previous messages.
You're welcome :-)
>I have just began taking carbamazepine and on the box the brand is not tegretol, its made from ALPHARMA.
Alpharma is one the major UK generic manufacturers. APS, Generics, Hillcross and IVAX also make carbamazepine.
>I was wondering if it really makes much difference, i.e is the tegretol brand better for less side-effects and more so the tegretol xr version, rather than this one i have? Could the overall effectiveness be better with tegretol to?
I expect that it will be just as effective as Tegretol.
Controlled release formulations of carbamazepine can sometimes be helpful in reducing the incidence of side effects, they are also more convenient.
There are three main brands of controlled realease carbamazepine in the UK...
Tegretol Retard (2 doses per day)
Teril CR (1-2 doses per day)
Timonil Retard (1-2 doses per day)>Also ive been taking Pro-Banthine (Propantheline bromide) for the sweating I have and have noticed since I started taking the carbamazepine it does not seem effective anymore...could this be the carbamazepine stopping it working?
Carbamazepine speeds up the metabolism of many drugs, reducing their effectiveness and duration of action.
I couldn't find any info on the interaction between carbamazepine and propantheline, I wouldn't be surprised if there was one though. Since I'm at home rather than at uni, I don't have access to much information.
If carbamazepine is speeding up the metabolism of propantheline, you should be able to restore the effectiveness of propantheline by increasing the dose. Propantheline is usually taken four times a day. If, in future, you increase the dose of carbamazepine, you may need to increase the dose of propantheline even more.
>if the carbamazepine was effecting the pro banthine am i right in thinking trileptal would not pose this problem with the 2 taken together?
Yes, *if* carbamazepine is speeding up the metabolism of propantheline, Trileptal would probably have less effect. If you increase your propantheline dose while you're taking carbamazepine, you would probably need to decrease it again if you switched to Trileptal. If you didn't decrease it, the side effects of propantheline would be increased.
Regards,
Ed.PS. What doses of propantheline and carbamazepine are you on?
How many times a day do you take them?
Any side effects?
Are you on any other medication?
poster:ed_uk
thread:473135
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050317/msgs/473216.html