Posted by uncouth on June 26, 2011, at 12:57:35
In reply to Re: does anyone even take tegretol, posted by crazyjoe on June 20, 2011, at 14:33:54
Hi, I've been meaning to add my experience to this thread. I started on Tegretol about 3 months ago. I can't remember if I posted my experience with it before, but I'll add it here. We added it because I came to my psych and described one feature of my depression that had really amplified recently, and that was the constant rumination, the feeling like i was having a mental storm of thoughts, and the associated inability to think about anything else. That particular symptom was also associated with a lot of "pain" as in feeling the gut-wrenching aspect of depression which is so incapacitating for many of us. My formal diagnosis is BP2 but I've been on so many meds and been so many sh*tty life experiences that I think I'll just call myself 'brain busted' for now. (I sometimes wonder what would have happened had I never gone to psychiatrist 7 long years ago at all...).
The Tegretol, even at a low dose (however I should also state that I was eating/drinking lots of grapefruit when I started the Tegretol, which increases blood levels), but I couldnt even tolerate a 200mg initial dose, we had to start out at 50mg 2x a day, and even that totally "knocked me out"...but my doctor thought that the fact I responded to such a small dose might be a sign that we should stick with it, and stick with it we did (taking away grapefruit juice). I think Tegretol has helped out a lot, and while I am still depressed, and apathetic, and anhedonic, the gut wrenching pain and constant ruminations of failure, self-criticism,worry,anxiety, reliving negative experiences, basically all that 'activated' depressive sh*t has been substantially reduced.
I had tried lots of things for that particular symptom, which had come and gone but mostly come for years, including A/Ds, Antipsychotics, other mood stabilizers, ECT, rTMS, etc. and nothing really hit it like Tegretol did. I'm now on a dose of 200mg XR 2x a day.
I think what I never really realized is that my experience of depressive pain was often such an activated 'mixed' type of bipolar depressive episode, and really needed a mood stabilizer, which acted to relieve some of the depressive elements. Lamictal MAY have helped a bit but only at a high dose, but I think Tegretol was what I needed. Only thing that ever came close to it's effectiveness and quickness of response was zyprexa.
Mixed states or bipolar/depression may have an element of temporal lobe epileptic activity to them, and Tegretol really acts in that area to reduce activity. I'm not sure if I'm going to stay on it, and may reduce dose, because of continued feeling of anhedonia and lack of motivation, and feelings of hopelessness, etc. but that could be a whole other system so who knows.
After all these years I feel like now have tools that I can use on a "short term" basis when things get particularly bad in certain dimensions, like Tegretol and Zyprexa for example (and I also have a tDCS device but can't say that's life changing either). Don't have to be on them every day but it feels good to know they are there when they are needed.
So I would definitely consider trying Tegretol. My psych believes it is unique among the mood stabilizers in that it targets temporal lobe better than say lamictal or etc. I didn't seem to have any serious side effects. Again, it hasn't made me feel GOOD, given me life, allowed for joy, helped make my life meaningful but it has helped take away the pain.
Uncouth
poster:uncouth
thread:988730
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110619/msgs/989474.html