Have you ever taken tegretol for bipolar disorder?
Asked by
lunabean (
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April 23rd, 2010
from iPhone
My doctor decided to put me on 400mg at night and that made me sleep basically a full 24 hours. I went down to 200mg and I’m still really weak and have no energy. Most people seem to start at 200mg but is there a lower dosage? What are your experiences with this and other bipolar meds? I just wonder how many more medications I’ll have to try before one actually works.
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4 Answers
Don’t know about Tegretol. How many different meds have you tried? Have you tried Lithium yet?
I know people who have tried a dozen meds and still not got something that really works. So be prepared for a lot of work. If the side effects are as bad as you say, tell the shrink you don’t want that drug. Try something else as soon as you can. No one takes a drug when the side effects are horrible. So the drug is really useless.
Abilify didn’t do anything at all, geodon was alright but I didn’t like the way I felt when I was falling asleep. I’m pretty sure I had something else but I’m not sure of the name. I haven’t tried lithium but I’ve read good things about it so maybe I’ll be trying that soon.
My shrink says that Lithium is the “gold standard.” I don’t know what so many docs think they should start with anything else. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it works for a lot of people.
I’ve been on probably 20 different meds. Valproic acid (Depakote) worked well but had some side effects that I had to take other meds to correct. I’m grateful that Abilify works for me. It does a good job of controlling my symptoms.
I haven’t tried the one you mentioned.
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