Carbamazepine/Tegretol for bipolar disorder?

June 18, 2007 2:55 PM

What should I expect when taking Carbamazepine/Tegretol for bipolar disorder? Should I expect it to do something clear in regard to the depression?

I've been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and that's explained quite a number of things. Generally, I've been told I have unipolar depression, but after a period of pretty much going batshit taking Effexor, I was told this (among a number of other i-thought-unrelated problems) is a clear sign of bipolar disorder and was prescribed Tegretol. What should I expect? There's supposed to be a "mild" antidepressant effect, but how long should I wait until it happens? I've only taken it for a day so far, and it seems to have quelled the noise in my head quite a bit, at the least setting a speed limit on my thoughts, helping me function with average situations without getting anxiety attacks from being immediately overloaded with emotions. Should I hold out for a boost in my mood? I'm still feeling pretty grey, but it's not as bad and while I'm functioning I think I could be doing better. My psychiatrist said that a low dose of Welbutrin (as "regular" doses send me into mania) will be the next step if my mood doesn't pick up, and I know I have all sorts of personal tells in re: my mood, but I want to know some of the hivemind's experiences.

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (3 answers total)

You want crazymeds.org, which despite (or, um, reflecting) its domain name is one of the better resources for questions of this sort out there.
posted by Aidan Kehoe at 3:05 PM on June 18, 2007

Jeez, I wish more people had answered your question. I've never taken it but I am a 4th yr pharmacy student. You shouldn't expect a boost in your mood - carbamazepine is a mood stabilizer. It literally stabilizes the membranes of neurons in your brain, making them less likely to fire. Good for leveling out your mood, not so good for alleviating depression. The Wellbutrin option sounds like a good one, especially since you seem pretty aware of your own highs and lows. It sounds to me like you could give it a try and would be quick to recognize if you were heading for mania, and could stop. Best of luck with this - I have heard that it's been a great help for many people.
posted by selfmedicating at 5:57 PM on June 20, 2007

I know I'm coming late to the party but I second the vote for crazymeds.

Effexor drove me nuts, too. I can't speak to the drugs that you are taking because I haven't tried all of them.

I was diagnosed with bipolar d/o mixed in 1999 and I have tried many drugs to get my particular mix of symptoms under control. Each drug has its quirks and each drug acts on each person differently.

I think the key for me was getting a good psychiatrist, keeping track of how I felt each day and sharing that information with her. Your psychiatrist only sees you for 15 minutes every x months. He or she will ask you about how you feel. The automatic reaction is "fine". This is not helpful. Presenting a condensed journal that shows that you felt like crap on the 14th through the 21st of last month or whatever is very helpful.

I take quite a witch's brew of meds now and it took a long time to get just the right combination for me but it was worth it. I feel better now than I ever did.

Full disclosure: I work for a pharmaceutical company. Anything that I have written here is my own personal opinion. I am not a doctor and I have no medical qualifications. I do not speak for my company, I speak for myself
posted by SteveTheRed at 8:31 AM on July 30, 2007