Carbamazepine (Tegretol, Equetro)

So i tried to get onto Trobalt, Dr was keen but med not yet available in this country, although approved for release, so until it is released by GSK i cannot access it. So was wondering if anyone had tried Carbamazepine, two reasons why i am thinking of trying it, one to improve my mood, very very low at the moment and this is used for this, and there are a few reports of it helping out as per below ? Any views please as i have not taken any sort of meds before for my mood and dont want to end up either taking something that will make me worse, or something that makes me a zombie after taking it, so hoping someone with experience of meds can help me out please ? My Dr is great and will discuss anything with me but if i had some advice from people who have used things that worked / didnt work it will make my discussion easier ? Thanks in advance for any replies, i will appreciate them.

Carbamazepine

Abstract
Objectives: There is strong evidence in the literature about the effect of local anesthetics such as lidocaine in controlling tinnitus; these agents act by stabilizing hair cell membrane and cochlear nerve fibers. However, the effect of intravenous lidocaine is transient, and its oral analog (tocainide) does not have the same efficacy for long-term treatment in patients with tinnitus. Some oral anti-epileptic drugs (carbamazepine, for instance) have been used alternatively in several studies.

The mechanism of action of carbamazepine and its derivatives is relatively well-understood. Carbamazepine stabilizes the inactivated state of Voltage-gated sodium channels, making fewer of these channels available to subsequently open. This leaves the affected cells less excitable until the drug dissociates.[citation needed] Carbamazepine has also been shown to potentiate GABA receptors made up of alpha1, beta2, gamma2 subunits.[27] This mechanism may contribute to its efficacy in neuropathic pain and manic-depressive illness.

 

Carbamazepine is tegretol. I took a related drug, Trileptal, without any effect. Some people have had some impact on tinnitus with these drugs, but the mechanism is quite different than Retigabine.

 

I've read a line in the manual included in the box that Carbamazepine can amplify or introduce hyperacusis. I don't want that, so I'm hesistant. But yes, there have been improvements. My dental surgeon suggested it for my TMJ pain. I went to a neurologist, but he suggested far higher doses. I talked to a psychiatrist and he suggested the lower doses.
But, I want to try out some more neck treatment, and when the time is right I conside trying out oxcarbazepine as it has fewer side effects (seen in paper) and Viking mentioned it to me. He tried all sorts of drugs so it's better to spot a well known user than trying to find it out yourself. On the Dutch tinitus forums a user had benefit from it.

 

Tegretol for nerve pain in head. Having incredible spike, could it be drug related?
Saw on a site it can cause or make tinnitus worse? Anyone with any experience?
Whew, thanks!!

 

works only in case of microvascular compression don't work on T general.
Helps to withdraw from benzos.

 

I was prescribed Tegeretol when I first got T , I was on it for 6 months but unfortunately I didn't do anything for me .
Didn't make it worse , didn't make it better .

 

Dosage? For how long?

 

Hello ReyKalinic

The dosage was 400mg per day and I took it for 6 months if memory serves , as mentioned it didn't do anything for me .
As I side effect though seemed to be a really short temper and getting angry over silly things , not like me at all .

 

Thank You. Maybe the oxcarbazepine (similar to carbamazepine) work on me because of my neurovascular trigeminal nevralgia. It help ameliorating the tinnitus. It give me some issues like stomach ache and emotional fragility.
thx

 

Two years on and still no sign of any relief for my facial pain. Still no new drug in stead of carbamazepine which was introduced in 1958!

Still to find a neurologist that can help me with this. I don't like the sound of stomach ache. I hope that I can do fine with a low doses.

 

Hi;

There are various valid alternatives to carbamazepine. I use oxcarbazepine due to excessive side effects of carbamazepine. Sometimes I add baclofen. Always depends by the diagnosis. If you are feeling that your doc is not well informed look for another. For tn there are a lot of pharmacological and surgical options. One of those will work for you and maybe even for the tinnitus (if related). Try another way!!! In my country it's called the suicidal migraine. I hope you can find relief.

Current meds;

Oxcarbazepine 1200 die

Tapered off clonazepam

Added baclofen drops as need

Stomach ache go away after 2 weeks and pantoprazole help a lot

 

Thing is, there is no such dosis indication what may help for T.
What I'm now trying to do is keep the tension away from my face.

I will visit a doc to discuss and maybe try it. Can you describe the side effects?

If the side effects are so excessive did you stop school / work?

 

@Codaz

hi; the side effects of oxcarbazepine are very moderate compared to tegretol. I started with 150x2 and had only some headache at noon. when i took 300x2 i got acid reflux and a bit of confusion vanished in 1 week and a good relief adding pantoprazole for stomach ache/reflux. On 1200 there arent side effects and finally i got the full relief. Always thank to my Doc for the support. You need to tritate very slow. I was oversensitive and very anxious sò i did it in day hospital to be controlled by doctors for any kind of emergency. btw the body need time to work with a new medication. don't give up at first "fail" or side effect. Find a good doctor that can give you the trust in the future. Together with them you will find the correct dosage and meds.

 

Ok, for some reason, I decided to give Tegretol another shot.
My T was kinda bothersome in the morning, so I took about 500mg Tegretol.
I decided to combine it with Lyrica (pregabalin), I took around 200-250mg of that dope. I mixed some flupirtine as well (100mg, a very small dose) to see what happens (therefore, I took a sodium blocker, a calcium modulator and a potassium modulator)

My tinnitus is pretty much gone for the entire day. I think I can hear something in my office at home (complete silence) but it is so soft that I actually enjoy it.
But there are side effects. I walk like a drunk person and I have some problems pronouncing complex words.

However, this has been one of the best days since I got tinnitus. I don't know if the effect will last after I go to bed, my day has been like before I got the T.

 

"ok, but are there any negative side effects?" (Ali-G)

 

Next Day Update: Ok, the drunk walking is gone and I can speak like a normal person but the tinnitus is still pretty much gone. There is a very slight hiss but it's not bothersome in any way. I believe its gonna get louder but that's just a hunch, I'll wait and see.

I'm certainly not cured but I will definitely use the Tegretol-Lyrica cocktail when I feel worse in the future. Funny thing is, I used Tegretol with Gabapentin (the predecessor of Lyrica) in the past with good results, but I can't remember the dosage. It was certainly lower than the dosage I used yesterday and there are slight chemical differences between Gabapentin and Lyrica.

I don't know if this combo will work on everyone, my T is not due to acoustic trauma, more like idiopathic, therefore if anyone tries it... YMMV.

 

@undecided
Thanks for the information, not sure about the side effects, but my question is - what are these modulators and blockers - can anyone get of them? They sound as though they are essential for this combo of Tegretol and Lyrica.
I'd be really interested to know how you get on.

I'm really glad it has worked for you - I'd like some of that please!

 

As I suspected, the T is getting a tiny bit louder today - but that's to be expected. It's still very low though. Totally weird.
The combo kept (and keeps) the ringing extremely low for more than 24 hours. Quite a bit more actually.
This sht is good.

Anyway, @Andrea White, seems I wasn't very clear in my previous message.
Let me explain, cause I'm totally bored at work today - and with no T I actually wanna go out and have some fun.

Tegretol (Carbamazepine) is (chemically) a sodium channel blocker - to be more precise, its mechanism of action is to "close" some voltage gated sodium channels, reducing their availability to any brain function that might require them.
This drug is very easy to get, depending on where you live. It is sold freely in pharmacies in my country and it's dirt cheap (no prescription required). It is one of the main drugs used to treat epilepsy.

Lyrica (Pregabalin) is (primarily) a calcium channel modulator - its mechanism of action is not fully understood, it basically binds to a gene related with calcium channels and that may lead to increased production of GABA in the brain. GABA is a "feel good" neurotransmitter, it is also considered one of the possible treatments for tinnitus.
Lyrica is also easy to get as its used for a ton of conditions. It is sold freely in pharmacies where I live (no prescription required).

Flupirtine is a potassium channel modulator. Much of the current research for tinnitus is targeted towards potassium channels. I just thought that it would make my drug cocktail more potent.
Flupirtine is very hard to get. It's not sold in my country, I had to order it from a shady on-line pharmacy (from Russia, I believe). It's actually sold as a painkiller, so I don't think it's a scheduled/controlled substance anywhere in the world.

However, each one of the aforementioned drugs is extremely dangerous and not something you want to mess with. Combining them is probably not a great idea (it's actually totally idiotic), however I feel like I've researched them enough to be a guinea pig and I live near a hospital - which is a big plus
So I wouldn't recommend to anyone trying my stupid cocktail. But I'll definitely use it again when my T becomes too bothersome.

 

@undecided

Thank you for the explanation, I have only a sketchy picture of brain chemistry, so I now know a little more - thank you, and I can only admire you for trying these things out - in fact being a guinea pig. But I suppose its the only thing we can really do as there is no obvious panacea to help us.

I am researching generally on what appears to work for some people, then gathering this together to give information to others, anybody really that is looking for some help. It does course mean that we are all guinea pigs. I have tried a few things, but nothing really has worked for me - I'm a bit scared of messing too much with brain chemicals! I'll probably be bolder if the T gets too bothersome.

Do let us know how your experiments go and I really do wish you success.

 

Can I stop tegretol cold turkey ?

I take 400mg per day. @undecided Have you got an opinion about it ?

 

Why are you taking tegretol?
Stopping this drug cold turkey might bring back the symptoms of the condition you use it for.

I'm not a doctor. If you want to stop it, I'd advise you talk it over with your doctor but I'd definitely lower my dosage progressively. I should repeat I'm not an expert on this drug.

 

Great. I've been developing this nasty rash around the man parts. What treatment do you suggest?

 

Scratching it madly will do the trick.

 

I wasn going to suggest.. have you tried throwing in a few mg of klonopin as well?

 

@undecided My ENT tried it against Hyperacusis since 2 months.

 

In the swedish leaflet, Tegretol has tinnitus and hyperacusis listed as "rare side effects" (1 of 1000 users).

 

@Andrea White

I definitely wouldn't want to use that cocktail long-term. I feel like it will mess up your brain chemistry and cause even more problems that's aren't reversible. I do suggest eating more foods with calcium, sodium, and potassium because all the extra will exit your body.

 

Sounds like a pretty invasive cocktail. Luckily you have an office at home. Which of does really does the trick? Or is it the combination that does it?

 

Thing is that we don't know a mega lot about how micro nutritions work, if at all. Quinoa is said to be good by a lot of fithype people. But is it proven? Plus your mileage may very. Some effects only last an hour before you pee it out.

 

I would say, 1,200mg works for me(600x2 a day). Most studies use low dosage.