Hi,
I don't take Tegretol but understand how you feel. I think the only person who is best qualified to give you an answer to your question is your doctor. I'm glad you didn't wait to call. Is it a neurologist you called? Please let us know how you are doing....

Take Care and many blessings to you....

Afternoon Teachpre,

Yes, I got in touch with my neurologist. :D I'm finishing out another week of Tegretol and started taking 50mg a day of Topamax Wednesday. Right now, it seems to be calming my tic disorder back down to a reasonable level. I was having at east 60 to over 100 tics on just the baby dose of Tegretol... with both, I've only had about 20ish tops the last two days and maybe 16 so far today. SO much better.

This is such an interesting ride. I imagine finding the right dosage and medication will continue to be a bumpy ride, but I'm crossing fingers that Topamax will do the trick for now.

Thanks for your reply and the concern! Hope you're having a good one!

Great! I'm glad the meds are starting to work. Just an FYI about Topamax. it causes weight loss due to muscle wasting so it's important to do weight bearing exercises.

Good luck, I hope it all works out well for you!

Thanks!

Huh, hadn't heard about that. My neurologist had just mentioned that it could cause weight loss due to messing with appetite over the fun. I'll be sure to ask her about that the next time I speak with her. I'm needing to start getting in shape anyways. :D

LOL...well, the topamax does kind of suppress your appetite. My family didn't understand at all and that's why I'm telling you now. I'm tiny to begin with and when I started to lose weight they started to think I had an incurable disease or an eating disorder and wanted to ship me off to some kind of spa! It's nice that they care but I can assure you I don't have either problem, I'm just small :o}
I know Topamax is used for a lot of things and it's possible it is used for tics too, I really don't know. The best way for your body to get used to ANY of these anti seizure meds is to gradually build up the right levels in your body...also called the right therapeutic level and your doctor should be sending you for frequent bloodwork to check where it's all at as well. These drugs are very powerful too. They make you tired because they are targeted on the brain to slow it down. If you think of the brain and the all the signals that get sent via the dendrites across the synapses, it can be compared to spark plugs in a car. If there's a problem with the spark going from one plug to the other the car will seize and fail to start. The drugs we take just help to slow down the rapid fire of the spark plugs at times so we always have a continuous, balanced charge of electrical activity keeping our brain going. Make sense?

I wish you the best!
Teach...

Hey Yall,
I was on tegretol since I was 8 yrs old but I can tell u that it does make u tried more than a normal person.

I was on Tegretol, Dilantin & Phenobarbital for years. I do not take them now. Make sure you are taking Vitamin D supplement because these drugs can eat away at your bones. I found that out the hard way & have osteoppenia,

I take 400mg of Tegretol a day. Plus 200 Lamictal and 100 Topamax. The Tegretol I can't remember specifically be a problem. The other two had side effects at the start. The side effects do go away. Just stick with it so your system gets used to it. Patience is a virtue.

I all ready on carbamazepine xr and topamax I take so man pills a day I all most feel like I My life on drugs or else... Today Itook my meds late and started getting the shakes , when I got my meds down the shakes stopped...

Is it possible that you are experiencong a type of personal stress that is more stressful than normal? You mentionned in your profile that you have no issues with your tics when you make art. Sounds like the art relaxes you. The increasing tics might be due to your other condition that the tics come from, if that condition exists. Tegretol is meant to relax the consumers who take it. Going onto a new medication can be a stressful event. Are you doing less artwork than usual at this time? As for a medical response that is best to come from the doctor(s) It is a valid question to ask the medical specialists. Ought to tell them that the tics are not an issue when you do artwork (according to your profile here) The isea here is not to coerce the doctors into giving a response that somebody else wants to here. But to get a trained medical opinion, even if that means some artwork for some reason. Good luck. :)

Keep in mind that Tegretol, can have different effects on people. True, Tegretol can make you feel a little mellow out/relaxed when its first taken. I have known friends on the same meds, in which Tegretol caused them to have mood swings, which almost cost him his job. I personally, haven't that type of side effect.