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Difference between Tegratol and Carbamazepine
Tue, 02/07/2006 - 17:23Topic: Medication Issues
Hello All,
I have been taking Tegratol for about 15-18 years now. Do to my health insurance i have to pay full price for Tegratol or get Carbamazepine for $25.00. My question is, Is there any difference between these two medication? The Tegratol has been working great for me and I hate to change. But $250.00 for 90 versus $25.00 for 90. Has anyone out there taken Tegratol and switched to Carbamazepine and not have any trouble.
Thanks you for your time.
Matta25
Comments
Re: Difference between Tegratol and Carbamazepine
Submitted by johnhorn71 on Wed, 2009-07-15 - 13:39
If you have to switch to the generic, ask your pharmacist to make a note to only use the same manufacturer. Sometimes when you use a generic, there are more than one manuf. out there, and, obviously, the pills are not made exactly the same, which can cause some problems, esp. if you've been taking the brand name for years. A good pharmacist will be happy to comply. I wish you the best luck in the switch.
Re: Difference between Tegratol and Carbamazepine
Submitted by catfish4 on Mon, 2010-07-05 - 19:00
THE DOCTORS CHANGED IT AND THERE IS NO DIFFERANCE IN IT, SO DONT BE AFRAID
Re: Difference between Tegratol and Carbamazepine
Submitted by RadarJ on Wed, 2009-07-15 - 13:19
I am a Tegretol taker for different reasons. Theoretically I am "Bipolar2", although many of my behaviors can also be attributed to my Aspergers. I have also had one epileptic seizure while in high school, which went unreported on the advice of an epileptic friend who wasn't any more mature about such things than I was.
I say all this as context on my experience with being given Carbamezapine instead of Tegretol. After being prescribed Tegretol, and once we got the dose right, I was in extremely good control. After 12 years came the unexpected switch to Carbamezapine. The first three days on Carb. were a roller coaster of rage, frustration, deep depression, and fright -- fright because I was clearly completely out of control and didn't know why. After that came three weeks of extremely disrupted sleep cycles, mood swings mostly from slight depression to deep depression (which is how I was before meds), a return to paranoia, and an inability to focus on anything I should have been doing.
Then I talked to my psychiatrist, who said that she hears about mood disruptions from all of her patients who are switched to Carb. by their insurance. The experiences are not always the same, but they tend to be similar and, well, disruptive.
It's possible that you epileptics are reporting less of a difference between the two because the differences between the two only affect those of us with mood disorders?? I have no what really explains why so many of you report little difference, but I wanted there to be some indication here that not all Tegretol users experience no difference between Tegretol and Carbamezapine.
The return to Tegretol hasn't been instantaneous, but I'm still getting back to "normal" and very happy that I have enough money to afford the difference. It's not as if I'm rich, I will have to give up a little more to afford this every month, but having stable moods is worth every penny.
I am a Tegretol taker for different reasons. Theoretically I am "Bipolar2", although many of my behaviors can also be attributed to my Aspergers. I have also had one epileptic seizure while in high school, which went unreported on the advice of an epileptic friend who wasn't any more mature about such things than I was.
I say all this as context on my experience with being given Carbamezapine instead of Tegretol. After being prescribed Tegretol, and once we got the dose right, I was in extremely good control. After 12 years came the unexpected switch to Carbamezapine. The first three days on Carb. were a roller coaster of rage, frustration, deep depression, and fright -- fright because I was clearly completely out of control and didn't know why. After that came three weeks of extremely disrupted sleep cycles, mood swings mostly from slight depression to deep depression (which is how I was before meds), a return to paranoia, and an inability to focus on anything I should have been doing.
Then I talked to my psychiatrist, who said that she hears about mood disruptions from all of her patients who are switched to Carb. by their insurance. The experiences are not always the same, but they tend to be similar and, well, disruptive.
It's possible that you epileptics are reporting less of a difference between the two because the differences between the two only affect those of us with mood disorders?? I have no what really explains why so many of you report little difference, but I wanted there to be some indication here that not all Tegretol users experience no difference between Tegretol and Carbamezapine.
The return to Tegretol hasn't been instantaneous, but I'm still getting back to "normal" and very happy that I have enough money to afford the difference. It's not as if I'm rich, I will have to give up a little more to afford this every month, but having stable moods is worth every penny.