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TEGRETOL / CARBAMAZEPHINE
Tue, 03/22/2005 - 07:12My son just started pms-carbamazepine 200 mg morning and 200 mg at night , and i was wondering what are the routine blood tests to monitor this drug , if there is any ?
thankyou please reply Sharon
Comments
RE: TEGRETOL / CARBAMAZEPHINE
Submitted by stella on Mon, 2005-03-21 - 21:46
Sharon,
Hi, my name is tiffany. I was on tegretol, time released, for almost 10 years. Good drug but I do have some warnings for you to just be aware of. Fatigue is a very common side effect with this drug. I had to get off it partly for this reason. Also, you have to be very careful with other meds. Even over the counter cold meds. I had such a bad reaction with sudafed with the teg. that I lost my sight for a day. Also, antiobiotics and pain meds can cause the level of tegretol to rise in the blood stream causing a sort of overdose of tegretol. It put me in the hospital 2x, there is lots of vomiting involved so dehidration can be a problem. Before this incedent my teg. level was a 9, after being mixed with the wrong pain med it sky rocketed to 16. So my advice to you is to double check when mixing any sort of meds with this drug.
A test should be done every 6 weeks depending on the severity of the seizures to make sure the levels are where they want them.
Good luck. Teg. can be a very helpful drug, just a touchy one.
Sharon,
Hi, my name is tiffany. I was on tegretol, time released, for almost 10 years. Good drug but I do have some warnings for you to just be aware of. Fatigue is a very common side effect with this drug. I had to get off it partly for this reason. Also, you have to be very careful with other meds. Even over the counter cold meds. I had such a bad reaction with sudafed with the teg. that I lost my sight for a day. Also, antiobiotics and pain meds can cause the level of tegretol to rise in the blood stream causing a sort of overdose of tegretol. It put me in the hospital 2x, there is lots of vomiting involved so dehidration can be a problem. Before this incedent my teg. level was a 9, after being mixed with the wrong pain med it sky rocketed to 16. So my advice to you is to double check when mixing any sort of meds with this drug.
A test should be done every 6 weeks depending on the severity of the seizures to make sure the levels are where they want them.
Good luck. Teg. can be a very helpful drug, just a touchy one.
RE: TEGRETOL / CARBAMAZEPHINE
Submitted by jennamay on Mon, 2005-03-21 - 09:36
Your son's neurologist will definitely order blood tests for several reasons. First, the way that a seizure medicine (also called an "antiepileptic drug" or "AED") works with each individual's body is a bit different. Therefore, your doctor may want to test the levels of medication in your son's blood from time to time to find out how his body absorbs and eliminates the medicine. This information can suggest ways in which seizure control can be improved and side effects of the medicine can be reduced by adjusting the amount of medicine your son takes as well as the timing of when he takes it. These levels also may tell the doctor whether your son has been taking the medicine as prescribed (what doctors call "compliance"). Usually the doctor will want to measure a "trough level," taken shortly before the morning dose. The doctor also may want to know the "peak level," usually measured 1 to 4 hours after the highest dose of the day. Because peak levels are sometimes used to assess adverse effects that might be the result of high levels of medication in the blood (called toxicity), peak levels also may be taken at the time that suspected toxic effects occur.
http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/medicine_dosage.html
I recommend you talk to your son's neurologist on the frequency of blood testing so that you and your son know what to expect.
Best Wishes,
Epilepsy.com Editor
Your son's neurologist will definitely order blood tests for several reasons. First, the way that a seizure medicine (also called an "antiepileptic drug" or "AED") works with each individual's body is a bit different. Therefore, your doctor may want to test the levels of medication in your son's blood from time to time to find out how his body absorbs and eliminates the medicine. This information can suggest ways in which seizure control can be improved and side effects of the medicine can be reduced by adjusting the amount of medicine your son takes as well as the timing of when he takes it. These levels also may tell the doctor whether your son has been taking the medicine as prescribed (what doctors call "compliance"). Usually the doctor will want to measure a "trough level," taken shortly before the morning dose. The doctor also may want to know the "peak level," usually measured 1 to 4 hours after the highest dose of the day. Because peak levels are sometimes used to assess adverse effects that might be the result of high levels of medication in the blood (called toxicity), peak levels also may be taken at the time that suspected toxic effects occur.
http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/medicine_dosage.html
I recommend you talk to your son's neurologist on the frequency of blood testing so that you and your son know what to expect.
Best Wishes,
Epilepsy.com Editor