Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Important Things You Should Know if Youre on Tegretol

If you have any off the following symptoms please contact your doctor or it could be fatal!

• Hives;
• difficulty breathing;
• Swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat;
• mood or behavior changes;
• depression;
• anxiety;
• If you feel agitated, hostile, restless, hyperactive
(mentally or physically), or have thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself;
• fever, sore throat, and headache with a severe blistering, peeling,
and red skin rash;
• pale skin, easy bruising or bleeding, unusual weakness;
• white patches or sores inside your mouth or on your lips;
• feeling short of breath, swelling of your ankles or feet;
• nausea, stomach pain, loss of appetite, jaundice
(yellowing of the skin or eyes);
• Urinating less than usual;
• feeling dizzy, drowsy, or unsteady;
• vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain;
• confusion, headache, blurred vision;
• ringing in your ears;
• dry mouth, swollen tongue; or
• Joint or muscle pain, leg cramps.

Tegretol can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert. Avoid drinking alcohol. It can increase some of the side effects of Tegretol, and can also increase your risk of seizures. Avoid exposure to sunlight or artificial UV rays (sunlamps or tanning beds). Tegretol can make your skin more sensitive to sunlight and sunburn may result. Use a sunscreen (minimum SPF 15) and wear protective clothing if you must be out in the sun.

Patients of Asian ancestry may have a higher risk of developing a rare but serious skin reaction to Tegretol. Your doctor may recommend a blood test before you start the medication to determine your risk of this skin reaction.

1 comment:

  1. Hello! I was surfing around and ended up at your blog. I am a swedish girl who do also have bilateral trigeminal neuralgia! I got Tegretol about a year ago and got many of the symptoms you wrote here. Swollen throat and neck, fever, sore throat, headache, hard to swollow, couldn't speak, eat, drink or breath properly, swollen tongue, ear pain and dizziness. I was too scared to sleep at all, afraid to stop breathing in my sleep. The morning after I went to the ER and the doctor was an idiot, he said that this was no allergy reaction, he thought I was about to get a cold. (Amazingly swollen neck would by first sight look like it's not). And then he looked into my throat, I was crying as it hurt SO MUCH. It felt like my throat, neck and ears were like to expload of pain. I thought I was going to suffocate to death. But the doctor ignored me, my boyfriend was upset. I went to an other hospital, I told the nurse what have happened and told her I stopped taking Tegretol immidiately. She thought I had gotten an allergic reaction and told my doctor to call me at home, he did also agree that I was allergic to Tegretol. I can't even imagine what would have happened if I didn't stop taking Tegretol immidiately.

    Thanks for a great blog, I will read more here for sure!

    I hope you're feeling well!
    // Maya

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