Posted by Jay2112 on September 21, 2022, at 21:16:32
In reply to Re: remission )), posted by SLS on September 20, 2022, at 7:16:29
Hey Scott!
> Hi, Jay.
>
> > > >Amphetamine with carbamazepine has worked unbelievably for me, when I was at my absolute worse. I just thought since Ritalin worked for you, this combo might work.
> > > >
> > > > Jay
> > > >
> > > Jay, is your diagnosis unipolar or bipolar 1 or 2?
> > >
> > > Thank you,
> > > Roslynn
> > >
> > >
> >
> > It's Bipolar 2, but my pdoc says it works for any bipolar. Reason being is he is not sure of to put me in bipolar 1 or 2. He thinks it may be a combination, because he has seen this in many other patients. I'd say if Ritalin works for you, try it with carbamazepine. I was 3 weeks in the hospital and it rocketed me out of suicidal depression, with much less hypomania than without carbamazepine.
> >
> > Best,
> > Jay
>
> Do you think oxcarbazepine (Trileptal) would make for a substitute for carbamazepine (Tegretol)?Yeah, I've tried oxcarbazepine, and it doesn't, for me, have the 'relaxing' feeling carbamazepine does. I've read this quite a bit among users who have tried both. I think it's the carbamazepine's anticholinergic action, and I think it might act a bit stronger on potassium channels. But, more the former than the latter. That may not be advantageous for some, who might get the 'brain fog' you talk about. But, I think my illness may be partly based on a hyperactive cholinergic system.
> The two drugs are chemically related. Oxcarbazepine seems to be as potent as carbamazepine in the majority of studies comparing their efficacies in seizure disorders However, oxcarbazepine lacks the side effect of suppressing the immune system in the form of agranulocytosis (stopping the formation of granulocyte white blood cells). Although carbamazepine has this as a possible adverse reaction, it is a rather rare occurrence. Still, periodic blood tests are necessary to assay the number of granulocytes. Agranulocytosis can be fatal.
I get tested once in awhile, but (knock on wood) hasn't been a problem.
> There is another advantage to oxcarbazepine. It doesn't cause the same sort of sedation and foggy-brain that many people experience with carbamazepine. Not everyone experiences this side-effect, of course. The one caution when taking oxcarbazepine is that it sometimes produces hyponatremia (low blood sodium). This can also be monitored with blood tests at the beginning of treatment. Symptoms of hyponatremia include headache, general malaise, gait disturbance, and somnolence. Often, there are no symptoms at all. I was surprised to learn that as many as 25% of people taking oxcarbazepine develop some degree of hyponatremia. It should be noted that carbamazepine can cause hyponatremia, too, but with a substantially lower frequency.
>
> I felt an enormous difference between the two drugs with respect to sedation and brain-fog. If anything, I found oxcarbazepine to be somewhat stimulating.Again, that anti-stim feeling seems to work for me. The dichotomy, with a stim and anti-stim..well...Yeah, I AM weird..lol.
> There are reasons why someone would want to choose one drug over the other.
>
>
> - Scott
>Yes, true, and I guess it boils down to "Some like it hot.."..lol. Well, not quite....but you get what I mean..
Hope you are doing well,
Jay :)
Humans punish themselves endlessly
for not being what they believe they should be.
-Don Miguel Ruiz-
poster:Jay2112
thread:1120713
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20220917/msgs/1120757.html