How long for Tegretol XR to act?

gcvmom

Here we go again!
difficult child 1 says he feels different already, but I can't believe that's the case with just one dose of only 100mg.

Anyone?
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Hmm. I don't know about tegretol, but with Depakote it took about 3-4 weeks into titrating up to therapeutic blood levels before I really started to notice a difference.

If you are concerned; I'd ask the prescribing doctor about it. Just one day sounds a bit weird on the one hand. on the other hand, if I miss a couple of doses of Depakote, I can feel the difference.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Well, I know for Depakote ER with difficult child 2 it took a solid 4 weeks to notice any change, and then about 6 total for it to reach full eficacy.

The psychiatrist said it's not as long for this medication, but it still takes a little time. I know it can be a little sedating, so maybe that's what he's really feeling... we'll see how the weekend goes.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I took Tegretal and host of drugs and I think I know what he means.

The Tegretal won't give him a stabilizing effect the first day, but many people are drug sensitive and feel differently from the very beginning. That doesn't mean that the drug is already working as a mood stabilizer. It means he feels the foreign substance in his body. I always did feel something right away and usually, unfortunately, it was usually a bad feeling, although some drugs, such as Prozac, made me feel very good right away then stopped working.

It will probably be quite a long time before you know if this medication is a fit for your son. The only medication that worked great for me was Paroxotene. I've been on it now for probably twenty years and it still works really well for me, but I didn't feel the good effects of this medication for at least eight weeks and several adjustments. In fact, I was ready to give up on it too early and I'm really glad I didn't.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
Likewise. I took Tegretol for pain management. It didn't really do anything for me pain-wise, but I did feel different form the very first dose. I was also more photophobic and also felt a bit brain-foggy on it. It's hard to fully describe, but yeah - I would definitely have described it as feeling different.

I really don't know how some people function on it. I know daughter in law takes it and actually, doesn't function well. She's very tired all the time, they come here for a visit and the first thing she does is goes to have a lie-down somewhere.

Marg
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Well even if it's just sedating him a bit, it's NICE. He's not bouncing off the walls and annoying everyone tonight to the degree he has been lately. He's definitely knocked down a notch! I kinda like it! Maybe it will help with his nasty moods and aggression. I hope, I hope, I hope!
 
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