View Full Version : Anti seizure drugs and spasms
As my CP has been getting progressively worse, my doctor suggested that I add 600mg of Tegratol to the 2100mg of Gabapentin I am already taking. Over the next several days I noticed an increase in my problem with balance and spasms in my joints that I had noticed before. Has anyone else had this problem?
jessie.gray
11-01-2007, 08:11 PM
As my CP has been getting progressively worse, my doctor suggested that I add 600mg of Tegratol to the 2100mg of Gabapentin I am already taking. Over the next several days I noticed an increase in my problem with balance and spasms in my joints that I had noticed before. Has anyone else had this problem?
Tegretol can sometimes cause balance problems, but this side effect fades over time. I've been on Tegretol since middle school and its the only anti-seizure medicine I've tried that works (except Depakote, which I stoped taking after a while due to the horrible side effects and high risk of birth defects).
My mom has been on practically every seizure medicine that has come on the market because of epilepsy and she had trouble with vertigo when she started combining Tegretol XR and Gabapentin. Once her doctor lower the dose of Gabapentin, her vertigo decreased dramatically.
Jessie
firesmurf
11-02-2007, 11:03 AM
the thing i found out mostly while researching the awful side effects i got from lyrica is that this particular drug class appears to actually work on or affect the cerebellum in the brain?this are is what governs your gait(lyrica made me feel like i consumed a six pack)and certain aspects of vision,this is also the area that becomes affected most when you drink alcohol too(this is the area that actually gets put to "sleep" when we drink alcohol(alcohol IS an anesthetic).so stumbling over my feet made sense as well as the up and down double vision i had.it really throws off your prioperception.the prio is actually what the kind police officers are checking on when you do the little acts during those sobriety tests?they are checking your prio.touching your nose with your eyes shut,trying to walk a stright line?that sort of thing?the anti S meds effect the very same things,in some people,very strongly.
honestly i cannot imagine taking two different types of anti S meds and even being able to actually walk for me.they just hit my brain too hard and create all kinds of nastiness to have to deal with or overcome.you could,with your docs permission,taper down on one of them maybe?or even DC one all together,it all depends on how much of your actual daily functioning is being affected.its an ugly trade off we have to make here just for function and pain relief.i hope the side effects fade for you and these two meds will help with your pain.if the side effects just start to shut you down too much,go off of at least one of them.it is all kind of up to you as far as what this combo is taking from you or adding to your life that is making things worse,not better ya know?
the one good thing for me that has come out of just not being able to actually handle all of the grusome side effects is that it kind of forced me to really look at other options to control mostly the pain flares.the TENS unit,lidocaine patches,prudoxin cream and my latest discovery,biofreeze?have all been crucial to my being able to manage things with out the nasty side effects.i rely alot on these types of things much more now and i don't have to deal with side effects from hell that actually take away my life,not give it back to me.this way,i feel is much safer and i have more control over things.that biofreeze is some really good stuff.just some thoughts.Marcia