I started out taking Gabapentin, then tried Tegretol, then Aventyl. I ended up going back to the Gabapentin. It seemed to work the best with the least amount of side affects. Don't get me wrong, I can't take it & drive/work, but it was better than the Tegretol, for me!

I take 600mg/day if I don't have to function, but usually only 200/day at bed time if I'm working.

I take 800 mg daily... been taking it for over a year now.. plus others. and some days its not enough.

for what illness do you guys take this for.
I am on 200mgs a day....being told that is a super low dose....
for my bipolar.
was going well at first, but is getting progressively worse.

I am on suboxone, for opiate addiction recovery...it prevents me from
withdrawl symptoms and controls cravings.....
the tegretol seems to be eating all this med up (or causing my body to)rapidly and I am being thrown into wicked withdrawls.

I have to admit, the first thing I did like about it, was that it actually allowed me to feel "manic" as opposed to being severely depressed all the time...
Yeah, now that I think about it....I actually had a "high" from it....
But it is destroying the effects of my other meds.

Anybody else have this effect from tegretol....ruining other meds????

I was actually put on trileptal, which is akin to tegretol. It has an added extra oxygen molecule or something like that. My neurologist said that was now the treatment of choice over tegretol, since tegretol can have negative side effects. Trileptal can have side effects, too, of course, such as a salt depletion, but it's evidently "safer." I'm wondering if maybe you should consider asking your doctor about it.....

I got on 800mg for a week now. Causes Drowiness. I don't like that. 200mg had none.

For typical TN, the reason many nueros perscribe it first because it is actually a diagnostic agent as it works oftentimes.
I vary my dosage as pain varies. Usually in the 400 mg range but oftentimes I dose up to the 800mg level. Even at 800 mg, I've had times where the pain bled through. At those times a 1000 - 1200 mg level would often times affect my vision, amongst all the other nasty side affects this "dummy pill" delved out.
I speak of typical TN - mine is V3 (left jaw) for 20 years. I've had gamma, MVD, and rhizotomy. I still run low dosage of tegretol (200-400) daily because, well, just because.
I have tried other drugs folks speak of. My drug of choice for pain relief remains tegretol.

It just means you have to more caution while driving.

Sometimes they make me tired too... depends on the day.. other days are more zombie-like.

It causes Drowiness. I workout 3x a week so I take a pre-workout supplement which makes me energized and wide awake.

Cafeine is good savior but thats the only option.

Just saw the pain specialist yesterday. He wants me to take 100mg of Gabapentin, 4 times a day plus he's adding Baclofen, not sure the dosage yet. Has anyone taken this mixture?? What can I expect??