Why is carbamazepine hazardous?

Carbamazepine may cause life-threatening allergic reactions called Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) or toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). These allergic reactions may cause severe damage to the skin and internal organs.

Is carbamazepine bad for your heart?

Most of the cases of cardiovascular effects reported have occurred in patients receiving carbamazepine for trigeminal neuralgia. The reported effects included congestive heart failure, edema, hypotension, syncope and arrhythmias. In general, the doses were titrated quickly because of severe pain.

Who should not take carbamazepine?

You should not take carbamazepine if you have a history of bone marrow suppression, or if you are allergic to carbamazepine or to an antidepressant such as amitriptyline, desipramine, doxepin, imipramine, or nortriptyline. Do not use carbamazepine if you have taken an MAO inhibitor in the past 14 days.

Is carbamazepine same as Tegretol?

Tegretol, generic name carbamazepine, is an anticonvulsant that is sometimes prescribed as a mood stabilizer in bipolar disorder. In addition to seizures and bipolar disorder, it’s also prescribed for pain relief in trigeminal neuralgia.

Does carbamazepine cause dementia?

Specifically, using therapies that are known to impair cognitive function correlated with a 20% greater risk of Alzheimer’s and a 60% greater risk of dementia. The most frequently used medications with known cognitive effects include primidone, phenytoin, carbamazepine, clonazepam, and valproate.

Can carbamazepine cause liver damage?

Carbamazepine is an aromatic anticonvulsant that is widely used in therapy of epilepsy and trigeminal neuralgia and is a well established cause of clinically apparent liver injury which can be severe and even fatal.

Does carbamazepine suppress immune system?

Results of clinical studies indicate that phenytoin, carbamazepine, and valproate, show immunosuppressive activity, inhibit protein synthesis in lymphocytes, decrease CD4+/CD8+ ratio, decrease IgA, and induce changes in IgG and IgM plasma levels.

What is an alternative to carbamazepine?

Oxcarbazepine may, in fact, be slightly less effective than carbamazepine. (4) For refractory partial epilepsy (especially forms refractory to carbamazepine), oxcarbazepine is more effective than a placebo, when combined with the inadequately effective treatment, as shown in two trials.