Carbamazepine (Tegretol) for Bipolar?

[joe shmo]

Has anyone taken Tegretol for Bipolar? I have just been prescribed this for my Bipolar symptoms to treat these mood swings. How long should it take to start kicking in? I have been on the 200mg dose 1X daily for a week and just switched to 400mg once daily... Is it supposed to help keep people from getting agitated from little things.? And should it keep you from going way down and feeling depressed?

*How long should it take to kick in?

Thanks for any answers.

[TweetyBird]

I have not taken it but I know of it. It will take several weeks to reach a therapeutic level but you may notice an improvement in your symptoms before then. You should have blood taken periodically and with dosage increases to determine that you reach and remain within a therapeutic level. "Therapeutic level" means that there is enough medication circulating in your blood to be effective. The blood tests will also monitor for blood cell and thyroid abnormalities that might develop. It should help with easy agitation and depression as it acts as a mood stabilizer. Over time, an additional medicaton may be added for an increased effect.

In the future, direct this sort of question to your psychiatrist. That is more appropriate.