# Tegretol (carbamazepine) and DP?



## xenabaiche (May 9, 2012)

I have borderline personality disorder and can't function without mood stabilizers, or else I go crazy and destroy every relationship I have, so I've been on Carbamazepine since November-ish. I read that it can cause DP?

I've had DP since I was a kid, but can these meds make it even worse? What are some good mood stabilizers that won't make DP worse, or will at least help it?


----------



## Spectre (Mar 31, 2012)

xenabaiche said:


> I have borderline personality disorder and can't function without mood stabilizers, or else I go crazy and destroy every relationship I have, so I've been on Carbamazepine since November-ish. I read that it can cause DP?
> 
> I've had DP since I was a kid, but can these meds make it even worse? What are some good mood stabilizers that won't make DP worse, or will at least help it?


In my experience, Lamictal (lamotrigine), has been an extremely helpful mood stabilizer. I have BPII and Lamictal has been the only mood-stabilizer that's ever worked for me so far (I have experience with Trileptal, Tegretol, and Depakote, all which have proved utterly useless and dumbed me down). Lamictal at low doses seems to keep my DP/DR symptoms to a minimum (I only take 25mg a day right now, I used to be on 75mg but it seemed to interfere with my cognition quite a bit).

I am however, on a multitude of health supplements, notably nootropics and other cognitive enhancers & adaptogens. I have found the supplements "hypothalamus pmg" and "neuroplex" by Standard Process to be of great value. They have definitely helped clear out a lot of my depersonalization and dissociation. I also supplement with alpha GPC, ginseng, mucuna pruriens, DL-Phenylalanine, vitamins, etc, all of which seem to work in synergy with one another to help bring me back to reality. The single best DP therapy I've ever had was buprenorphine/suboxone.


----------



## Macky (Mar 22, 2012)

Hmm I was on Zyprexa for a while (I think it's a mood stabilizer) and it actually helped the depersonalization/derealization.


----------



## AndyD (Nov 24, 2011)

I too have been on the hunt for a mood stabilizer that doesn't make DP worse. To my surprise, Lamictal made my DP completely unbearable. In fact it may have been one of the worst meds I have ever taken for aggravating DP. I had a similar reaction to Trileptal but it wasn't as bad as Lamictal. If anyone else has had experience with mood stabilizers I'd be interesting in hearing too.


----------



## insaticiable (Feb 23, 2010)

xenabaiche said:


> I have borderline personality disorder and can't function without mood stabilizers, or else I go crazy and destroy every relationship I have, so I've been on Carbamazepine since November-ish. I read that it can cause DP?
> 
> I've had DP since I was a kid, but can these meds make it even worse? What are some good mood stabilizers that won't make DP worse, or will at least help it?


Hey, I have BPD too and have been on Lamictal (150mg-350mg) for several years. It is quite effective, especially for those low/depression periods. There have also been research studies done on it which seemed to show promising results in helping DP patients. I would give it a try.

I tried Tegretol for about 5 days and it made me feel absolutely terrible, in addition to causing Urinary Retention (couldn't pee)...very uncomfortable.


----------



## xenabaiche (May 9, 2012)

I've been on Trileptal before Tegretol, but I had no clue what DP even was last year, plus my memory is horrible so I can't remember how it was with the DP symptoms. Trileptal did help with the mood swings, but Tegretol works best for it.

Tegretol just makes me feel so dull. I feel so much better when I skip a few doses, like it's not so foggy. The blank mind is still there though. Only problem is I have the worst mood swings when I skip doses.


----------



## ThreePlateDan (Aug 30, 2008)

I've heard Abilify is a good mood stabilizer. Plus it can help with DP. For me, it helps with DP and depression/anxiety.


----------



## kate_edwin (Aug 9, 2009)

if you got dp or it got worse because it was a side effect i'd think it would go away if you stopped the med, there are lots of meds that have dp listed at the end of the side effect list


----------

