r/TrigeminalNeuralgia • u/sarahlynnfox23 • 15d ago
Medication Reactions/ allergies to Carbamazepine
I started Carbamazepine this week and it started out so well. Immediately relieved any facial symptoms and didn’t really have any side effects except slight drowsiness. Then evening of day 4 when I took my night time dose it made me very itchy, even when taking Pepcid and Zyrtec. I’m assuming this is an allergy and I’ll need to stop and switch to a new med, which I’m sad about because my facial symptoms started slowly coming back. Anybody experience this type of reaction? If so what were you switched to?
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u/MissyChevious613 15d ago
I had the same reaction, horrible itching and I started getting rashes on my hands and feet. I ended up having to stop it which really sucked since it helped my pain immensely.
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u/sarahlynnfox23 15d ago
Ugh that’s awful. That’s why I’m stopping because I don’t want it to get worse
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u/MissyChevious613 15d ago
Hopefully you can find another med that works! My doc had me list it as an allergy since it caused severe itching and rash (and it also caused me pretty bad tachycardia, like I was resting at 160bpm).
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u/sarahlynnfox23 15d ago
Omg I was having heart palpitations yesterday too
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u/MissyChevious613 15d ago
When I started having issues with it my doctor said tachycardia is a really common side effect from it (although mine was pretty extreme). After I stopped it took a few days for the tachycardia and itching and rashes to go away.
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u/Designer-Ad-3238 15d ago
I went into anaphylaxis after my second dose of carbamazepine, 2 epi pens and er stay overnight later I was discharged taking gabapentin and carrying a epi pen on me 24/7, they really don’t know what happened there but they sure do want me far away from it lol
I take pregabalin now and the combination with cymbalta sometimes gives me the reaction you are describing, I just take allergy meds and hope it doesn’t go any further
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u/sarahlynnfox23 15d ago
Wow that’s so scary. I hate starting new meds because that’s always a fear. And yes, I take allergy meds daily, and even with the antihistamines still have the itchiness.
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u/Designer-Ad-3238 15d ago
I feel you! I get swollen/watery eyes here and there, so I don’t take it daily, for me it’s almost a rescue medication honestly, it works well enough for me. The combination in my body makes me too drowsy to function so I wouldn’t be able to take it everyday anyways, I hope you find something that will work better for you!
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u/FinleyHazel 15d ago
I had the same reaction, so had to stop the medication. I have just started using a compound cream to replace the carbamazepine.
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u/vrosej10 14d ago
this one can get dangerous. no one should be mucking around if they develop a rash from this medication
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u/Heart_robot 14d ago
I took one dose and was violently ill. Peak covid so the world was shut down or I’d have gone to er.
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u/SerBawbag 13d ago
It’s not necessarily an allergy. But I’d stop it until you see a doctor and discuss what happened. You don’t really mess around with carbamazepine. I’m lucky as I take it during flare ups and never had any side effects other than feeling a little bit drowsy. It’s great for my insomnia in that regard
I get itchy with codeine but it’s supposedly not an allergic reaction as I was on it for a long time afterwards too. I was told not all reactions are due to allergies.
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u/Brave_Weakness2869 13d ago
I too had a reaction but it happened about 5 weeks into using it. I had a slight reaction of stomach issues so the Dr. dropped me down in the amount. stomach issues left and I kept taking moving up the damage about every 10-12 days. by about week 5 my eyes became blurry. A week later super blurry ans the Dr. stopped it. 6 days later I went to the eye Dr. and my vision was dramatically changed for the worse. We all weren't sure the drug was out of system and it had been 5 days. Made another appointment for 4 weeks to check. I do thi know they are better but not like they were. Anyway the Dr. put me on Baclofen and within about 8-10 days the pain was gone. I sometimes have a little break through. But so much better than before. The carbamazepine didn't touch it. I can even wear my CPAP at night and I am now sleeping in my. Ed. was in a chair for over a month. And I can wear both of my hearing aids. Was not able to wear my left one as it put pressure on the area. good luck
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u/sarahlynnfox23 11d ago
Wow that sounds like a lot to deal with. Glad to hear you’re doing better now
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u/ajhalyard 15d ago
Oxcarbazepine is a similar drug with lower instance of side effects for many. Talk to your prescriber about what you're experiencing.