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OXCARBAZEPINE
Drug Treatments for Facial
Neuralgias
| Description | Medical References
| Side-effects | Patient
Experiences | Links | References |
Disclaimer
Description
Trade name Trileptal.
Oxcarbazepine is an anticonvulsant. It
is a derivative of carbamazepine (Tegretol), and also very similar
to gabapentin (Neurontin).
Oxcarbazepine was developed by
modifying the chemical formula of carbamazepine to make it more tolerable. As an
anti-epileptic, it is at least as effective as carbamazepine, has fewer drug
interaction problems, generates fewer toxic by-products, and causes less skin allergy. Trileptal appears to work faster than
Tegretol and seems to cause less drowsiness. The mechanism of how
oxcarbazepine works is not known at present. One action is
that it decreases serum sodium.
According to the
Trigeminal Neuralgia Newsletter (Summer 2003), patients are generally
started at 600 mg. per day, and the maximum dose is 2,400 mg per day.
Medical References
A Canadian neurologist, Dr. Guy
Remillard, reports that early studies show Trileptal is 85% effective in controlling pain
that didn't respond to Tegretol, thus making oxcarbazepine an option for patients who
could not tolerate or were not helped by Tegretol.
According to Dr. Andy Kaufman of Winnipeg, "If you have had an
allergic reaction to Tegretol® (carbemazepine), then you should not try
Trileptal. As with other anti-seizure medications, increasing and
decreasing the dose should be gradual."
Side-effects
Reported side-effects
include decreased blood sodium, dizziness, fatigue, headache, tremors, drowsiness,
diminished concentration, double vision and stammering.
Patient Experiences
- "I used Trileptal pretty
successfully for most of the year before my last GK (Gamma Knife) surgery. But with
all the postage, it usually cost me over $300 / month and of course I had to pay for liver
function tests etc. out of pocket. There is no law in the US that tests for the Trileptal
level. It worked like its cousin, Tegretol, but I sure didn't feel as fuzzy and it worked
when the Tegretol was no longer effective at 1600 a day. It pretty much gave our
eventually also." - anonymous
- "Trileptal is a
"wonder-drug" as far as I'm concerned. The Tegretol was making me so
groggy and dopey. I now can think and do without the facial pain and side
effects of the Tegretol. Just hope it holds out for a while. The only side
effect that I notice is some hand tremors and anxiety. The anxiety could
be due to other things going on, but it does seem somewhat increased. I do
hope that I will adjust to the tremors. Also have had some insomnia
associated with it. I was placed on 150 mg of Trileptal bid (twice a day)
and told to increase it by 150 per week for control. At this stage I am
not going to increase it and believe I will take the 2nd dose earlier in
the pm to try and eliminate the insomnia." - Delores
ashele1@HOTMAIL.COM
 SAMF: Antiepileptics.
References
Trileptal: New Drug Showing Promise
in Treatment of TN
Your Complete Guide to Trigeminal Neuralgia; A. M. Kaufmann & M. Patel,
CCND Winnipeg
The South African
Medicine Formulary
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