Posted by Elizabeth on March 26, 1999, at 3:22:46
In reply to Re: Tegretol (Carbamazepine) for depression??, posted by HooWha on March 25, 1999, at 15:03:05
> > Hi all. My Dr wants to put me on Tegretol for major depression. Anyone taking it for depression? I've read all I can about the drug, but it doesn't mention anything about that drug being prescribed for depression only. I do not respond at all to anti-depressant meds, so he is trying this as an alternative. Any feedback ( good or bad ) will be greatly appriciated.
Hi Jan. Some speculations....
It's certainly a possible alternative to standard antidepressants, but it's pretty far down on the list usually. (It seems to work about 50% of the time instead of the 70-80% for traditional antidepressants. Still pretty good though.)
Do you know if you have any other diagnoses besides depression? (There are other disorders that can look like depression for which Tegretol is sometimes used, as well as manic-depression.) If not, maybe since you haven't responded to treatments that normally work for depression, other diagnoses have been considered? (Often happens with "refractory" depression.)
Why not just ask your doctor why Tegretol? I'm sure people here would be interested to know as well, since we can only speculate.
poster:Elizabeth
thread:4005
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990301/msgs/4035.html