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Product Catalogue
NOVARTIS
TEGRETOL CR
Scientific Name:
Carbamazepine
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COMPOSITION
Each CR tablet contains: Carbamazepine 200 mg or 400 mg.
PROPERTIES /EFFECTS
Tegretol is an antiepileptic drug used to treat certain types of seizures (epilepsy), and some neurological diseases (such as painful condition of the face called “trigeminal neuralgia”) as well as certain psychiatric conditions (such as a disorder known as mania episodes of bipolar mood disorders and a certain type of depression). It must not be used for common aches or pains. Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by two or more seizures (fits).
Seizures occur when message from the brain to the muscles are not properly passed on by the nerve pathway in the body. Tegretol helps to control the passing-way of these messages and regulates nerve functions for the other diseases mentioned above.
Tegretol can be used for other conditions as determined by your doctor. Do not use it yourself for other problems unless your doctor says you should.
RESTRICTION ON USE
Contraindications
Don’t use Tegretol if you have had any unusual sensitivity (rash or other possible signs of allergy) to carbamazepine or tricyclic antidepressant; or serious blood illness in the past; if you have severe heart disease; or disturbance in the production of porphyrin, a pigment important for liver function and blood formation (“acute intermittent porphyria”); if you are taking monoamine-oxidase inhibitors.
Precautions
Tell your doctor if: You have had heart, liver or kidney disease in the past; you have blood illness (including those caused by other drugs); you have increased pressure in the eye (glaucoma); you have some special mental illness, accompanied by confusion or agitation.
Use in children and in the elderly people
Tegretol may be safely used in children and in the elderly patients, keeping to the doctor’s instructions.
Pregnancy and breast feeding
Women should tell their doctor if they are pregnant, breast-feeding, or plan to become pregnant. Your doctor will tell you the risks and benefits involved and decide whether or not to continue Tegretol, with strict surveillance to the pregnant women and the newborn.
Ability to drive and operate machinery
Be careful when driving a car or working a machine or doing other things that need your careful attention if you are using Tegretol.
DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION
Be sure to take Tegretol regularly and exactly as your doctor tells you. This will help you to get the best results and reduce the chance of serious side effects. Do not take extra unprescribed doses, do not take more often, and do not take for a longer time than your doctor tells you. If you are taking Tegretol, do not suddenly stop taking it without first checking with your doctor.
Usual dosage
Treatment of epilepsy is usually started at 100-200 mg once or twice a day in adults. The dosage is then gradually increased to 800 -1200 mg a day (in some patients 1600 mg or even 2000 mg a day may be needed), divided in 2 to 3 intakes.
Treatment in children is usually started at 100 – 200 mg a day (based on 10 – 20 mg/kg body weight daily) and kept at 400 – 800 mg a day. Adolescents may receive between 600 – 1000 mg a day.
For trigeminal neuralgia the starting dosage of 200 – 400 mg a day is slowly raised until there is no pain (usually 200 mg 3 – 4 times a day).
For elderly patients a lower starting dose, 100 mg twice a day, is recommended.
For acute mania and maintenance treatment of bipolar affective disorders the usual dosage is 400 – 600 mg a day (dosage range about 400 - 1600 mg a day).
Tegretol is always (except possibly on the first day) given in divided daily doses, i.e. 2 to 4 times a day, depending on the medical condition.
The dose prescribed by your doctor may be different from those listed above. In this case follow the doctor’s instructions. Take Tegretol during or after a meal.
Swallow the tablets with some liquid; if necessary, the tablets may be broken in half along the line. If you miss a dose, take it as soon as possible.
However, if it is almost time for your next dose, do not take the missed one; just go back to your regular timetable. Do not double the dose.
OVERDOSAGE
If you accidentally take many more tablets than your doctor prescribed, go to your nearest hospital casualty department or tell your doctor immediately.
If you find difficulty in breathing, a fast or irregular heart beat, loss of consciousness, fainting, shakiness, sickness and/or vomiting, your dose may be too high. Take no more medicine but inform your doctor without delay.
SPECIAL NOTE
It is very important that your doctor checks your progress at regular visits, and want to take periodic blood tests, especially when you start taking Tegretol. This is quite usual and nothing to worry about. Before having any kind of surgery, including dental or emergency treatment, tell the doctor in charge that you are taking Tegretol.
SIDE EFFECTS
Like all medicines, Tegretol, along with its desired effects, may also cause some unwanted effects. These are often mild and occur more often early in treatment and usually wear off after a few days of treatment.
Usually the following side effects do not need medical attention. However, if they last for more than a few days or cause real distress, check with your doctor:
More common: dizziness, sleepiness, sickness, unsteadiness.
Less common: headache, dry mouth.
COMPOSITION
Each CR tablet contains: Carbamazepine 200 mg or 400 mg.
PROPERTIES /EFFECTS
Tegretol is an antiepileptic drug used to treat certain types of seizures (epilepsy), and some neurological diseases (such as painful condition of the face called “trigeminal neuralgia”) as well as certain psychiatric conditions (such as a disorder known as mania episodes of bipolar mood disorders and a certain type of depression). It must not be used for common aches or pains. Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by two or more seizures (fits).
Seizures occur when message from the brain to the muscles are not properly passed on by the nerve pathway in the body. Tegretol helps to control the passing-way of these messages and regulates nerve functions for the other diseases mentioned above.
Tegretol can be used for other conditions as determined by your doctor. Do not use it yourself for other problems unless your doctor says you should.
RESTRICTION ON USE
Contraindications
Don’t use Tegretol if you have had any unusual sensitivity (rash or other possible signs of allergy) to carbamazepine or tricyclic antidepressant; or serious blood illness in the past; if you have severe heart disease; or disturbance in the production of porphyrin, a pigment important for liver function and blood formation (“acute intermittent porphyria”); if you are taking monoamine-oxidase inhibitors.
Precautions
Tell your doctor if: You have had heart, liver or kidney disease in the past; you have blood illness (including those caused by other drugs); you have increased pressure in the eye (glaucoma); you have some special mental illness, accompanied by confusion or agitation.
Use in children and in the elderly people
Tegretol may be safely used in children and in the elderly patients, keeping to the doctor’s instructions.
Pregnancy and breast feeding
Women should tell their doctor if they are pregnant, breast-feeding, or plan to become pregnant. Your doctor will tell you the risks and benefits involved and decide whether or not to continue Tegretol, with strict surveillance to the pregnant women and the newborn.
Ability to drive and operate machinery
Be careful when driving a car or working a machine or doing other things that need your careful attention if you are using Tegretol.
DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION
Be sure to take Tegretol regularly and exactly as your doctor tells you. This will help you to get the best results and reduce the chance of serious side effects. Do not take extra unprescribed doses, do not take more often, and do not take for a longer time than your doctor tells you. If you are taking Tegretol, do not suddenly stop taking it without first checking with your doctor.
Usual dosage
Treatment of epilepsy is usually started at 100-200 mg once or twice a day in adults. The dosage is then gradually increased to 800 -1200 mg a day (in some patients 1600 mg or even 2000 mg a day may be needed), divided in 2 to 3 intakes.
Treatment in children is usually started at 100 – 200 mg a day (based on 10 – 20 mg/kg body weight daily) and kept at 400 – 800 mg a day. Adolescents may receive between 600 – 1000 mg a day.
For trigeminal neuralgia the starting dosage of 200 – 400 mg a day is slowly raised until there is no pain (usually 200 mg 3 – 4 times a day).
For elderly patients a lower starting dose, 100 mg twice a day, is recommended.
For acute mania and maintenance treatment of bipolar affective disorders the usual dosage is 400 – 600 mg a day (dosage range about 400 - 1600 mg a day).
Tegretol is always (except possibly on the first day) given in divided daily doses, i.e. 2 to 4 times a day, depending on the medical condition.
The dose prescribed by your doctor may be different from those listed above. In this case follow the doctor’s instructions. Take Tegretol during or after a meal.
Swallow the tablets with some liquid; if necessary, the tablets may be broken in half along the line. If you miss a dose, take it as soon as possible.
However, if it is almost time for your next dose, do not take the missed one; just go back to your regular timetable. Do not double the dose.
OVERDOSAGE
If you accidentally take many more tablets than your doctor prescribed, go to your nearest hospital casualty department or tell your doctor immediately.
If you find difficulty in breathing, a fast or irregular heart beat, loss of consciousness, fainting, shakiness, sickness and/or vomiting, your dose may be too high. Take no more medicine but inform your doctor without delay.
SPECIAL NOTE
It is very important that your doctor checks your progress at regular visits, and want to take periodic blood tests, especially when you start taking Tegretol. This is quite usual and nothing to worry about. Before having any kind of surgery, including dental or emergency treatment, tell the doctor in charge that you are taking Tegretol.
SIDE EFFECTS
Like all medicines, Tegretol, along with its desired effects, may also cause some unwanted effects. These are often mild and occur more often early in treatment and usually wear off after a few days of treatment.
Usually the following side effects do not need medical attention. However, if they last for more than a few days or cause real distress, check with your doctor:
More common: dizziness, sleepiness, sickness, unsteadiness.
Less common: headache, dry mouth.
Rare: constipation, diarrhea, aching joints or muscles, increased sweating, loss of appetite, loss of hair, sexual disturbances.
Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur, since they may need medical attention:
More common: loss of muscles coordination.
Less common: changes in behavior, confusion, weakness, increase in seizures (fits), blurred vision, trembling, uncontrolled body movements, uncontrolled eye movements.
Rare: vomiting, itching, agitation or hostility (especially in the elderly), fainting, difficulty in speaking or slurred speech, depression with restlessness, nervousness or other mood or mental changes, hallucinations, ringing or other unexplained sounds in the ears, troubled breathing, chest pain, fast or unusually slow heartbeat, numbness, tingling in hands and feet, frequent urination, sudden decrease in amount of urine, taste disturbances.
Check with your doctor immediately or make sure that someone else can do this for you if any of the following (less common or rare) side effects occur. They may be early signs of serious damage to your blood, liver, kidneys or other organs and may urgently need medical treatment:
Signs such as fever, sore throat, rash, ulcers in the mouth, swollen glands, unexplained bruising, reddish or purplish coloring due to bleeding just below the skin, or unexplained blotching, darkening of urine, signs which suggest severe skin reactions, such as peeling of the skin, any yellowing of the white of your eyes or your skin, swelling of the ankles, feet or lower legs, irregular heartbeat, disturbed consciousness.
If you experience any other side effects which concern you, discuss them with your doctor or pharmacist.
STORAGE
Store below 25o C and protect from moisture.
PACKS
20 CR Divitabs
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