Carbamazepine: Price, Dosage & Where to Buy

Carbamazepine is an anticonvulsant medicine used mainly to control certain types of epilepsy, and it is also prescribed for the pain of true trigeminal neuralgia. It requires a prescription in the United Kingdom. Generic carbamazepine has been available since 1992-07-29, with several oral formulations and strengths listed.

Carbamazepine is an anticonvulsant. Medicines in this group reduce excessive or abnormal electrical activity in the brain, helping to prevent electrical discharges from spreading and causing seizures. This stabilising effect can also reduce abnormal pain signalling from nerves.

In trigeminal neuralgia, the medicine dampens the overactive nerve impulses responsible for episodes of facial pain. The precise balance of effects depends on the condition being treated and the individual response. Carbamazepine can affect nerve signalling elsewhere in the body, which helps explain effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, unsteadiness, nausea, and visual disturbances.

Carbamazepine is indicated for epilepsy, including partial seizures with complex symptomatology, generalised tonic-clonic seizures, and mixed seizure patterns containing these or other partial or generalised seizures. Absence seizures do not appear to be controlled by carbamazepine. It may be used alone or alongside other anticonvulsant medicines.

Carbamazepine is also indicated for the pain associated with true trigeminal neuralgia, a condition affecting the trigeminal nerve. Beneficial results have also been reported for glossopharyngeal neuralgia. It is not a simple analgesic and is not intended for trivial aches or pains.

The label lists oral capsules with extended release of 100 mg, 200 mg, and 300 mg; oral suspension of 100 mg/5 mL and 200 mg/10 mL; tablets of 100 mg and 200 mg; chewable tablets of 100 mg and 200 mg; extended-release tablets of 100 mg, 200 mg, and 400 mg; and film-coated extended-release tablets of 100 mg, 200 mg, and 400 mg. The usual starting dose is 200 mg twice a day for epilepsy in adults and children over 12 years of age. The usual starting dose is 100 mg twice a day for epilepsy in children from 6 to 12 years of age.

The usual starting dose is 100 mg twice a day for trigeminal neuralgia. The label lists gradual increases, adjustment to the minimum effective level, and monitoring of blood levels where appropriate. The label states that medication should be taken with meals.

Store at 20° to 25°C. Protect from light and moisture. Keep the medicine in a tight, light-resistant, child-resistant container as directed on the label, and keep it out of the sight and reach of children.

A missed dose can reduce the medicine's control of seizures or nerve pain. General pharmacy practice is to follow the prescriber's or pharmacist's advice and avoid taking extra medicine to compensate, because this can increase adverse effects.

Carbamazepine should not be stopped abruptly in someone being treated for epilepsy, as sudden discontinuation may lead to seizures or status epilepticus. Further advice is appropriate if doses are missed repeatedly or if a dose cannot be taken because of vomiting.

The label includes a pregnancy section but does not specify pregnancy or lactation data in the stated information. Anyone who is pregnant, planning pregnancy, or breastfeeding should discuss carbamazepine with a doctor or pharmacist. Treatment for epilepsy should not be stopped abruptly without medical advice.