What About Trileptal?

Written by Dr. Leland Heller

QUESTION:

Do you have any experience using Trileptal as an alternative to Tegretol? There is no need for blood tests when taking Trileptal and the side effects seem to be less extreme. I have the BPD along with several other diagnoses: I take 60mg of Prozac and 1500mg of Trileptal along with 3mg of Clonazepam. So far, there has been no improvement in my condition (treatment has been ongoing for about 2 yrs.) Should I drop the Trileptal and switch to Tegretol?

Thanks...

DR. HELLER'S ANSWER:

While theoretically Trileptal should work, I've been very disappointed in it as a BPD treatment. It doesn't seem to help. It can be very helpful in bipolar, but not the BPD.

The side effects are approximately the same for both, although blood tests are not needed with Trileptal.

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