Carbatrol/Tegratol/carbambazpine

Hi @jakedduck1
I have never heard of it.
I did some quick research on AI, and it does not say that Tegretol should be avoided after the 70 years of age.
I have also found a paper on epilepsy in elderly people after the 65 years of age, commenting on several AEDs, including Carbamazepine. Here is the link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4900895/
Have a nice day Jake!
Chris

@santosa
Thank you Chris, very helpful.
Take care,
Jake

Would u advise please which new med is being used now. Thank you Take care

@bloom26
A warm welcome to you at the Epilepsy & Seizures group here at Mayo Clinic Connect.
Which new AEDs (antiepileptic drugs) are being used now depends a lot on the seizure type and epilepsy syndrome of the patient, as these are the primary criteria for prescribing such medications.
What I know is that the newer ones aren't generally more effective in treating epilepsy than the older ones, but they're better tolerated and have fewer drug interactions. This is why, beyond seizure type and epilepsy syndrome, doctors also consider several other important factors when prescribing AEDs, such as side-effect profile, individual patient factors, and drug interactions with other medications the patient is on.
I, for example, tried Tegretol (carbamazepine) — a quite old AED — for my temporal lobe epilepsy and focal seizures. It did control my seizures well, but the side effects were terrible for me. I'm now on a newer AED, Keppra.
Would you mind sharing what kind of seizures and epilepsy syndrome you have? What medications are you currently on, and what challenges are you facing?
Chris

My brother has awful side effects, dizzy and vertigo from many many years of carbamazepine. Tried Keppra but it didn't work as well. Now he is looking for another alternative cause he cannot function daily due to horrible vertigo. He has temporal lobe / focal as well. Thank you for the reply, have a good day

@bloom26
How lovely that you're looking out for your brother this way!
There are many other medication possibilities today, thankfully.
You mentioned that your brother has daily vertigo. This might not be related to epilepsy — I say that based on my own experience. I'm on Keppra and also thought at first that it was a side effect of the medication. My neurologist recommended I see an ENT specialist, where I was diagnosed with BPPV — Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo — something not related to my epilepsy or Keppra at all.
Is he still taking Keppra? You mentioned he's looking for another alternative — has he discussed that with his neurologist? It might also be worth mentioning to his neurologist the possibility of an ENT referral.
Chris