panicking over drug interaction

i have been on carbamazepine (tegretol) for nearly 20 years, as a mood stabiliser, when nothing else would help my severe anxiety, 20 years ago when my kids were little. for me, it was a wonder drug, and i still thank God for answering my prayers of desperation at that time. over the years i have had the occasional panic attack, ( about 2 per year), and very occasional mild anxiety which i was no t medicated for, apart for some stemetil for dizziness once or twice. last september my anxiety escalated to unbearable levels, due, i think, to finding out that i have bronchiectasis which will not improve and that means a lung infection, at any time, could be fatal. i have 37 % of my lungs able to be used..anyway, my doctor tried me on various a/d s, and benzos, i hated the side effects of the a/d s, and because of my life expectancy, the doc didn t persevere with meds which were distressing me. tried oxazepam, but needed to increase the dose every couple of weeks and still didn t maintain the good effect. changed to valium maybe 6 weeks ago, which, though i have gone up to 5mg, 3 times a day, sometimes 4 times, seems to be making me feel better. my problem is that i discovered on a drug interaction chart, that carbamazepine and valium can be a dangerous mix. i told my doc about it, and, as of today, i am reducing the dose of carbamazepine. i m terrified of what is going to happen and how i will feel, after so long on it, which is, of course feeding my anxiety. i m praying for protection, and wondered if you guys could pray for me too, if you feel able to do so, blessings

I 'third' the advice above. :)

Interactions should of course be taken seriously...and therefore checked out by your doctor and phamacist...

...however, those on-line charts are meant to be a guideline, and often err on the side of safety, (which is good) but often the interactions turn out to be nothing of concern when checked out with your prescribing health care provider.

Get the final word from your doctor, and try not to worry.:)

Hugs and prayers!

S.C.

hi guys, thanks so much for your replies and loving advice. on re reading my post, i realised i left out the fact that i did talk to my doctor and my physician about this, and had a blood test done, because diazepam can also raise the levels of carbamazepine in your blood to dangerous levels. i had the blood test, and my doc rang me yesterday, saying that my levels are high, and that is why i am decreasing the dose of carbamazepine, as of last night. feeling sort of okay so far, so i ll let you know how it all goes, thanks again, blessings

Mindy,

I am glad you shared about your blood test and that your physician did explain why he changed your doses of carbamazepine.

The world has changed so much which is a good thing because people, like yourself, do want to know about their medications as well as advocate for themselves.  Years ago people just took whatever the Dr. gave to them because people trusted the Dr. and did what they were told.  Imagine the responsibility of the Dr. - wonder how they slept at night worrying about their patients and hoping they did not make a mistake in dx.

Be proud of yourself for asking questions and speaking out when you feel something is not working.  I have not had a Dr. tell me to shut up and do what I am told. 

May today be a great day for you,

Kitt