Anticonvulsant medicines such as carbamazepine (for example, Tegretol) and valproate (for example, Depakene or Depakote) are often used along with antipsychotic medicines to treat schizophrenia.
While anticonvulsants are usually used to treat seizures or unusual electrical patterns in the brain, they can also help regulate mood. Anticonvulsants taken along with antipsychotic medicines may reduce the severity of symptoms during relapses of schizophrenia. They may also reduce agitation and violent behaviors that are sometimes associated with schizophrenia.
Side effects of valproate may include drowsiness, low energy, and stomach upset. Uncommon side effects can include weight gain, temporary hair loss, headaches, and confusion. A new warning label has recently been added to valproate injections and divalproex tablets/capsules that warns of a possible increased chance of pancreatitis in anyone who takes these medicines and polycystic ovary syndrome in women who take them.
Valproate may also cause problems with liver function and blood disorders. These problems can be monitored by liver function tests and blood counts.
Carbamazepine is not used with the medicine clozapine because both of these medicines can cause a severe drop in the number of white blood cells (agranulocytosis).
People of Asian ancestry may be at a higher risk for skin problems from taking carbamazepine. These skin problems, which include Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis, can be dangerous. The FDA recommends that people of Asian background be tested before they take carbamazepine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning on anticonvulsants and the risk of suicide and suicidal thoughts. The FDA does not recommend that people stop using these medicines. Instead, people who take anticonvulsant medicine should be watched closely for warning signs of suicide. People who take anticonvulsant medicine and who are worried about this side effect should talk to a doctor.
For more information on anticonvulsants, see Drug Reference. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)
Credits
| Author | Jeannette Curtis |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Lisa S. Weinstock, MD - Psychiatry |
| Last Updated | February 5, 2008 |
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