Is echinacea safe to take with carbamazepine (tegretol)?

Question

Is echinacea safe to take with carbamazepine (tegretol)?

Answer 1

Echinacea is a natural remedy, I don't see why not.

Answer 2

The safety of adding echinacea would depend on how long you have (or your pet has) been taking Tegretol, and how successful the treatment is.

Herbs are categorized as nutritional or medicinal. Any herb taken for a medicinal use has individualized side effects. If Tegretol is definitely effective, at least you'd be able to sort out any side effects from the echinacea.

Homeopathy, on the other hand, is not only effective as a complementary treatment / immune booster, it minimizes untoward side effects from Tegretol. I can share a personal example. My (very old) cat's been on Tegretol, only she wouldn't have survived the past 2 years without homeopathy gently resolving her side effects of bladder infections, vomiting and diarrhea.

Answer 3

Echinacea tea or pill form is one of natures best at fighting infection and a lot of illness and

.. .. ..

Tegretol is one of the laboratories best

ha ha ha

at hiding pain

.. .. ..

Answer 4

A quick phone call to a pharamist/or doctor's office will answer this correctly.

Answer 5

Just because something is labelled 'natural' does not mean it is safe to take with other drugs,or that it willnot have side effects too.

Valproic acid and valnoctamide both interact with carbamazepine, as they inhibit microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH), the enzyme responsible for the breakdown of carbamazepine-10,11 epoxide into inactive metabolites.[7] By inhibiting mEH, valproic acid and valnoctamide cause a buildup of the active metabolite, prolonging the effects of carbamazepine and delaying its excretion.

Carbamazepine interacts with multiple drugs and caution should be used in combining other medicines with it. Lower levels of carbamazepine are seen when administrated with phenobarbital, phenytoin (Dilantin), or primidone (Mysoline). Warfarin (Coumadin), phenytoin (Dilantin), theophylline, and valproic acid (Depakote, Depakote ER, Depakene, Depacon) are more rapidly metabolized with carbamazepine, while carbamazepine levels are elevated when taken with erythromycin, cimetidine (Tagamet), propoxyphene (Darvon), and calcium channel blockers. Carbamazepine also increases the metabolism (destruction) of the hormones in birth control pills and can reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills. Unexpected pregnancies have occurred in patients taking both carbamazepine and birth control pills.

Reported adverse effects of echinacea include nausea, dizziness, dyspnea, rash, dermatitis, pruritis, and hepatotoxicity. These tend to be infrequent, mild, and transient.[10][11] Echinacea should not be taken by persons with progressive systemic and auto-immune disorders, connective tissue disorders, or related diseases. It should not be used with immunosuppressants or hepatotoxic drugs,[11][12] and has the potential to interfere with anesthesia.[13]

In one investigation by an independent consumer testing laboratory, 5 of 11 selected retail echinacea products failed quality testing. Four of the failing products contained measured levels of phenols believed to be related to potency below the levels stated on the labels. One failing product was contaminated with lead.

Like most crude drugs from plant or animal origin, the constituent base for echinacea is complex, consisting of a wide variety of chemicals of variable effect and potency. Some chemicals may be directly antimicrobial, while others may work at stimulating or modulating different parts of the immune system. All species have chemical compounds called phenols, which are common to many other plants. Both the phenol compounds cichoric and caftaric are present in E. purpurea, other phenols include echinacoside, which is found in greater levels within E. angustifolia and E. pallida roots than in other species. When making herbal remedies, these phenols can serve as markers for the quantity of raw echinacea in the product. Other chemical constituents that may be important in echinacea health effects include alkylamides and polysaccharides.

Answer 6

Carbamazepine is a anticonvulsant and mood stabilizing drug.  It does interact with multiple drugs but probably not echinacea.  You might want to check with your doctor to be sure.

Carbamazepine interacts with multiple drugs and caution should be used in combining other medicines with it. Lower levels of carbamazepine are seen when administrated with phenobarbital, phenytoin (Dilantin), or primidone (Mysoline). Warfarin (Coumadin), phenytoin (Dilantin), theophylline, and valproic acid (Depakote, Depakote ER, Depakene, Depacon) are more rapidly metabolized with carbamazepine, while carbamazepine levels are elevated when taken with erythromycin, cimetidine (Tagamet), propoxyphene (Darvon), and calcium channel blockers. Carbamazepine also increases the metabolism (destruction) of the hormones in birth control pills and can reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills. Unexpected pregnancies have occurred in patients taking both carbamazepine and birth control pills.