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Lithium and other mood stabilisers

Explains how lithium and other mood stabilising drugs work, how they might help you, whether to take them if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, and what alternative treatments are available.

carbamazepine

Carbamazepine is an anticonvulsant drug used as a mood stabiliser. It is also known by the trade names Carbagen and Tegretol.

You can find detailed information about this drug in the official Patient Information Leaflet (PIL). This includes information on the medication is for, how to take it, possible side effects and safety information.

This leaflet should come with your medication, usually inside the box. Or you can download a PDF version of the PIL for your medication:

Some drugs come in different forms, such as tablets or liquid. There may be a separate PIL for each form of the drug, as well as for different doses. You should look at the PIL for the form and dose you have been prescribed.

You can also search these websites for your specific drug to find further information and PILs:

If you have any questions about your medication you can:

  • talk to your doctor, or any healthcare professional who prescribes your medication
  • speak to someone at a pharmacy
  • contact NHS 111 if you live in England
  • contact NHS 111 or NHS Direct (0845 46 47) if you live in Wales.

If you experience any side effects from your drug, you can report them to the MHRA via their Yellow Card scheme. This scheme allows the MHRA to collect information about which drugs cause which side effects and how common they are. This lets drug manufacturers give more accurate information about their medication.

More information about lithium and other mood stabilisers

Our pages on lithium and other mood stabilisers have more information about this type of medication. This includes how they work and how they might help you. It also covers how they might affect you if you are pregnant, their withdrawal effects and alternative treatment options.

These pages may also help:

  • About psychiatric medication. See our pages on psychiatric medication for information on what you should know before taking any psychiatric drug, receiving the right medication for you, and your right to refuse medication.
  • About side effects. See our page on coping with side effects for information on what to do if you experience a side effect.
  • About coming off medication. See our pages on coming off psychiatric drugs for information on making your decision to come off medication, planning withdrawal and withdrawal symptoms. 
  • About accessing treatment. See our pages on seeking help for a mental health problem for more information on getting treatment for your mental health.
  • About interactions with recreational drugs and alcohol. See our page on recreational drugs and medication for information about how prescribed medications and other drugs can interact. 

We're currently reviewing all of our medication pages. Please tell us what you would like to find on this page in the future via the 'Was this page useful?' buttons below.

If you have personal experience of taking this drug and would be interested in producing a blog or vlog about it to appear alongside our information, see our pages on telling your story.

This information was published in June 2020. We will revise it in 2023.

References are available on request. If you would like to reproduce any of this information, see our page on permissions and licensing.

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