my wife (69 years old) is being weaned off of gabapentin and transitioned to tegretol.  She has been on gabapentin for approximately 12 days for trigemenal neuralgia. Her dosage is currently 300mg of gabapentin @ 3x per day and 200mg of tegretol @ 2x per day. She is also taking risperidone 0.5 mg @ 1x per day. She is having a bad reaction to these medications. ie lips are numb, face twitching, hands shaking and numb. is she in any sort of danger from this combination ?
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. Gabapentin can cause  tremor (hand shaking); twitching, paresthesia (numbness). Tegretol (Carbamazepine) also can cause abnormal involuntary movements and paresthesias. Risperidone can also induce pseudo-Parkinsonism. Elderly people are likely to have more adverse effects from polypharmacy. Treating physician is the best person to decide about drug therapy. Drug therapy with Carbamazepine (Tegretol) is effective in ~50% to 75% of patients of Trigemenal neuralgia. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. Regards, Dr. T.K. Biswas