The common side effects of Tegretol are ataxia, and drowsiness. This medication can also cause fatigue, sedation, vertigo, blurred vision, hypertension, hypotension, edema, urinary retention, weight gain, leukopenia, rash, and syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone. All patients who are taking this medication should be monitored for change in behavior because of incidences of increased suicidal thoughts. The potential nursing diagnosis for a patient taken this medication includes risk for injury and to risk for disturbed thought process related to side effects (Deglin, Vallerand, & Sanoski, 2014, p. …show more content…
The patient needs to take this medication as prescribed and take missed dosed as soon as possible, but not before the next dose is administered. The patient needs to notify the health care provider if more than one dose is missed, and not to discontinue medication until informing the health care provider, because discontinuation can cause status epilelticus. The patient needs to be informed not to drink alcohol; which may intensify the medication side effect. Also, these medications can cause drowsiness which can cause impairment that require alertness. These medications can cause photosensitivity; patients need to be advised to wear proper clothing or sunscreen while on treatment. Most importantly, the patient needs to be advised to carry identification describing disease process and medication regimen at all times. Instruct patients that behavioral changes, skin rash, fever, sore throat, mouth ulcers, easy bruising, petechiae, unusual bleeding, abdominal pain, chills, rash, pale stools, dark urine, or jaundice, angioedema (swelling of the lips, throat, and difficulty breathing), needs to be reported to a health care professional immediately (Deglin, Vallerand, & Sanoski, 2014, p.