Why Am I Getting Chest Pain After Taking Abilify While On Other Medication Such As Tegretol, Buspar, Propranolol And Klonopin?
Question: Hello, I was taking 10 mg of abilify once a day, 200 mg of tegretol twice a day, 10 mg of buspar three times a day, 20 mg of propranolol three times a day, and 0.5 mg of klonopin twice a day. I started getting chest pain after the addition of abilify and tegretol so I stopped them both and the chest pain went away. I want to know which of the two you think was causing my chest pain. The chest pain started two days after I started taking 10 mg of abilify and one day after I started taking tegretol. After I stopped them both, I tried putting two 200 mg tablets of tegretol in my mouth and then spitting it back out and I got chest pain just from that which went away. The last time I took the abilify was on a Sunday night which I had been taking 20 mg of for four nights after starting off at 10 mg, and the last time I took the tegretol was the following Monday morning at 200 mg, and the chest pain got much worse on Tuesday but was very minimal the days after that and completely disappeared on Friday or Saturday. The chest pain was off and on and lasted a couple of seconds every time and shocked me or scared me when it came on. It also radiated to my neck, jaw, back, and arms. The chest pain lasted for about 7 days. Please tell me which of the two you think caused my chest pain in combination with the other medications.
Brief Answer:
Both can cause pain in rare cases.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I can understand your concern. Abilify or Aripiprazole and Tagretol or Carbamazepine both could cause chest pain but in rare cases. You are on 10 mg Abilify and this dose is usually well tolerated. I don't think this was the reason for chest pain in your case.
Tagretol 400 mg could result in rapid heart rate and this can cause chest pain. Though both medicines are safe but if I have to pin point one for the chest pain then I'd pick Tagretol. Starting the drug with low dose and then increasing the dose after a week could prevent this.
Thanks.
Please feel free to ask again for follow up doubts.
Both can cause pain in rare cases.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I can understand your concern. Abilify or Aripiprazole and Tagretol or Carbamazepine both could cause chest pain but in rare cases. You are on 10 mg Abilify and this dose is usually well tolerated. I don't think this was the reason for chest pain in your case.
Tagretol 400 mg could result in rapid heart rate and this can cause chest pain. Though both medicines are safe but if I have to pin point one for the chest pain then I'd pick Tagretol. Starting the drug with low dose and then increasing the dose after a week could prevent this.
Thanks.
Please feel free to ask again for follow up doubts.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar