Two medicines, side by side
Carbamazepine vs midazolam
Carbamazepine is labeled for bipolar disorder and seizures and epilepsy; midazolam has no indication this site maps. Their labels share no use, so they are not alternatives to each other. Drugs@FDA records approvals of carbamazepine since 1968 and of midazolam since 1985. Pharmacies paid $0.119 per carbamazepine 200 mg tablet and $0.233 per mL (Midazolam HCl 2 mg/2 mL vial) (NADAC, October 7, 2026); the strengths differ, so the two prices are not like for like. Midazolam's other strengths are brand-only: $327.05 per unit (Nayzilam 5 mg nasal spray). In FDA's classes, carbamazepine is a mood stabilizer and midazolam a benzodiazepine.
Check it at the source: the carbamazepine FDA label on DailyMed (effective August 20, 2026); the midazolam FDA label on DailyMed (effective January 1, 2024).
Highlights of the carbamazepine record
Carbamazepine (Tegretol) · label of August 20, 2026
SERIOUS DERMATOLOGIC REACTIONS AND HLA-B*1502 ALLELE SERIOUS AND SOMETIMES FATAL DERMATOLOGIC REACTIONS, INCLUDING TOXIC EPIDERMAL NECROLYSIS (TEN) AND STEVENS-JOHNSON SYNDROME (SJS), HAVE BEEN REPORTED DURING TREATMENT WITH TEGRETOL. THESE REACTIONS ARE ESTIMATED TO OCCUR IN 1 TO 6 PER 10,000 NEW USERS IN COUNTRIES WITH MAINLY CAUCASIAN POPULATIONS, BUT THE RISK IN SOME ASIAN COUNTRIES IS ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT 10 TIMES HIGHER.
Used for
From the label: indicationsEpilepsy Tegretol is indicated for use as an anticonvulsant drug. Evidence supporting efficacy of Tegretol as an anticonvulsant was derived from active drug-controlled studies that enrolled patients with the following seizure types: Partial seizures with complex symptomatology (psychomotor, temporal lobe). Patients with these seizures appear to show greater improvement than those with other types. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- March 11, 1968
- Generic labelers
- 42 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.119 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- A presentation being discontinued
- Recalls
- 11
Highlights of the midazolam record
Midazolam (Versed) · label of January 1, 2024
Personnel and Equipment for Monitoring and Resuscitation Adults and Pediatrics: Intravenous midazolam has been associated with respiratory depression and respiratory arrest, especially when used for sedation in noncritical care settings. In some cases, where this was not recognized promptly and treated effectively, death or hypoxic encephalopathy has resulted.
Used for
From the label: indicationsMidazolam injection is indicated: intramuscularly or intravenously for preoperative sedation/anxiolysis/amnesia; intravenously as an agent for sedation/anxiolysis/amnesia prior to or during diagnostic, therapeutic or endoscopic procedures, such as bronchoscopy, gastroscopy, cystoscopy, coronary angiography, cardiac catheterization, oncology procedures, radiologic procedures, suture of lacerations and other procedures either alone or in combination with other CNS depressants; intravenously for induction of general anesthesia, before administration of other anesthetic agents. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- December 20, 1985
- Generic labelers
- 22 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.233 per mL
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- In shortage
- Recalls
- 19
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA (Carbamazepine label of August 20, 2026, Midazolam label of January 1, 2024); NDC Directory, Drugs@FDA, NADAC, FDA shortages and recalls (October 8, 2026)
How do carbamazepine and midazolam differ on the record?
In FDA's classes, carbamazepine is a mood stabilizer and midazolam a benzodiazepine.
Half-life, in each label's words: Carbamazepine, “Initial half-life values range from 25 to 65 hours, decreasing to 12 to 17 hours on repeated doses.”; Midazolam, “Six single-dose pharmacokinetic studies involving healthy adults yield pharmacokinetic parameters for midazolam in the …”
Both labels carry a boxed warning; the records quote them.
Generics: carbamazepine since 1986; midazolam since 2000 (Drugs@FDA).
DEA schedule: carbamazepine none; midazolam CIV.
| Carbamazepine | Midazolam | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Bipolar disorder, Seizures and epilepsy | n/a |
| Pharmacologic class | Mood Stabilizer | Benzodiazepine |
| How it works (label) | Mechanism of Action Tegretol has demonstrated anticonvulsant properties in rats and mice with electrically and chemically induced seizures. It appears to act by reducing polysynaptic responses and blocking the post-tetanic potentiation. | n/a |
| Half-life (label) | Initial half-life values range from 25 to 65 hours, decreasing to 12 to 17 hours on repeated doses. | Six single-dose pharmacokinetic studies involving healthy adults yield pharmacokinetic parameters for midazolam in the following ranges: volume of distribution (Vd), 1.0 to 3.1 L/kg; … |
| Earliest approval on file (Drugs@FDA) | March 11, 1968 | December 20, 1985 |
| First generic approved | August 14, 1986 | June 20, 2000 |
| Generic labelers (NDC) | 42 labelers | 22 labelers |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC, each one's most listed form; strengths differ) | $0.119 per tablet (Carbamazepine 200 mg tablet) | $0.233 per mL (Midazolam HCl 2 mg/2 mL vial) |
| 12-month price change | +0.6% | +3% |
| Boxed warning | Yes | Yes |
| Shortage now | A presentation being discontinued | In shortage |
| Recalls recorded | 11 | 19 |
| FAERS reports (a report is not proof of cause; counts follow how widely a medicine is used) | 66,615 | 29,268 |
| DEA schedule | none | CIV |
Source: Drugs@FDA, FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026, FDA shortages and recalls, FAERS via openFDA (FDA files October 8, 2026)
Do their labels mention each other?
Carbamazepine label, drug interactions… eslicarbazepine, ethosuximide, everolimus, haloperidol, imatinib, itraconazole, lamotrigine, levothyroxine, methadone, methsuximide, mianserin, midazolam, olanzapine, oral and other hormonal contraceptives, oxcarbazepine, paliperidone, phensuximide, phenytoin, praziquantel, protease inhibitors, risperidone, sertraline, sirolimus, tadalafil, theophylline, tiagabine, topiramate, tramadol, trazodone, tricyclic …
Carbamazepine label, drug interactions… eslicarbazepine, ethosuximide, everolimus, felbamate, haloperidol, imatinib, itraconazole, lamotrigine, levothyroxine, lorazepam, methadone, methsuximide, midazolam, mirtazapine, nefazodone, nortriptyline, olanzapine, oral and other hormonal contraceptives (2), oxcarbazepine, paliperidone, phenytoin (3), praziquantel, protease inhibitors, quetiapine, risperidone, rivaroxaban (6), sertraline, sirolimus, tadalafil …
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA
What next?
- Alternatives to carbamazepine
- every medicine labeled for the same conditions