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What the FDA labels say about taking them together

Carbamazepine and zonisamide

Carbamazepine's FDA label of August 20, 2026 names zonisamide in its drug interactions section; the zonisamide labels PlainMeds reads (3) do not name carbamazepine. The carbamazepine label: “… tramadol, trazodone, tricyclic antidepressants, valproate, warfarin, ziprasidone, zonisamide.”

Check it at the source: the carbamazepine FDA label on DailyMed (effective August 20, 2026, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation); the zonisamide FDA label on DailyMed (effective June 4, 2026, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc.).

What does the carbamazepine label say about zonisamide?

Carbamazepine label, drug interactions

… protease inhibitors, risperidone, sertraline, sirolimus, tadalafil, theophylline, tiagabine, topiramate, tramadol, trazodone, tricyclic antidepressants (e.g., imipramine, amitriptyline, nortriptyline), valproate, warfarin, ziprasidone, zonisamide.

Carbatrol label (Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, Inc., August 17, 2026), drug interactions

… rivaroxaban (6), sertraline, sirolimus, tadalafil, theophylline, tiagabine, topiramate, tramadol, triazolam, trazodone (4), tricyclic antidepressants (e.g., imipramine, amitriptyline, nortriptyline), valproate, warfarin (5), ziprasidone, and zonisamide. (2) Concomitant use of Carbatrol with hormonal contraceptive products (e.g., oral and levonorgestrel subdermal implant contraceptives) may render the contraceptives less effective because the plasma concentrations of the hormones may be decreased.

Equetro label (Validus Pharmaceuticals LLC, August 19, 2025), drug interactions

… quetiapine, risperidone, sertraline, sirolimus, tadalafil, theophylline, topiramate, tiagabine, tramadol, triazolam, tricyclic antidepressants (e.g., imipramine, amitriptyline, nortriptyline), trazodone, valproate, warfarin, ziprasidone, and zonisamide.

Source: FDA drug label (Carbatrol, NDA020712), Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, Inc., effective August 17, 2026 (SPL set bc03e499-5bac-4293-bff4-6864153a624d), via openFDA

Source: FDA drug label (Equetro, NDA021710), Validus Pharmaceuticals LLC, effective August 19, 2025 (SPL set be478f3c-40f6-47cc-8ab9-f420a9372b1c), via openFDA

Source: FDA drug label (Tegretol), Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, effective August 20, 2026 (SPL set 8d409411-aa9f-4f3a-a52c-fbcb0c3ec053), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed

What does the zonisamide label say about carbamazepine?

Zonisamide's label (effective June 4, 2026) and its 2 other brand-application labels do not name carbamazepine in these sections. A label lists what its studies and reports found; it is not a complete list.

Source: FDA drug label (Zonisamide), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc., effective June 4, 2026 (SPL set 3164d438-90bf-420a-9a56-5498b987f91c), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed

These are the labels' own sentences. PlainMeds does not grade interactions; a pharmacist or prescriber can say what they mean for one person's medicines.

Both medicines on the record

42Carbamazepine generic labelers
20Zonisamide generic labelers
CarbamazepineZonisamide
Labeled forBipolar disorder, Seizures and epilepsySeizures and epilepsy
Boxed warningYesNo
Pharmacy cost (NADAC)$0.119 per tablet 200 mg tablet$0.106 per capsule 100 mg capsule
Shortage nowA presentation being discontinuedNo current entry

Source: FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026 and the FDA Drug Shortage Database (FDA files October 8, 2026)

What next?