OMG, I freakin' HATED Depakote. Totally.

Thank god I was unemployed when I was started on it, because there was no way I could be functional. It made me puke my guts out. It made me sleep 18-20 hours a day. I stood it about 10 days, called my pdoc, and said "Take me off this." He said, "Is it working?" I said, "well, when I'm conscious, my mood's pretty good." He said -- "Then you're not going off it."

I was on it for maybe 18 months. Later side effects included having my hair fall out in clumps and having liver damage. Then there was the unexplained bruising.

It's too bad, because it really DID work well on my mood. I just couldn't tolerate it!

I'm now on Lamictal as a mood stabilizer -- my 4th attempt at one in the last 16 months -- and I love it. Took awhile to find an appropriate dosage, but now that we've found it, it's wonderful stuff.

Good luck!

Candy