[Pughead]

This sucks. It's been a week since the re-intro of Depakote. I'm adjusting my lamictal dose downward as depakote messes with Lamicatal blood levels. The agitation is setting in, and I'm just tired in general.

Depakote to me is a "depressant", not a mood-stabilizer. Yeah, it will take you out of mania/hypomania, but it will knock you down so low that you can't be happy. So if you're lucky enough you can stay level, which means more or less flat. Other than that the only way you can go is down.

I'll give it another 2 weeks, but if it gets worse I'm going off it and then going back up on the lamictal dosage.

Pdoc can go to jolly Pirate Donuts for all I care.

[gravyyy]

I didn't like Depakote at all. It definitely made me feel sluggish and tired. Who feels good about themselvs when they're so tired they fall asleep at work? SO I get what you're saying when you say it makes you feel depressed. It's an awful feeling. I think it's a good idea to give it a few more weeks and go from there. YOu have to give it time, sometimes the side effects go away after a time. Hopefully you can work this out with your pdoc. Take care.

[hawthoerne]

depakote made me fat...

[Pughead]

Yeah. I'm on 500mg of Depakote ER to "offset" the mild hypomanic tendencies I'm having with lamictal. "Hey, he's in a persistent but mild hypomanic state that he seems good at controlling through self-awareness. Lets make him feel like crap."

I was at one time, on Depakote at 3,000mg a day. I got real fat, and I had been off it for about a year and instead completed the switch to Lamictal. In that time I have lost close to 40 lbs. I'm sticking to a very strict diet. It is my own creation, so I think it will be easier to follow, and it is very simple. So far, it is working.

Last night I was wiped out the minute I laid down, and I got over 9 hours of sleep, which is a lot. I don't feel refreshed, I'm still tired, even after 3 large cups of coffee. When I go to work, I become alert quicker, but that's because the work itself gets the wheels spinning within the brain. But I have been getting tired in the afternoon and lethargic. I hate it. Mild, seemingly controllable hypomania is way better than a drug that makes you unable to even be happy. Even at only 500mg of ER, I think it will screw me. I have a ton of projects going on at the same time, both in and out of work. Most of them are very complex and I need my brain to be operating at full capacity. So this is not a good time for me to be down and lethargic.

I knew that depakote has given me the tendency to get depressed, tired, and agitated from past experience. I should have pushed for trying something else for a combo. Maybe a low dose of Lithium. I hear you have to drink a lot of water. I don't have a problem with that. I drink a ton of water every day. That's one of my simple rules I use for weight control/loss. Plus, "Lithium" is an element and it just sounds cooler than "Depakote." Depakote sounds like sort of tribe...no offense. But I'm a science nerd, so the word "Lithium" resonates more with me.

[Moose72]

Depakote made me fat too. Psych drugs suck.

[grizmom]

Originally Posted by Pughead

Yeah. I'm on 500mg of Depakote ER to "offset" the mild hypomanic tendencies I'm having with lamictal. "Hey, he's in a persistent but mild hypomanic state that he seems good at controlling through self-awareness. Lets make him feel like crap."

I've noticed that most docs don't seem to mind if we are in a persistant mild depression, but they don't want us to be in any kind of hypomanic state. I don't see why your doc wanted to add anything at all if you are remaining stable at the low level of hypomania and you aren't spiraling further upwards. I was on a combo of meds at one time that had me in that situation (I don't remember the meds, I've been on so many, I just know that eventually they stopped working, as do most meds I've tried), and my doc that I was seeing at that time just had me sign a "contract" with him that I would get in with him immediately or go to the ER if my hypomania got worse. I liked him; it was sad when he retired!

sidenote: Depakote made me gain a lot of weight too. I lost the weight, but now the seroquel made me gain it back. I don't mind at this point since the meds are working pretty well.

[daniel0010]

Depakote for me is a tough medicine. Without it I get hypomanic. No good.
With it I feel like I am in the twilight zone. Hard to feel good etc. etc.

But the good thing with Depakote is that I do not get into any trouble. That is the price you pay.

Having been on it for two years there has been weight gain. It seems the longer that I have been on it, the more tolerable the side effects have become.

My advice at this point is that you should at least give it a longer chance.

Good Luck

[Amazonmom]

I'm a total science nerd who takes lithium, and it really works for me. Oh yeah, Lithium is cool....because I take it LOL

Seriously though, I do think a bit of Lithium may help you more than the Depakote if this goes on. Meds are supposed to help you have a functional life...not to have an emotional range from depression to blah.