[LiteraryLark]

Today was my first day of a two-week IOP program. So far, so good. The group therapy was my biggest concern but it turned out better than expected. In the last part of the session, an advice nurse came in to answer questions on meds.

I explained that antidepressants triggered my manic episode and asked for alternatives, and she replied that not all meds are alike and I may need other types of meds, and two other patients said that they use depakote and it works wonders for their depression and anxiety.

I will see my pdoc on the 20th and have our next meds discussion the following Monday, so I want to do some research on depakote and other meds that might be helpful. I am currently taking lithium and zyprexa.

A few that came up in the discussion: depakote, lamactil, topamax (I see there is a thread on that), saphris, and abilify

What I need to know:
Will it relieve my depression?
Will it cause weight gain?
Will it interfere with my meds?
Side effects?

I know my pdoc can tell me that, but I'd like to hear from other people's POV first and get a sense of what they do.

[Confusedinomicon]

I didn't have a good experience with depakote. I had brain-fog on it. It was weight neutral for me, but for most folk it isn't. I also experienced emotional numbing.

I couldn't take abilify, either. I drooled and couldn't really walk and developed ticks after taking it for a week. I've heard good things about lamactil...it just takes a while to get to a working dose.

Side effects vary. You will have to look up the official listed side effects for all of the medications so you know what to look out for when you start taking it. There is no way that we, as other patients, can tell you how they will interact with one another. That's something you need to discuss with your doctor.

[Odee]

I've been improving a lot on lamictal alone, side effect free. I'm predominantly depressed and anxious, and if ADs ever made me manic then it was a very anxious form of mania.

[hamster-bamster]

I have never heard of Depakote helping with anxiety. Adding Depakote when you are on Zyprexa is suicidal, as both are THE worst offenders as far as weight gain goes. Topamax IS increasingly added to Zyprexa precisely to counteract the weight gain, but see my thread on it for many side effects it gives. Lamictal helps many people with a very benign side effects profile. Starting with Lamictal is probably the most cautious, conservative move.

[LiteraryLark]

What about the other meds you're currently on? Geodon? How do they help?

The nurse gave me the list of all common prescribed psychotropic meds.

[hamster-bamster]

Geodon does everything Zyprexa does in terms of fighting psychosis while being weight neutral. A great thing. At high doses, it killed my orgasms, as you probably know because I cannot stop talking about it . But when the dose was reduced, I became normal again. Unorgasmia on Geodon is a rare side effect that should not deter you from trying it. From the weight perspective, switching from Zyprexa to Geodon is a smart move. I chose Geodon originally because of the best weight profile - I did research into the comparison among AP's - as well as overall side effects profile. For instance, on Risperdal, I had low energy and Parkinson-like side effects that were downright horrible. On Geodon, none of that. On Seroquel, I had akathisia that tortured me. On Geodon, none of that. Of the AP's that I have tried, Geodon is the best.

Prozac helps my depression immensely.

[hamster-bamster]

I have a thread on Abilify which you can search. I ended up not trying it because lowering the dose of Geodon turned out to be sufficient to remove the sexual side effects, so I have not opened my bottle of Abilify - it is on my shelf still. The biggest risk with Abilify is akathisia. There are several medications that counteract akathisia, so be prepared to take them alongside Abilify. Other than that, it is a pretty benign drug and many people are happy on it. It is a modern drug, too - some call it a third generation AP. If you end up trying it, I would get a prescription for something that counteracts akathisia from the outset, without waiting for symptoms to appear, so that should they appear, you can take the antidote medicine immediately. The risk of akathisia is 25%, which is very high.

[LiteraryLark]

Yes but doesn't lithium and zyprexa go well together? It's been going great for me except for weight gain. Switching from that to geodon and topamax might be too intense to do at once, but I wouldn't know.

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by DrSkipper

Yes but doesn't lithium and zyprexa go well together? It's been going great for me except for weight gain. Switching from that to geodon and topamax might be too intense to do at once, but I wouldn't know.

No-no, never switch two or more at once. Lithium and Geodon, Lithium and Zyprexa, Lithium and Abilify are all great combinations for mania control - all effective. Not so much for depression, but great for mania and psychosis.

[Confusedinomicon]

Also with lithium, it helps to just drink a lot more water. (Or anything that doesn't have a lot of sugar in it)

You'll gain water weight, but that is easier to maintain and a daily walk can help this. I try to eat 2 meals and a light breakfast.

I fluctuate between 10 lbs.

[LiteraryLark]

I got a call from my pdoc, I won't see him till the 21st. I'm going to be needing a new pdoc soon because he is retiring. =/

[hamster-bamster]

Start by asking him for a recommendation if you like him.

[LiteraryLark]

IOP is going good, received a brochure on all the classes Kaiser has and to my surprised, I found FOUR classes that I'd really want to take: Anxiety Overview, Depression Overview, Restorative Yoga, and Tai Chi

[hamster-bamster]

I have been doing Restorative Yoga for over a year and it is SIMPLY THE BEST. You owe it to yourself to give it a try. It is just the most wonderful thing in the world.