[B2008]

To start, I'm only a drinker 2-3 times a year. I have four kids at home that keep me way too busy. I've only been on depakote for a little over a month. But I do my research and take into account doctors warnings and the experience of others. I'm not lookIng for a tongue lashing just more information on my experience.

Now, I'm on depakote 500 twice day. I also take tramadol for severe restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movement. Never any issue with alcohol and tramadol. 8 months after new baby (number 4) we decided it's time! I have the equivalent of about 12 beers over a 6 hour experience. I never once even felt a buzz. This was after around 18 months of no alcohol. All I felt was awake like I just did a line of meth. (Clean 15 years yay!) I was up for two days with the worst rls and plmd that I've had in years! It was awful. Lesson learned!

Does anyone know the correlation there? Anyone have similar experience? I have read of people getting real sick but not like my experience. I'm more interested in the whys of it. The mechanics of the med and alcohol. I just like to get all the knowledge I can when I take new meds.

[Standup2me]

"we decided it's time"? We? Time for what? Time to establish addictive behaviours?
Time to bring back memories of meth?
Why?

[Moogieotter]

How did you get off meth?

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[B2008]

We as in my husband and I decided we needed a night out and were invited to a birthday party for a friend. As I said I had not drank in over 18 months due to pregnancy and birth of child number 4. and we only drink normally 2-3 times a year. Drink, no meth no addictive behaviors just a night out with the hubby for some drinks. I've been clean for 15 years and never plan to go back. All I wanted to know is the correlation between alcohol and depakote. Chemically why did it affect me like that? Why did the alcohol not affect me when I know two drinks is normally enough for me? Why did it make the rls and plmd so bad. I think the not sleeping was just due to my rls. It's impossible to sleep when the symptoms get bad like I have them. So once again I am an addict that has been CLEAN for 15 years. This is purely a question of how does the alcohol and depakote interact. I tried to make that clear. I have a need for knowledge when I put anything in my body.

[B2008]

Moogieotter, since I can remember all I ever wanted was to be a good wife and mother and give my children what I didn't have as a child, parents that loved me and my siblings by my side, a steady home that was safe and loving I started doing meth at 15. I was in a relationship with an older boy who kept me supplied. at 17 I got pregnant and I got an abortion, the worst choice I ever made! The guilt and sadness stayed with me and at 20 I was pregnant again and stil going hard on the meth. But a week before I found out I felt something was not right with my body. I can still remember saying no to that last line. When I found out I was pregnant it was easy. The abortion really opened my eyes to the miracle of this little gift the good lord was offering me. I stopped using, drinking and smoking all cold turkey. I knew I had to keep my baby safe and healthy and I wasn't going to fail again. I now am a stay at home mom with 4 children 14,11, my boys are from my first relationship that was very abusive mentally physically and sexually. Though I really tried to stay it just wasn't safe or healthy. My husband is their true father and gives them all the love their biological father cannot. 3,11months. Beautiful girls! My husband of 7 years is my rock and heart. And now that I am finally diagnosed and on the right meds life is just getting better!

[BeyondtheRainbow]

My guess is that it woud have to do with depakote being heavily processed by the liver as well as alcohol. Maybe the depakote takes up the liver's resources? I don't know but there is probably some connection to the liver. Which means drinking and depakote really don't mix well. Not criticizing, I understand what you want and am not trying to do that, I just know that after being on depakote (high dose) for a while I started occasionally having high liver values and would have to be checked again and would be fine and then 6 months later I'd be slightly high and get a recheck that was fine. It was never a big deal,just an extra lab, but I do know that depakote can test the liver's capacity. I think that almost all of it is processed in the liver without being processed in the kidneys at all.

We used to drink, I don't like it. We acted stupid.

[B2008]

Thanks that's good info. Ill see if there's a connection between rls and the liver. Before I became a home mom I was a medication technician at a nursing home for 5 years. So these things interest me and I still like to gain knowledge where I can.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Offhand I think tramadol is also a liver drug so probably your RLS was due to not having tramadol processed correctly. But that information is NOT something I would trust as I knew a good bit about tramadol when I was working and I've been on SSDI nearly 4 years. So I am no longer confident in this information.

[B2008]

Yes you are correct, and that was a possibility I never even considered as my knowledge of depakote is obviously lacking! Since depakote is itself hard on the liver are there people that have had issues with taking it long term at therapeutic doses? Is this a med that is prescribed for long terms or do you have to break and be on something different every so often? Between the bp and the treatments there's so many questions!

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[BeyondtheRainbow]

Yeah, you can take it long term and be fine. I was on a huge dose (3200 mg of ER) for 7 or 8 years and like I said every so often a liver value would be a little high but always was fine with a 2nd test. But it's been used for seizures for many years and is considered really safe.

I do not process drugs normally and so it was a hard one for me. At first I couldn't get a therapeutic level no matter what they did. Just before I stopped it ER came out and that got my level to therapeutic but barely. So the dose went up and up. Eventually it became clear that my level had to be higher than usual (125-130) for it to work but my body processed it so strangely that sometimes my level would be 90 and sometimes 135 and sometimes perfectly in the prime zone, without any dose changes or anything else to explain. That made it extra-sedating and when Seroquel starting working very well for me I was able to wean off the Depakote (I was on high doses of both together and it made waking up for work nearly impossible). I had so many blood tests while we tried to figure out what would stabilize my levels that I became quite expert at predicting my levels, which my pdoc found to be a weird little talent. I was usually right within 3 points. Some useful skill, huh...

[Moogieotter]

Cool. Depakote is processed in the liver, like alcohol. Depakote usually requires blood tests to make sure you are not experiencing liver toxicity. It is one of the medications where not using alcohol is most important to protect from severe liver damage.

That being said, I drank on Depakote a lot and I am ok, but I am an alcoholic/addict in recovery.

Most doctors agree that more than 4 drinks in a 24 hour period is a binge. Binges are not considered healthy.

Thanks for letting me share.

moogs

[B2008]

Thank you for all the info. A lot to think about as my family and I start our journey! They are enjoying having their wife and mother slowly coming back to life. Good luck to all of you! Much love and prayers!

No matter how small, a positive change deserves to be celebrated!

[Unrigged64072835]

Best of luck with your meds and your new stability.

I don't drink because I already have high liver levels (I have fatty liver disease). I take 1000 mg Depakote and it doesn't seem to affect those levels at the moment. My doc still checks my levels every six months and coordinates with my pdoc (which is really nice) so everything still works out.

[B2008]

I have zero plans to drink for a very long time. Lesson learned! Time for more adventurous dates with the hubby! Dinner movie and one night home alone without the children!

How long after starting depakote should u get levels checked. My doc told me to schedule my next apt for February. Yet I read therapeutic levels can be reached in under a month. So why wait 3 months? Is it better to go sooner?

No matter how small, a positive change deserves to be celebrated!

B2008, i don't know how that would affect you. I take tremedol for back pain and migraines. I tried having a beer once on top of other meds w it like buspar, citalopram and meloxicam. I got sicker than a dog. Basically, alcohol does not mix well with meds. Sometimes it enhances them four fold and has dangerous reactions. Even wine with sulfites will trigger some meds like grapefruit juice does. Read your prescription labels and their side affects and that might help you out. I understand wanting to celebrate. Perhaps a non alcoholic beverage next time? Anyhow, glad you are here at PC and thanks for the posting. tc

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I had my labs checked a little more frequently when I was starting, to make sure I was getting to a therapeutic level. I think maybe at 2 weeks then a month and then I had them checked with every dose increase. Eventually it was supposed to be every 6 months but because my processing varied so much I always had it checked sooner that that while we tried to keep up. Between it and having history of lithium toxicity I had a lot of labs for a long time. And now I'm about to start having them every week for 6 months. At least it doesn't bother me at all!

[B2008]

Omegalamed, beyondtherainbow had a great answer I didn't consider before drinking, as I knew it was bad I had a friend who drank heavily on depakote so I didn't think one night would be so harmful, anyway so the depakote, alcohol, and tramadol are all processed by the liver of course we all know that what I didn't consider is losing the effectiveness of the tramadol for my severe restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movement. I believe I over loaded my liver just enough to lose the effects of my med. I actually have rls 24/7. Without meds I have gone 4 days without sleep because of the limb jerks, sensations and pain. So I must have really thrown my liver off cause it took a few days of misery for the tramadol to quiet my body again. Just the chance of the happening again gives me so much anxiety it's just not worth it. Anyway just being on the depakote and feeling good, smiling, laughing, and getting in on my families teasing banter this last month is much more relaxing and refreshing than drinking the night away!

And since the mystery is solved And I know the mechanics of the interactions there will be no "maybe next time will be different" , "other people do it", or " it's been 4 months I just want a beer to relax" knowledge is power!

No matter how small, a positive change deserves to be celebrated!

[B2008]

Beyondtherainbow you are wonderful! Thank you for all the help! I think I will make an appointment to get levels checked. Everything about bp is so overwhelming! I wish I would have educated myself 6 years ago when my gut was telling me this is not depression! So thankful for places like this. Thanks again!

No matter how small, a positive change deserves to be celebrated!

[BeyondtheRainbow]

It takes time to get used to it all. Eventually you will. I have been off blood level meds for nearly 2 years (just started a tiny dose of lithium and had to have a level last week) and am really not looking forward to having to get labs done every week for 6 months, just because it is a waste of time to go to the lab and sit. But I'm sure I'll get used to it, just like I used to be used to lithium and depakote levels.

It's overwhelming at first. I had all kinds of education (bachelor's in psychology, master's in a related field and master's in healthcare so I knew meds) and it shocked me how much I had to learn at first. I did something a little different but that really was good for me: my first 6 months after diagnosis I was in a clinical trial for lamictal. So I was seeing one of the top drs. specializing in bipolar in the world, I was highly monitored on the lithium/depakote/lamictal (placeobo for a while probably) combo I was on and they had an education program as part of the trial. It really helped a lot. And then I was able to start with the psychiatrist who spent a few days per month at the counseling center I go to and she happens to specialize in hard to treat cases which I very quickly and obviously was. Eventually she moved to a huge hospital and I benefit from that too. So I've been very fortunate with drs. and devotion on their part to teaching me about it. I wish everyone could have my pdoc....

[jacky8807]

Lithium /depakote/lamictal combo

Yo that is one STABILIZED mood they were going for

[BeyondtheRainbow]

They were trying to establish a protocol for rapid cyclers as part of getting lamictal approved. I don't think it worked since it was never published.

[LacunaCoiler]

When I did a quick google search I ended up on the drugs.com website and it read the following:

"Using divalproex sodium(depakote) together with ethanol(alcohol) can increase nervous system side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people may also experience impairment in thinking and judgment."

AND,

"GENERALLY AVOID: Alcohol may potentiate some of the pharmacologic effects of CNS-active agents. Use in combination may result in additive central nervous system depression and/or impairment of judgment, thinking, and psychomotor skills."

Hope this helps in anyway.