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#1
Jan 13, 2016, 04:12 PM
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I had my pdoc appointment today. I grudgingly agreed to try depakote. My pdoc is convinced that with depakote we could cut out a lot of needless medication. And it would help a lot with all these lousy mixed episodes I experience that land me in the hospital. I have to go off of lamictal first though.
Experiences? I'm nervous about this. Mostly about withdrawal as I taper off of lamictal though. When I did it before it was really an intense/uncomfortable/lousy experience.
__________________
The darkest of nights is followed by the brightest of days. 😊 - anonymous The night belongs to you. 🌙- sleep token "What if I can't get up and stand tall, What if the diamond days are all gone, and Who will I be when the Empire falls? Wake up alone and I'll be forgotten." 😢 - sleep token |
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#2
Jan 13, 2016, 04:58 PM
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Quote:
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 raspberrytorte
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#3
Jan 13, 2016, 05:26 PM
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I did just the opposite.... started on depakote and kept falling asleep at work ... switched to lamictal and have no issues ....
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| raspberrytorte
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#4
Jan 13, 2016, 06:32 PM
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I was on it a long time. It was pretty helpful for me although I had some weird issues with it (it was very hard to keep my blood levels high enough and I needed my levels to be pretty high to have it work. But I'm weird with meds in ways like that so it's meaningless that I had weird effects but good that it worked for me.)
I went off it when Seroquel was effective enough to not need both. But I was on it a long time, 7 years I think.
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Bipolar 1, PTSD, GAD, OCD. Clozapine 250 mg, Emsam 12 mg/day patch, topamax 25 mg, ,Gabapentin 1600 mg & 100-2 PRN,. 2.5 mg clonazepam., 75 mg Seroquel and 12.5 mg PRNx2 daily |
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#5
Jan 13, 2016, 06:45 PM
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Thanks for the replies.
Did it make any of you gain weight?
__________________
The darkest of nights is followed by the brightest of days. 😊 - anonymous The night belongs to you. 🌙- sleep token "What if I can't get up and stand tall, What if the diamond days are all gone, and Who will I be when the Empire falls? Wake up alone and I'll be forgotten." 😢 - sleep token |
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#6
Jan 13, 2016, 06:51 PM
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It made me crave carbohydrates like crazy. I ate a ton when I was on it, and it made my hair fall out. I think it is a gold med short term to treat mania, but not so good as a maintainence medication.
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#7
Jan 13, 2016, 07:03 PM
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Works great for me but I did gain weight
__________________
“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” -St. Francis of Assisi Diagnosis: Schizoaffective disorder Bipolar type PTSD Social Anxiety Disorder Anorexia Binge/Purge type |
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#8
Jan 13, 2016, 08:04 PM
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I only gained 8 lbs in the first 6 months (I was in a clinical trial so they kept close track of such things and would tell me when I complained). I did gain weight while on it but I was on it with lithium and lithium was bad for weight for me. Then I was on lithium, Seroquel and depakote together and that caused more weight gain but that was probably Seroquel.
The weight gain is supposed to be dose dependent and I was on a lot (3200 mg); I think they try to keep it closer to 1000-1500 to keep weight gain down. The weight came off very easily when I tapered off though. Hoping the Seroquel weight will do the same.
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Bipolar 1, PTSD, GAD, OCD. Clozapine 250 mg, Emsam 12 mg/day patch, topamax 25 mg, ,Gabapentin 1600 mg & 100-2 PRN,. 2.5 mg clonazepam., 75 mg Seroquel and 12.5 mg PRNx2 daily |
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#9
Jan 13, 2016, 08:09 PM
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Hi,
I was on 1750 mg of Depakote in 2011 for about 8 months. It's a strong mood stabilizer for me. If I was in crisis, I would do it again. Yes there are blood draws and you cannot drink AT ALL. I think it's worth trying if you are still having episodes on lamictal. You'll know in just a few days at dosage if it's helping - it's one of the fastest acting MS, so it's used in crisis pretty often. Please keep us posted. I gained a little weight, but I needed to I was skinny as hell from the mania. Good Luck, moogs
__________________
Current Status: Stable/High Functioning/Clean and Sober Dx: Bipolar 2, GAD Current Meds: Prozac 30mg, Lamictal 150mg, Latuda 40mg, Wellbutrin 150 XL Previous meds I can share experiences from: AAPs - Risperdal, Abilify, Seroquel SSRIs - Lexapro, Paxil, Zoloft Mood Stabilizers - Tegretol, Depakote, Neurontin Other - Buspar, Xanax Add me as a friend and we can chat 
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#10
Jan 13, 2016, 08:23 PM
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First med I've ever taken for bp. I've had no side effects. I have energy and my moods are stabilized. Even the very first dose was positive.
No matter how small, a positive change deserves to be celebrated! |
 jacky8807
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#11
Jan 13, 2016, 08:29 PM
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Quote:
did not help my depression
__________________
The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. anonymous |
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#12
Jan 13, 2016, 08:32 PM
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My pdoc was thrilled when I told her I'd give it a try. She's been trying to get me to go off lamictal since my very first appointment with her!
I asked her about the weight gain, and she laughed and said I'm always worried about weight gain, but I keep on asking to go back on seroquel, known as a weight gainer, and I told her I wanted to go back on gabapentin which was making me gain weight.
__________________
The darkest of nights is followed by the brightest of days. 😊 - anonymous The night belongs to you. 🌙- sleep token "What if I can't get up and stand tall, What if the diamond days are all gone, and Who will I be when the Empire falls? Wake up alone and I'll be forgotten." 😢 - sleep token |
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#13
Jan 13, 2016, 08:33 PM
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But she seems very confident that depakote will help me.
__________________
The darkest of nights is followed by the brightest of days. 😊 - anonymous The night belongs to you. 🌙- sleep token "What if I can't get up and stand tall, What if the diamond days are all gone, and Who will I be when the Empire falls? Wake up alone and I'll be forgotten." 😢 - sleep token |
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#14
Jan 13, 2016, 08:35 PM
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And I can't go on lithium because it makes me so weak and exhausted just walking down the block was hard for me. If I didn't have that side effect from lithium I'm positive she'd be putting me on that right now, while I wean off of lamictal.
__________________
The darkest of nights is followed by the brightest of days. 😊 - anonymous The night belongs to you. 🌙- sleep token "What if I can't get up and stand tall, What if the diamond days are all gone, and Who will I be when the Empire falls? Wake up alone and I'll be forgotten." 😢 - sleep token |
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#15
Jan 13, 2016, 08:49 PM
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I have good feelings about this for you.
moogs
__________________
Current Status: Stable/High Functioning/Clean and Sober Dx: Bipolar 2, GAD Current Meds: Prozac 30mg, Lamictal 150mg, Latuda 40mg, Wellbutrin 150 XL Previous meds I can share experiences from: AAPs - Risperdal, Abilify, Seroquel SSRIs - Lexapro, Paxil, Zoloft Mood Stabilizers - Tegretol, Depakote, Neurontin Other - Buspar, Xanax Add me as a friend and we can chat
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#16
Jan 13, 2016, 09:01 PM
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I was on like 1750mgs and didn't gain any weight on it. Good luck!
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#17
Jan 13, 2016, 09:27 PM
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I have been on it for awhile now, since my dosage bad been upped I am feeling more stable. I have put on weight, I used to be one of those people that could eat and eat and not gain weight even when I wanted to, now the weight I gained is not the kind I wanted to gain. If you problems with being tired during the day then depakote can really make it harder to stay awake I know it has for me, but it has helped with manic outbursts and irrational behavior. For me also my antidepressant wasn't doing the trick for my OCD obsessive suicidal thoughts but, the depakote didn't help with that even though the doc acted like there was some potential that depakote may help since suicidal thoughts are part of the manic side effects if a person with undiagnosed bipolar is put on an antidepressant.
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#18
Jan 13, 2016, 09:35 PM
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I've been on 1800mg of Depakote for at least a decade. I'm not sure how much it really does for me (it doesn't do **** for depression), but I can at least reassure you that I've tolerated a high dose of it for a long time. Did your doctor mention the FDA black-box warnings?
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#19
Jan 13, 2016, 09:46 PM
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There's a black box warning for depakote? What is it?
__________________
The darkest of nights is followed by the brightest of days. 😊 - anonymous The night belongs to you. 🌙- sleep token "What if I can't get up and stand tall, What if the diamond days are all gone, and Who will I be when the Empire falls? Wake up alone and I'll be forgotten." 😢 - sleep token |
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#20
Jan 13, 2016, 09:47 PM
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Thanks, moog. I really hope it works for me!
__________________
The darkest of nights is followed by the brightest of days. 😊 - anonymous The night belongs to you. 🌙- sleep token "What if I can't get up and stand tall, What if the diamond days are all gone, and Who will I be when the Empire falls? Wake up alone and I'll be forgotten." 😢 - sleep token |
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#21
Jan 13, 2016, 10:21 PM
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Quote:
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| Row Jimmy
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#22
Jan 14, 2016, 08:34 AM
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Good luck friend
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#23
Jan 14, 2016, 09:48 AM
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This is literally the only bp med I have never tried but from ppl that were on it I have heard great for more manic aspects not at all for depression
Will be be on something else to handle that side
__________________
I used to rule the world Seas would rise when I gave the word Now in the morning, I sleep alone Sweep the streets I used to own I used to roll the dice Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes Listen as the crowd would sing Now the old king is dead! Long live the king! One minute I held the key Next the walls were closed on me And I discovered that my castles stand Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand |
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#24
Jan 14, 2016, 10:24 AM
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I took it after my body couldn't handle Lithium. I felt no difference whatsoever mentally. I also put on 10 lbs in a month on it. I also had to have blood tests on my liver while taking it. I stopped it.
__________________
Hashi/Bipolar Mom 300mg Lamictal 1800mg Gabapentin 10mg Memantine (weaning off) .6mg Clonidine (for sleep and anxiety) 40mg Propanol (for sleep) 3 mg Xanax 10mg Saphris |
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#25
Jan 14, 2016, 10:56 AM
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I've been on it for six months. I gained weight and it doesn't help my depression as much. That's why my pdoc added Abilify to the mix. I hope it works out for you.
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