Effects of bipolar medication on mood

Hi I recently started taking sodium valproate for preventing hypomanic symptoms such as racing thoughts and distractibility, and I was wondering if anyone wanted to talk on this forum about their personal experiences with bipolar medication: either antidepressants or mood stabilisers and their personal experiences with its effect specifically on thinking and mood as a fun Sunday topic post ❤️

Hi Rebecca1! I'm wishing you all the best with Depakote (sodium valproate). It is a proven medication that has helped many people with bipolar disorder for a long time. I think experiences with that medication differ greatly, as we all experience some medications differently. Also, the courses of our bipolar disorder differ.

I have to say that your topic, as a whole, is an incredibly massive one. I wouldn't even know where to start, and could likely fill pages and pages with my experiences, alone. I have had some great experiences and some very horrible ones, for sure. In the end (or at least at this moment), I am happy that I took the journey. I am happy with my current cocktail, but it took a long time getting to where I am. Being on bipolar medication is surely much better, for me, than not. Where my journey heads in the future is TBD.

Hi Rebecca Welcome to the Bipolar Disorder board.

I know that many of us would join the discussion, but the topic is so broad. Is there something specific, or a few things, that you'd like to know about meds for BD?

Hi, Rebecca. Welcome! I used to kinda spend a lot of time in Sydney. Yay!

Depakote reieves acute mania in me, but aggravates my depression. Depressakote! Yukko!

Please keep posting. People are nice here!

I find my meds to be life-saving, including sodium divalproex (we call it Epival here, so it might be best to continue using the generic name.) I am continually tweaking my meds though. For me the hardest part with meds is when they stop working or don't work as well, I stop taking them rather than call my pdoc for adjustments.

I personally find that no matter what MS or cocktail I find myselfelf on, my symptoms never disappear, but they are less severe than without meds.

Since my DX has changed from type 2 to BP1 making sure I don't suffer from full blown mania has been quite a challenge so my meds have been tweaked quite alot over the course of the last year.

Parker says that if I can get through festive season without a manic episode I can reduce my meds next year.

I have issues with being medicated, but it sure as hell beats being unmedicated.

I was on Sodium Valproate for a few years and it agreed with me, but I had to change my MS after it started taking away my appetite.

Many years ago I was prescribed sodium valproate (Depakote) for migraine headaches. A "side effect" was the mood stabilizing property.

All I can recall about Depakote was that I did gain about 30 lbs. on it, which I didn't like. But it helped lessen the migraines, which was great. I don't remember anything else about it, unfortunately, other than I was on it for about a year.