Posted by joebob on July 18, 2003, at 12:39:45
In reply to Re: depakote prior to lexapro........for jrbecker » joebob, posted by jrbecker on July 18, 2003, at 10:12:59
i doubt the paise is much undeserved....you have a knack for this sort of thing and may be a 'healer' in disguise.....we live in the republic of santa monica so i have a somewhat 'california' perspective
i started the depakote 10 days ago, after hearing the advice to pre-treat hot type brains prior to ssri implementation, re: notable brain activity expert
i will start the lex on tuesday after the 2 weeks pre dosing on the dep
i do not have a formal diagnosis of bipolar II as far as i know, my neurologist is not too communicative, very busy etc.
she gave me trazadone for sleep...i take 100 mg an hour before bed and it is great...she also gave me valium for anxiety, which i use occasionally as needed
i started the dep at 250mg and over the last 2 days went to 500mg.........i do think the dep has done something to mellow me out a little, but am concerned about long term use and may try to taper off after the lex kicks in fully....as an interesting side note, a dear friend of mine, who is a neuropsychologist and naturopath told me that depakote may get some sort of approval as a brain protective med, this info from a pharm rep who is a natural type like both of us, and who specializes in depakote representaion.....he trusts her to tell it straight, btw he is also the one who gave me the pre-dosing tip after a professional seminar, a very knowledgable guy and knows me very well.....btw, you can also use neurontin as a pretreatment for ssris, and one more (i don't have the notes at hand)...
it does seem the depakote is causing some weird/intense dreams & recall, which i normally don't have....i do have some constipation, and i can tell when i'm typing that i make more mistakes and am slower
i tried a very small dose of lexapro some months ago and on the 3rd day or so i had some hypomania (?), i.e. racing thoughts, agitation, anxiety...so i stopped
have been under external stressors for 3 years, and at the time it all started i started smoking which i think is what mostly kills my appetite, and raises my dopamine levels or so i hear..i have lost weight due to simply not eating, just smoking and drinking beer....i am hoping that if the lex does its job i will regain some appetite but still need to address the smoking, zyban didn't work for me for smoking
i have been using kirunal fairly regularly on the advice of david horrobin, but as the stressors keep increasing on me i need stronger help, but i do like the kirunal and am giving it on occasion to my 5 year old son, as i suspect he has a 50% chance of having the wrong 5htt gene
see: http://weeksmd.com/articles/psychiatry/Depression_and_Schizophrenia__Essential_Fatty_Acids.pdf
and:
http://www.fincastle.com/sp_products.htmli have also gone back to chewing some lithium orotate a couple of times a day....i have used it over the years and think of it as a useful supplement for lots of people, not just bipolars....i still have some bottles hans neiper gave me
see:
http://www.mwt.net/~drbrewer/cancer.htmmy motivation has been mostly tied up by emotional paralysis ie, anxiety, confusion, fear of making an expensive mistake, etc
i would say in closing that the biggest help to me over the last couple of years has been classical homeopathy, as is definitely true for my wife and child, but right now i need more help and made the difficult decision to try the meds to get up and running again.........in the future i may try the joan larson approach but for now am not up to it, need a simpler fix......i am sure she is on to something and know i am a high histamine type
see:
http://www.healthrecovery.com/Biochemical_Restoration.htmli hope there is something useful for you and others in this long post......
thank you for your kind attention
> joebob, thanks for the praise, much of it is undeserved.
>
> so you've recently started lexapro? how many weeks have you been on the depakote?
>
> So your dx is BP II, considering your mixed-state, or is this just med-induced? Please explain your episodes of hypomania, are they dysphoric (anxious, agitated in nature) or are they more or less euphoric experiences, but slightly out of control?
>
> How is your mood [specifically] being treated thus far? Are you happy with the Lex and it's just the side effects you're having a problem with, or is your depression still lingering (not anxiety)?
>
> Oppositely, is your anxiety [not your mood] worse on Lexapro than off of it?
>
> What's your motivation been like before the meds. Is this just apathy from the meds, or just part of your symptoms, or if both, then to what extent can you attribute them to either.
>
> Once again, how has your appetite been prior to your meds? Lex for many kills appetite.
>
> What's our sleep like -- too much, too little, presently and, also what's it like when you're off meds?
>
> What's your general consensus on the depakote and how much are you taking?
>
>
poster:joebob
thread:223661
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030718/msgs/243187.html