Posted by Minnie-Haha on March 4, 2005, at 18:55:00
In reply to SLS, posted by Spriggy on March 4, 2005, at 12:44:48
> Everyone I know that has been on Depakote says they felt drunk, their hair fell out, they got fat, and then of course, just read the above responses about infections and liver problems, etc..
I had a little hair-loss, which I countered with Zinc and Selenium, but other than that it didn't make me feel bad... in the short term. It was just the weight gain (30 pounds in 2 years) that eventually made me want to find an alternative. I never had liver problems, but it was a bit of a pain to have to get my blood checked periodically.
> I am wondering if I should just switch doctor's. My doctor doesn't seem to "get this" thing. I specifically asked for Lamictal because:
> a) I am not taking any other antidepressent and it has antidepressent effects as well as mood stabilizing onesI took it for awhile and it had a mood brightening effect, but I also suspected that it might have been starting to "activate" me or make me a tad anxious.
> b) I don't like the side effects associated with Depakote.
> c) my dad is on Lamictal and it works for him- we have the same genes so I assume I might respond the same way.I think that's a decent assumption.
> BUT, my doctor went in to talk with his fellow dr. and came back and said, " No.. Lamictal can cause this weird rash...I think this reason alone is not enough to avoid Lamictal if it seems indicated. You just have to start up on it at a VERY low dose and increase it VERY slowly... and have a plan about what you'll do if you develop a rash.
I don't know if you read my post for you about Depakote yesterday, but here's a link.
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050227/msgs/466194.html
I've also posted some things about medication induced vitamin/mineral deficiencies (like with Depakote) and how to start-up on Lamictal. I'll try to find the links, but if you look, you might find 'em.
poster:Minnie-Haha
thread:466201
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050304/msgs/466648.html