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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by lovenarcissus on September 8, 2003, at 15:03:53
hi everybody! i was diagnosed bipolar a year and a half ago. my pdoc started me on depakote which initially made me feel balanced and great, i felt it was a wonder drug. he upped my dose to 1500mg, at which point i found i had gained 30 lbs, largely due to an uncontrollable appetite (which no one warned me about) and a shift in my metabolism that the drug company and my pdoc deny are caused by depakote. i also had a difficult time remembering things, lose track of my thoughts in the middle of sentences, forget vocabulary words, and lost all motivation which caused me to go through a period of unemployment and go into debt. the weight gain and dullness made me very depressed and i started having thoughts about hurting myself.
my pdoc switched me to tegretol, but that gave me a rash and i had to discontinue even though i was able to lose 7 lbs in a month without trying. i went back on depakote at 1000 mg, but was unable to lose weight despite diet and excersize. i also experienced a severe depression in which i had suicidal thoughts and hopelessness. i stopped the depakote cold, because i just didn't feel it was worth it to be dull and fat when i still experienced the depression. i went 2 months without meds, i found that i felt better than i did before i ever took the depakote, but i am aware that a mood could come down on me and i would have to go back on the depakote. i am more anxious than with the meds, but i think it is normal to be anxious when you're looking for a job and in debt. still, i am probably more anxious than most...
so my pdoc prescribed neurontin which he said is classified as an anti-seizure med that originally was prescribed to bi-polars in hopes it would work as a mood stabilizer like depakote, but that it did not work well as a mood stabilizer, but is often prescribed in conjunction with depakote to help anxiety. so right now i am taking 300mg nuerontin hoping that it will ease my anxiety, but not too much, i don't want to get spaced out like i did on depakote. a little anxiety is good, it is what compells us to work and do things.
i wanted to get feedback from others on nuerontin:will i gain weight?
(my pdoc said it was weight nuetral but then he never seemed to appreciate how much depakote affected my weight and most other people who's posts i read)will it make me tired and unmotivated?
will it curb my anxiety?
thanks! i know everybody's experience is different, but it is helpful to get feedback.
love/narcissus
Posted by theo on September 8, 2003, at 22:27:35
In reply to sex drugs nuerontin, posted by lovenarcissus on September 8, 2003, at 15:03:53
I've been taking 100mg in the evenings before bedtime for about a week to take the edge off. My doc said it would be about three weeks before I could tell if it's for me and at first I may be a little slower in thinking but it should wear off by a few weeks. I'll keep you posted.
Posted by lovenarcissus on September 9, 2003, at 1:57:08
In reply to Re: sex drugs nuerontin, posted by theo on September 8, 2003, at 22:27:35
> I've been taking 100mg in the evenings before bedtime for about a week to take the edge off. My doc said it would be about three weeks before I could tell if it's for me and at first I may be a little slower in thinking but it should wear off by a few weeks. I'll keep you posted.
thanks theo, please do... i am mostly concerned with weight gain.
Posted by David Smith on September 9, 2003, at 23:57:01
In reply to Re: sex drugs nuerontin, posted by lovenarcissus on September 9, 2003, at 1:57:08
This is the end of the thread.
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