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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Notalis on December 10, 2003, at 5:16:32
Hi all,
My doc thinks I have cyclothymia. I've done about 9 years on antidepressants (prozac, paxil, seroxat?, effexor, maybe more) now he suggests depakote (sp?).
If anyone can write me with experiences on this drug or on neurontin, I'd appreciate it.
I'm hoping this diagnosis is right, because I'm slowly losing my marbles and prozac just does nothing for me.
Also, anyone experience any violent episodes?
I'm a 33 year old mother of 2 and I look for fights with strangers when I'm down, real good, huh?
Posted by HappyGirl on December 11, 2003, at 14:43:57
In reply to Experiences with neurontin or depakote, posted by Notalis on December 10, 2003, at 5:16:32
Hi:
I had on Depakote, 750 mg. that was a standard dosage for a first med. of Bipolar.
In my personal experience, Depakote is a good med. for Bp, however in my case, it made me quite sedating and needed a lot of sleep and nap, maybe 12-15 hours a day that caused me NOT able to hold any full-time job. Also, it made me VERY thirsty and drank quite a lot of liquid, mostly just plain water from the jug while walking and doing things in outdoors. At night, also had a thirst-urge that wake me up in the middle of night quite often, maybe 3-4 times.
Some of Bp folks complain about 'weight gain,' however I had NO weight issue on Depakote, just quite sleepy all the time. Also, I experienced few 'nighmare form of dream' during nights due to Depakote.
After one and a half years, however the effectiveness of Depakote ceased and changed to newer med. and a more competent pdoc. to deal with my Bp.
In regard to 'rage/anger.' this is to be 'dysphoric mania' .... a part of 'manic phrase' of Bipolar symptoms. However, your dx is a milder form of Bipolar, then it made me 'surprise' to see this,... 'dysphoric mania' because this symptom is NOT to be the 'milder/soft' of bipolar, rather Bipolar II has this form of symptom. Make sure, .... your Bp is milder form, because med./med. combo might be different according the dx.
HappyGirl
Posted by Karen_kay on December 12, 2003, at 17:10:13
In reply to Re: Experiences with neurontin or depakote, posted by HappyGirl on December 11, 2003, at 14:43:57
I'm curious as to why you ask about Neurontin...I'm dx with BP I and I use to take 1200 mgs 3x day for anxiety. Now I take it whenever I need to for anxiety. I haven't actually taken it in about 3 months. The Neurontin made me kinda "blank" like I was hard to hold conversations with, just stupid in a way. But, other than that no side effects that I can recall. But, it doesn't do squat for Bipolar Disorder. There was a bit of a scandal a while back about that. The drug company said it did. I also took Depakote for a while. But, I didn't like it. I didn't take it long enough to really have an accurate opinion. It was in conjunction with Lithium.
Posted by Viridis on December 13, 2003, at 0:01:56
In reply to Experiences with neurontin or depakote, posted by Notalis on December 10, 2003, at 5:16:32
I tried Neurontin for anxiety and mood stabilization, and it made me feel very mellow the first few times I took it. After, that, it had absolutely no detectable effect (good or bad) at any dose. I finally discontinued it with no problems, simply because it wasn't doing anything.
Others here seem to have a more sustained effect, though, and it's a very safe med so is worth a try. It sure worked well for me at the beginning -- I just wish that it had continued to do so.
Posted by Karen_kay on December 13, 2003, at 12:24:20
In reply to Re: Experiences with neurontin or depakote, posted by Viridis on December 13, 2003, at 0:01:56
I just typed this out and went to check the page and lost it :(
But, I want to be sure you know that Neurontin is not effective in treating bipolar disorder. I'm not sure if your doctor suggested it to you or not. I found an article you can read that explains exactly what happened. Neurontin helped me with anxiety. But it is not effective in treating bipolar disorder. If you do not take another mood stabilizer with it, it will not help to control your moods. Here is the web page with the article. A good place to find matter of fact info about drugs is google. Just type the name in and check the different matches. You can find all kinds of neato stuff out. Sorry to keep on about this, but I don't want you to possibly take something that isn't going to help you get better.. Read this article. It explains the lawsuit regarding Neurontin. A lot of people were hurt because the drug company said it worked for bipolar disorder and it doesn't.
http://bipolar.about.com/cs/neurontin/a/neurontin_suit.htm
Karen
Posted by Notalis on December 13, 2003, at 14:47:24
In reply to Re: Experiences with neurontin or depakote, posted by Karen_kay on December 12, 2003, at 17:10:13
I only found out about the neurontin on the net, and when I called my doc and asked about it he said it hasn't been proven to work for cyclothymia.
The reason I came up with it is because i was looking for an alternative to depakoote.
Why didn't you like it?
Posted by Notalis on December 13, 2003, at 14:48:18
In reply to Re: Experiences with neurontin or depakote, posted by Viridis on December 13, 2003, at 0:01:56
So, what do you use now? Are you BP? or cyclic?
Posted by Notalis on December 13, 2003, at 14:51:54
In reply to Not to sound like your mom But.., posted by Karen_kay on December 13, 2003, at 12:24:20
Thanks Karen, I appreciate the info.
I don't have any idea about any of it, actually.
I read that depakote can make you gain weight and itch--not good.
I have an off and on problem with itching, so I don't want to aggrevate it.
What else is out there for cyclothymia?
And yesterday, I stopped taking my prozac.
(Just thought I'd throw that in!)
It seems to worsen how I feel lately--weird?
Posted by Karen_kay on December 15, 2003, at 18:03:54
In reply to Re: Experiences with neurontin or depakote » Karen_kay, posted by Notalis on December 13, 2003, at 14:47:24
Hiya! I did like Neurontin for my anxiety. It helped me a lot. According to a book I have, "The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide" , cyclothymia is normally treated with medication similar to that which doctors use for Bipolar Disorder. Lithium Carbonate is usually the firstline medication suggested. Is that what your doctor suggested for you? I started Lithium as my first mood stabilizer. I usually have very low side effects with drugs and lithium (the first time around) didn't produce many side effects (other than some bowel problems, but I have problems staying regular anyway so I didn't mind much :) But, enough about me and my colon!! Did you doctor suggest Lithium at all? I personally would prefer Lithium to Depakote any day, but you do have to have regular blood tests, as it CAN become toxic in your system.... That is something you have to be careful of. But, I believe you are suppossed to have blood work with Depakote as well, correct? Yeah, I looked it up, you need blood tests with Depakote as well because it is broken down in the liver. Depakote can cause significant weight gain. That is why I discontinued, and hair loss.
I'm taking a drug called Topamax. You may want to go through and read soem of the posts on it. But it doesn't have any fatal side effects (that I'm aware of). You may want to ask your doctor about it. My doctor is surprised that it works to control my manic episodes, but it does. At first when I started it, my mental cognition was very slow. I mean it made me very VERY stupid!! But, it lasted for about 1-2 months. Also, you have to drink a lot of water, to prevent kidney stones. And you get heartburn and numbness in your arms and legs. But, my mood is WONDERFUL!! (and it causes weight loss rather than weight gain like the others!!) Just a suggestion to discuss with your doctor! You also may want to discuss Lithium. And go to www.google.com
and type in the name of the drug you are interested in. you can find out all sorts of info there!! if you have any more questions just ask... Also, I was on Lamictal for a while too, but it was in combonation with Lithium, so I can't be much help. But, there are several posts on this page about it. I know that what you have is treat with drugs that treat bipolar disorder which would be (probably in this order too....)
Lithium, Depakote, Lamictal, Tegretol, TopamaxKaren
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