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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by vegangirl on December 6, 2002, at 17:30:57
Hi. I've been on Depakote for almost four months. At the beginning I didn't have bad side effects...now for the last 2 months I've been sleeping 16 hours a day, so groggy that if I try to get up I just can't function. The nausea is also still here. And for the last month I've had a headache almost the whole time. Well, I'll do a separate post on that-it's driving me crazy! My dr. doesn't think it's the depakote. Perhaps it isn't, but I don't know what else it could be.
Anyone else have these symptoms for a long time? Oh, I'm on 750mg.
Thanks.
Posted by catmint on December 6, 2002, at 21:17:53
In reply to Depakote-side effects not going away, posted by vegangirl on December 6, 2002, at 17:30:57
Hi vegangirl,
I have been on Depakote(low dose-only 125 mg.) for a little over a month. I'd have to say that I am already prone to being a slow riser in the morning and the Depakote had definately made it worse. And the nausea never has gone away.Let's face it, our doctors don't try out these meds so you just need to use sites like this to get the real answers.
Have you ever tried Lamictal? I will be starting again on Monday for the second trial (I got a slight rash the first time, from too high of an initial dose). There are a lot of BP2s who have had much success with it.
Keep in touch,
Amy
Posted by Krysti on December 6, 2002, at 21:31:56
In reply to Depakote-side effects not going away, posted by vegangirl on December 6, 2002, at 17:30:57
Hi vegangirl,
Sounds to me like you need a new doctor. I don't usually say things like that, but that is a common side effect of Depakote (sleeping a lot). Do a search on Depakote and read what other people have posted on it. Just out of curiosity, is your doctor a psychiatrist?
I was only on Depakote for a couple of months, but when I first went on it I was really manic. I didn't have any bad side effects either at that time and it was great for bringing me out of the mania, but unfortunatley I kept going down. It ended up making me feel really blah, like I had no personality anymore. I also was having a hard time staying awake on the way to work and at work. I'm just really surprised your doctor isn't attributing your sleeping to the Depakote. It is very sedating which is one of the reasons why my doctor put me on it in the first place (because I was manic).
Everyone's experiences on meds are different, but I just think a pdoc should listen to their patinet and be proactive in finding something that works for him/her. If the patient has intolerable side effects, than they should try something else. I'd also be curious to know what he/she thinks is causing you to want to sleep so much then?
Krysti
Posted by Ritch on December 6, 2002, at 22:44:42
In reply to Depakote-side effects not going away, posted by vegangirl on December 6, 2002, at 17:30:57
> Hi. I've been on Depakote for almost four months. At the beginning I didn't have bad side effects...now for the last 2 months I've been sleeping 16 hours a day, so groggy that if I try to get up I just can't function. The nausea is also still here. And for the last month I've had a headache almost the whole time. Well, I'll do a separate post on that-it's driving me crazy! My dr. doesn't think it's the depakote. Perhaps it isn't, but I don't know what else it could be.
>
> Anyone else have these symptoms for a long time? Oh, I'm on 750mg.
>
> Thanks.Yeah, I am all too familiar with that particular problem with Depakote. What are the natures of your cycles? Do you typically drop off at this time of year? If you can find some means to adjust the dose (predictably that is), to the seasons or to your particular cycle characteristics it will help a LOT. Dep. helps so much with my irritability I don't want to throw it off the table. But I don't want to sleep constantly either. Stimulants have been tried (but not all permutations, however), to varied success. Just a guess, but I bet your pdoc is observing all of the positive effects (mood flattening) of the Depakote, and doesn't want to lose that. Unfortunately, if you sleep too much (for whatever reason), it tends to aggravate depressive symptomolgy and reinforce it. You may need an augmentation strategy to offset the sleep inertia/daytime sleepiness to help with your depressive picture.---good luck...Mitch
Posted by vagen on December 7, 2002, at 1:53:02
In reply to Re: Depakote-side effects not going away » vegangirl, posted by Ritch on December 6, 2002, at 22:44:42
I just started Depakote, after unsuccessful attempts with Lamictal and Topomax.
I have demonstrated an uncanny sensitivity to almost everything that works for other ppl.
My regimen was Wellabutrin 75 mg 2 x a day and Prozac 20 mg 1x a day.
We dropped the Prozac, kept the Wellabutrin and added the Depakote.
The doc gave me 250mg a day to start out with. But, we decided that given my previous reactions that I would cut the pill into fourths. Thursday night I was very sleepy and kind of groggy yesterday at work. But, that lifted around 5 p.m. I think the Wellabutrin is lessening some of the sedating s/e from the depakote. Last night, again, I took 75 mg of the Depakote and got sleepy 3 hours later. This morning I do not feel groggy at all. I have some energy, as I looked at the chaos called my house and decided I better clean it! I am not sure if this will help you. But, I have found that the pdocs are human (maybe!) and will sometimes just give you the ‘normal’ dose. Listen to your body. This is the worst time of year for most of us---I can’t remember the last time the sun was out here!
Also, I have added a prenatal vit, no I am not preggers, maybe that would help……..
Posted by vegangirl on December 7, 2002, at 2:09:33
In reply to Re: Depakote-side effects not going away » vegangirl, posted by Ritch on December 6, 2002, at 22:44:42
I'm not BP - they gave this to me for anxiety - obviously a very `off label' thing...but it seems to work for some people.
Posted by Krysti on December 7, 2002, at 8:49:57
In reply to Re: Depakote-side effects not going away-Ritch, posted by vegangirl on December 7, 2002, at 2:09:33
vegangirl -
I am BP, but I also had really bad anxiety. The mood stabilizers have completely taken away my anxiety. There are a lot more of them out there -if you cannot tolerate the side effects of Depakote, you might want to ask your pdoc if you can try one of the others. Or, maybe try lowering the dose of the Depakote (?)
Posted by Ritch on December 7, 2002, at 9:56:10
In reply to Re: Depakote-side effects not going away-Ritch, posted by vegangirl on December 7, 2002, at 2:09:33
> I'm not BP - they gave this to me for anxiety - obviously a very `off label' thing...but it seems to work for some people.
Hi, I am starting to see people post more and more about being on anticonvulsants commonly used for mania to treat anxiety. Depakote definitely reduces anxiety. I took 250mg instead of 125mg for a couple of nights (at the peak of my mood cycling) and it reliably quelled the hypomania, but I slept in an additional hour yesterday and was yawning all evening at work! I think my pdoc wanted to keep me on Ritalin/WB along with it for the sleepiness, but the WB keeps me up at night and they both aggravate anxiety. OH well....
This is the end of the thread.
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