Ocracoker16 Posted August 1, 2004 Share Posted August 1, 2004 (edited) I am just starting 500 mgs of Depakote. Edited March 12, 2017 by Natasha1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inner chaos Posted August 1, 2004 Share Posted August 1, 2004 Depakote worked OK for me. It was alright in terms of stabilizing my moods. better than lithium was for me at any rate. I had the hair loss and the weight gain. No nausea though. Lithium was way worse for me in terms of weight gain though. I am wonder what PCOS stands for and what it is? I have never heard of that Katie? Or maybe i just dont recognize the abbreviation? I hope that this works out for you! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted August 1, 2004 Author Share Posted August 1, 2004 It stands for Polycystic ovary syndrome. It is a hormonal disorder affecting premenopausal women. Cysts develop in the ovaries and this causes problems with fertility, irregular menses, and masculinization. There was a time in which docs were pretty concerned about prescribing Depakote to women, but they have discovered that the disorder is linked to Depakote because it causes weight gain and obesity happens to be a major risk factor for PCOS. What did you do about the hairloss? I already take a multivitamin, but will I need to supplement with additional biotin, selenium, or zinc. Did you use any special hair products? Thanks for responding.Katie :;): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inner chaos Posted August 1, 2004 Share Posted August 1, 2004 I have enough hair for two people. seriously. very very thick. i only stayed on depakote for s few months and by the time the hair loss was getting bothersome, and it was getting to the point that when i took a shower the drain was clogging, gross i know, I was switched to Topamax. They were concerned about weight gain. And it was also switched because i started having seizures so we needed the best med for the seizures and that was Topamax. Depakote, as i am sure you know is an anti convulsant too, but the doc was concerned about weight gain so i was switched to topamax because topamax causes weight loss. which was good for me because then i wasnt gaining weight any more plus the hair loss stopped too. No, i did not use any hair products. it takes a while for the hair loss to actually get going and for it to become a problem, or it did for me, and by that point I was switched so i never got to that point. Maybe you will be lucky and wont have hair loss! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted August 1, 2004 Author Share Posted August 1, 2004 I was only on it three months the first time so that may have had been too early for the hair loss. I was very excited when I started Topamax because of the prospect of losing weight. Unfortunately, with Lithium also being processed in the kidneys it was an overload that caused abnormalities in renal functioning that were detected in my blood work. In the end I was not upset about going off Topamax because it did affect my memory and it did not do great things for my mood.Katie :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inner chaos Posted August 1, 2004 Share Posted August 1, 2004 Topamax is wreaking havock on my memory. i am certain of it. But the main reason i am on it is for seizures, so I have to keep taking it. No choice. As for my moods, I think it helps some as I am better than I used to be, but it is the only med I take, so who really knows. I basically just go with my moods, which are literally all over the map these days but dont get anywhere above feeling moderately depressed. I am always down. I never feel good. I used to get the crazy hypo felling which since being on Topamax has been erradicated so i think the topamax is doing something because that hypo feeling is gone. but now i am down. so i dont know what to think. I cant change anything, so i just go with it. But i do miss my keyed up hyper days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted August 1, 2004 Share Posted August 1, 2004 Topomax not only killed my short term memory it was a big part of an over all zombie effect I was having with the other meds I was on at the time. I took myself off of it. Won't go back on it. It never helped me loose weight. Hope the depakote helps!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insanity Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 This is weird, But Depakote made me pass out. I started taking it, and within a few hours I kept passing out! Not lighted or anything like that, I'd stand up, and faint. My P-doc said this would go away. I was thinking, "Would this go away before I cracked my head open on something?" I stopped taking it immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted August 3, 2004 Author Share Posted August 3, 2004 Well atleast you could cross Depakote off your list of moodstabilizers with a large black pen. That doctor was pretty helpful. They can be such space cadets when they talk to you about side effects you have and don't like. They almost always say it will go away as you get used to the med and not to worry but to call in a week if it gets worse. That is fine for some SE's but not fainting. I know how it goes. You end up at the ER for 8 hours so the resident can say well you should have stopped the medicine right away and hand you an informational sheet on bipolar or whatever.Katie :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchroedingersCat Posted August 3, 2004 Share Posted August 3, 2004 I like Depakote as a mood stabilizer as it seems to be working for me. I really don't have anything to compare it to because I haven't taken any of the others. The biggest downside for me is weight gain. I've been bald for many years, so hair loss is not much of a concern for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverdawn Posted August 14, 2004 Share Posted August 14, 2004 I'm taking 750mg of depakote er and it has helped with anxiety, but it hasn't really helped with my depression. My pdoc wants me to raise the dosage of celexa to 30 mg to help with depression and he also wants me to add trazodone to help me to sleep. Maybe the depakote would work better if I could sleep eight hours each night. Well I guess I can say the depakote seems to be doing something. I hope you have success in this addition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pufnstuf Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 i took depakote for a year 1500 mg of ER then down to 500mg twice a day. it made me gain a LOT of weight (70+) and also made some of my hair fall out..it worked though but i told the doc i didnt want to take it anymore and he said ok. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny64 Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 I liked depakote at first but as the dosage went up, I lost all my feelings. I was unable to be happy or sad. The weight gain was horrible too especially for someone with an eating disorder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted August 22, 2004 Author Share Posted August 22, 2004 Thanks, everyone for the feedback. I have not increased the Depakote from 500 yet. I was on vacation so I didn't think it was a very good time to increase. It was a road trip so nausea would really not make me happy. I hope to increase soon in the time left before school starts again. I quite stupidly agreed to supplement my 600 of Seroquel with a pinch of Zyprexa (2.5 mgs) because I was pretty hypomanic. I got so out of it that I couldn't walk straight and I spoke slowly, repeated myself, and forgot what I was trying to say. That will be the second and last time I get within a one mile radius of Zyprexa.Katie :O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pufnstuf Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 I also had a bad exp with Zyprexa, it made me so sick, shaky, groggy and foggy with a whole lot of confusion and drooling. I will NEVER touch that again. I never puked so much in my life. I went to the doctor and told him it made me so sick and he said it would never do that and kept increasing my dose. finally after a month i told him i wasnt going to take it anymore. what a jerk he was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted August 23, 2004 Author Share Posted August 23, 2004 It looks like I am going to increase the dosage just a bit. I will do 625 for 2 days and then go up to 750 mgs on Thursday. I hope this helps with some of this rapid cycling.Katie ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gera25 Posted August 27, 2004 Share Posted August 27, 2004 ???Is Depakote the same as epival....just wondering cause I am on epival which is a drug in canada. I am not sure if depakote is the same just a different name in the states....if so does everyone get the weight gain cause I am now 260 lbs and am tring to lose weight....I was just put on epival about 2 weeks ago and i don't want to gain any weight my depression and stuff will increase.....i hope someone can answer the questions for me...mandee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted August 27, 2004 Author Share Posted August 27, 2004 Yes, Epival is the Canadian name for Depakote (valproic acid). There shouldn't be any difference in the severity of the weight gain side effect.Katie :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted September 3, 2004 Author Share Posted September 3, 2004 Now I have been on 1000 mgs ER for three days. I am really swinging at the moment. I am starting to always say what I am thinking which is a bad thing. I am losing sleep which could further disrupt my mood stability. Hopefully, the increase will help me come down from this hypomania. Otherwise, I will not continue taking a weight gainer that doesn't have redeeming values. How long should I wait before pulling the plug on it?Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trinity64 Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 Since I was diagnosed in June, Depakote ER is the only mood stabilizer that I have tried (I was in a mixed state). The first two days I took 500 mg and the second day I took 1000 mg. After about 4 days I started feeling a fairly significant benefit. I couple of weeks ago I started having some breakthrough symptoms so my doctor uped my dose to 1500 mg. I noticed an improvement within 3 days. I hope this helps.Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted September 6, 2004 Author Share Posted September 6, 2004 I am going to stick with the 1000 mgs for now. Lithium is my main mood stabilizer so I had expected to be taking a low dose of the Depakote. I might increase if it shows some promise. I also worry about the weight gain. Thanks for your feedback.Katie :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted September 13, 2004 Author Share Posted September 13, 2004 I am starting to get really upset about taking Depakote. My mind is slowing down which affects my school performance. I never used to have to jot down my homework. I get home and then I am not sure what exactly I was supposed to do. The Depakote did not enhance the effects of Lithium. I will talk to my doctor about discontinuation, but there are hardly any options for me any ways.Katie :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted September 18, 2004 Author Share Posted September 18, 2004 I am pleased to announce that I will be going off the Depakote. I have gone down to 500 mgs a day and I will decrease from there. My pdoc and I don't really know what to do next, but I am still on my Lithium and i don't really want to disrupt my life again. Now I have to work on loosing these extra pounds.Katie :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarletworld Posted December 12, 2004 Share Posted December 12, 2004 hmm... doesn't sound like this one works for most folks. I just got the 'script for it, but probably won't take it for a while.... I'd hate to lose my hair! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocracoker16 Posted December 12, 2004 Author Share Posted December 12, 2004 Some people have positive experiences. The people I know that got better on it found it helpful for rapid cycling and anger issues. However, most people I have known have had a problem with the side effects. You should atleast try it to see what your personal response is. The side effects could be managed if it was really effective for you. BTW,what other medicines do you take?Katie :;): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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