Posted by gpm on September 4, 2000, at 0:07:39
In reply to Re: Does Depakote cause depression?, posted by Carmen on September 18, 1999, at 20:09:25
Does depakote cause depression? I dont know, you tell me. I have been on it for several months, gained a ton of weight, feel sick and dizzy all the time and I am on the web right now trying to find out how much of the stuff is a lethal dose because I dont want to live this way anymore. Top that off with the fact that my shrink never even bothered to have his office call me when he put me on the stuff as I was suicidal and in the middle of a divorce. I guess he found some other way to make the payments on his BMW. I hate depakote!
> > Depakote didn't work real well for me because I had serious side-effects and wasn't able to keep real stable even at high doses. At one point when I was depressed for almost a week (I rapid cycle in the course of days if not hours) I tried Prozac and went into an awful mixed state with vivid suicide ideation. Anyway, I certainly was more on the depressed side with Depakote. I'm on Neurontin and very low does of Lithium and have been almost 100% stable for 4 weeks.
> >
> > In answer to your last question, "...is it me or the depakote?" I'd guess both! :) Hey, these meds work differently for everyone. I'm playing the combo game now. Don't know how much you've done with that but the literature I've read says Bipolar II is better treated this way.
> >
> > Good luck!
> >
> > SusanJane :)
>
> anon, Hi! I was on Depakote to stabilize my mood after being on Paxil for years. Paxil worked great, but I became manic which the Dr. thinks might have been a reaction to the Paxil for me. Depakote sucked! Left me totally unmotivated and was low-grade depressed all the time. Went off of it and felt much better. Now on Neurontin which for me has had no side affects, but has really helped. Carmen
poster:gpm
thread:11686
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000822/msgs/44377.html