About Depakote And Bipolar

Depakote And Bipolar

Depakote And Bipolar in Questions

what are the dangers of stopping depakote for bipolar disorder? I've been taking depakote for 2 years. I had a severe mania and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Since I started depakote, I haven't had any mood swings, manias or depressions. If I was to ween myself off, what are some things that could happen?

lil bit replied: "Seizures See website below"

nastehnedd replied: "you should not do this cold turkey if anything, talk to your doctor. if he agrees that you can start to get off of these meds, he should lower your dose or frequency of taking."

nightowl24 replied: "Well there are legal cases of people getting off of the meds, having a manic swing and killing others. They were convicted. Don't ask us this question, talk to a medical docter or psychiatrist, You could harm yourself or some innocent person. No one likes taking meds and being dependant on them, but having bi-polar can be dangerous and you could ruin your life if you are not carefully advised about if or how you should stop."

Tammie N replied: "I believe it can cause diabetes, and something in your blood level gets dangerously low, and your mood swings and mania could come back. Which can be a danger to yourself as well as others. Honestly, if your medication has helped, why would you want to go off of it. That generally means it is working. And definitely seek the advice of your Doctor."

maitraya replied: "return of mood swings and seizures, plus if you go off if you want to go back on it may not work leaving you to search for a another drug like lithium"

Jessica replied: "If you go off it you will likley go into a manic state. Don't do it. Talk to your dr first. Why do you want off it? Seems like its working if you have been mood free."

blue_bipo2 replied: "First of all, Bipolar illness isn't something that goes away, their is no cure for it. Only medication that can stabilize you and help you live with this illness. Depakote seems to be working great for you since you've said yourself that you haven't had any mood swings, manias or depressions. Therefor you should stay on them, even if you seem to believe you do not need them anymore. Stopping medication because you feel better is the most common mistake people with mental illnesses do !! (I know, I lived it and I assure you it isin't a good idea!!) You do not know how lucky you are!! So many people have a hard time finding the medication (or combination of medication) that stabilizes them. I personally had to go through 15 different medications and combinations (over a period of 3 years) before finding the medications that helps me. Going off of your medication is the worst thing you could do!! It takes about 3 weeks for your body to be cleared of the medication and I guaranty you that your manias and your mood swings will come back!! Whatever you decide, one thing is for sure: you should consult your psychiatrist first of all and you should ABSOLUTELY not stop depakote "cold turkey". You have to ween yourself off the medication gradually over a period of several weeks, because side effects of withdrawal are very dangerous! If your only reason for wanting to stop your depakote is because you haven't had mood swings and manias or depressions since being on it, then I strongly suggest you DO NOT STOP TAKING IT! If for other reasons you want to stop depakote (for example, bad side effects) then discuss this with your psychiatrist before doing anything drastic. Please, for your safety, consult your psychiatrist before taking this decision/action. Good luck ;)"

In which ways does Depakote make bipolar people more stable? I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder awhile ago. I was being prescribed lithium, but now, I've been on Depakote for like a week already. And to be honest, I do not notice any difference with this medication. I even have my doubts if it's really worth keep on taking this thing. I'm unstable as hell, so what's the point of continuing with that?

cool girl mickalah replied: "at least with risperdal it takes two weeks to work give it some time and if it still doesn't work talk with your doctor"

What is the difference between Lamital and Depakote for treating bipolar disorder? Which works better for you? I'm thinking about switching from Lamictal to Depakote for my bipolar disorder. Has anyone tried both? Which works better?

lostonearth replied: "have no idea. my ex used to have prozac for years. he is bipolar."

jbare999 replied: "I'm BP too. From everything I've read, it really just depends on your body chemistry. Some people love Lamictal, some hate it. Same with depakote. Personally, I think you should keep trying to find that "magic cocktail". I've been successfully medicated for about 4 months now. I take Symbyax (which is insanely expensive) and haven't felt this good in over a decade. (Symbyax is Prozac and Zyprexa and they make it in a variety of combinations so it's easy to "tweak" dosages until you find the right combo.) If you're not happy with the Lamictal, then definitely look for an alternative."

rebelady28379 replied: "i'm on Lamital its doing real good for me but i never heard of the other one.i take all these meds at night time lamital zoloft seroquel caduet lyrica potassium valium zetria coumadin thars over 500 mgs at night which don't include daytime"

Jennifer replied: "I haven't tried Depakote, but I'm taking Lamictal. I like Lamictal because I haven't experienced any side effects. It's hard to find a bipolar med that doesn't make you gain weight. Sorry, but I don't know anything about Depakote."

tink2478 replied: "Hi, I take trileptal which is similar to lamictal. I have had so few side affects on this drug. However, I did try depakote and had a lot of screwy side effects like weight gain and hair loss. Every one is different though. My body is sensitive so maybe yours might not be. I tried lamictal and had really bad runs like, I was literally shitting my pants. I am not even joking. Just mention trileptal to your doc."

hillary c replied: "I take those two. I seem to needthem both. I know the side effects are terrible but I get depressed without the limictal and i get anxious and approach anxiety and have trouble sleeping without the depakote -- no, i take klonopin not depakote. limitctal and clonazepam is what i taken . i cannot keep my thoughts together as well as i need to. i have been sick. all of this came onme like an avalanche. onset diabetes, fourway bypass, depression that they now insist is bipolar (i think is clearly bpd) my house burned eetc. so many things. i am living in a little ghetto room and have just enough money to get the engine in my car fixed so i can get the hell out of south carolina. no family to speak of and out of friends. hate doctors and the whole damn medical establishment. not sure i need a fourway bypass when house just burned. damn it all came in one year. have constantly thought of suicide until now. kept hanging on and chanting for relief. if they can get that damn engine fixed and i can buy enough gas to make it home to texas, god i will be grateful. what a life it turjned out to be. i was once in pretty good shape. god works in mysterious ways is all that keeps ringing around in my head at times. ins. was invalid on house. left with clothes on my back. no help from any ot those agencies you here about unless you consider a plastic bag of shoddy old clothes and a chair to be enough to survive on. i gave up op them . iasked for one of those extra trailers they had for katerina and the red cross just laughted. they thought i was a very funny guy. i am 64 and expect to live a few more years. odds against me. i got one thing out ofthe house. i love my computer. my only friend. somehow i did that and thank god. my only freind. friendly little light, watch news, read reports, chat and look up stuff. i actually think i have a little brain damage from the heart surgery. cannot remember as well to look things up. gotta get a job. i thoght iwas through. i thought i was retired for good. now? as mel brooks said in one movie "life sucks.""

lexi m replied: "I've taken both and both did nothing for me. Depokote is supposed to cause a lot of weight gain, but I didn't really have a problem with that luckily. The medications that I've had good results with are Geodon and Abilify. Maybe I don't cycle enough to notice results with Depakote and Lamictal."

id like to talk to a depakote user who is bipolar or manic? my 16 y/o son has been diagnosed with bipolar or manic depression. he is in an acute care fac. at this time. the dr put him on depakote. i would like to know how this medication affects others with this diag.

shannon v replied: "I have taken depakote in the past. It made me gain a lot of weight so I stopped taking it. Otherwise it worked well. I also had a male friend who took it and he had virtually no problems with it at all...no weight gain or anything. I preffered lithium to depakote because it did not make me lethargic. However, Lithium did make my hands tremble pretty badly. I hope your son's doctors find the correct meds for him soon. Good luck!"

petra replied: "Depacote is a drug that treats seizures but at times also helps people who have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder by evening out the highs and lows in their moods. It has very few side effects and if your son gets along with it, be happy. Depacote is mildly sedating which will become better in a few weeks as your son gets usued to it. Hope that helped."

miz piz replied: "My son, 16 is also on Depakote ER for bi-polar. He has been on this med. for about 8 months now and his mood swings are as different as night and day. Depakote is a mood stabilizer and is used for many conditions. This med. has been around for many, many years and is widely perscribed, especially in children. At first it made my son tired, but we switched his med. to take at bedtime and he is doing well. It will make you hungry, but after a couple of weeks that goes away also. Every so often he has blood drawn to check his levels and make sure that his liver is filtering out the med. as it is suppose to. He has done so much better. As a mom, I know first hand that putting your son in a facility is one of the toughest things that you will ever have to do. But if your son had a broken arm or needed stitches, you would seek medical treatment for those conditions also. So, I applaud you for caring enough about your son to get him help, and in the long run he'll be glad that you did too. So much luck to you and your son!!!"

Cat S replied: "I have bipolar type 2 and while on other medications (tegretol and lamictal), I can assure you that once the doctors have found an effective medication regime for your son, he can have a relatively normal life as bipolar is not the life sentence it used to be. When it comes to medications and mental conditions, individual responses can be so varied you wouldn't think its the same drug one person is talking about to the next. Some people will be side effect free while others have difficulty and need to change medications. This is not unusual, it took me a few tries and if your sons doctors prescribed him depakote, they took into account his overall situation: physical health, life style, age and his individual symptoms of bipolar. Its important that you realise that bipolar can't be cured but is managed by medication which your son will have to maintain in the long term, as well a probable therapy phase in the beginning. He will also need to keep a regular sleep routine, eat well and get exercise (even if its just walking 20 mins a day). Good luck to him..."

Sarah M replied: "Everybody is different and has different side effects. In general, young men seem to do better on Depakote than any other group. I am an older woman and I took Depakote for a while but stopped because I had bad side effects - terrible weight gain, hair falling out, crying all the time - it was not the med for me. I take lithium now with no side effects. One thing you should know is that if suicide is a risk, the clinical research proves that lithium is 3 times more effective than Depakote in preventing suicide. Good luck - I know things must seem terrible right now but it is a treatable condition and there are a lot of medication options. I wish you and your son the very best."

How do deal with weight gain, new in addict/alcoholic recovery on depakote/prozac for bipolar disorder? I am bipolor and I am 15 months clean/sober. I now take my medications daily, depakote and prozac are my mental medications. I have gained 100 pounds the last 15 months! Any helpful hints on losing some of this weight? I know weight gain is a factor in taking depakote and in recovery but this is too much!

moaaotearoa replied: "I had the same issue. At the end of the day diet changes and exercise only does so much. Speak to your doctor, there are other meds out there which do not have the weight gain side effect near as much. If your doctor is any good they will listen and help you find something with a lesser wight gain side effect. Taking an antidepressant with it causes an additive effect. I now that Lithium and Lamotrigine which is working well for me. Lamotrigine works well for Bipolar depression than the other mood stabilisers. It does take some time to find the right mix of meds. It is still important to watch your diet and exercise regularly for your physical and mental health. I found making sure to have protein with my lunch helped out a lot to reduce the cravings later on in the day. Good luck and congrats on 15 months, that is awesome."

lost_but_not_hopeless replied: "I am not a doctor .. Because of my last 10 years of learning to cope with the disorder, I can certainly relate to your concern. And so it goes with the runaround of medications as a result of the bipolar diagnosis. You have now entered the frustrating stage of battling the side effects .. and they can often be as bad as dealing with the illness. Anybody with a diagnosed mental illness can understand such things, but it is very difficult for any mentally healthy person to begin to imagine. My suggestion is that you talk to your doctor and say that you would like to explore other options for medications.. most people would be fine with the idea of gaining 20 or 30 pounds if their overall mental stability improved .. but in gaining 100, you have added lots more potentially dangerous health risks .. diabetes, heart issues .. See if you can change the meds. Concentrate on working on the things YOU can control .. eat balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of exercize and sleep. Minimize the amount of stress in your life. Bipolar is such a frustrating illness, it can take years to get an accurate diagnosis, and years to get stabilized with medications. But making simple lifestyle changes can speed up the process tremendously. The right medications for you are the ones that offset the balance in a positive way.. best overall results with least side effects. It takes time to find them .. Nobody knows you better than you, and this is why it is essential that you can find a doctor that will listen to your concerns. Best of luck with this, I know just how maddening it can be."

has anyone been on depakote for bipolar before? i have been diagnosed with bipolar1. today i got my meds, wellbutrine, depakote and kolonipin. i got home and read up on depakote, and was very scary to see all the thigns that can go wrong and side effects. so my question is, anyone thats been on it for bipolar, how has it helped you? and did/do you have any problems with it? i dont like taking meds anyway, but this one is totally new to me, and i have no personable info on it and how its worked or not worked? please if anyone can fill me in, i would appreciate it, ty! oh yea and i also was concerned about the weight gain if any with this med? thanks again

Steph replied: "Sorry if offended but is it possible for me to interview you about being Bipolar it only a few questions. Thanks"

☻♫§weetTart§amantha♫☻ replied: "i just started it about a week ago and so far it seems to be working great for me. my psychiatrist said that you should see results in about 3-4 days. also your doc should have blood drawn a week from now to make sure nothing is going wrong. i have to have them done next monday. my doctor said its usually uncommon for the worst of the side-effects to happen but with proper monitoring you should be fine. if you want you can im me on monday night and i can let you know more details. i would love to help you because i wouldve loved to have someone there to help me when i got diagnosed. ive been on multiple meds and this one seems to be the one thats working so far. Hope this helps and hope you feel better. good luck!!!"

Teresa t replied: "I'm also bipolar. I haven't been on Depakote but I watched my friend on it. She gained alot of weight and she got really spacey. She would just stare off into space and kind of check out emotionally. I finally had her gotr back to her Dr. and get diff. meds.Wellbutrin is good. My mood stabilizer for my bipolar is currently Tegratol. I have also been on lithium for 7 yrs. Tegratol has been the greatest! No side effects."

Tk replied: "With the drug, Depakote, you need to have blood tests for a liver profile. I know people who were prescribed Depakote. When his/her doctor changed his/her meds, the family had a party. This person had a personality change while on this drug. I'm not suggesting the med has this effect on EVERYONE who takes it. Talk to your doctor about your concerns. There ARE other meds besides Depakote. Don't be shy about telling your doctor how you feel about this drug. Talk to him/her!!!"

no.#1 Mom replied: "I was diagnosed with Bipolar alomost eight years ago. I have been taking Depakote for four of those years. I still to this day am taking it. Of course no one with depression or any mental illness gets 100% better, but I am now only seeing my psychiatrist every six months. I only see my therapist if I need to. From my personal experience I think this is one of the best medications out there. I also take Seroquel for my depression and to help my sleep. The only other medications I take with these have nothing to do with my depression. The others have to do with my seizures and fibromyalgia."

doug k replied: "I have also been diagnosed with bipolar 1. All medications have possible side effects, but that doesn't mean that everybody gets all the side effects listed. Your doctor will be trying to make the best guess about what might help you. I used to get all worried when I read the stuff about the various med's. You will get side effects from some and there will be others you won't get side effects from and there might even be some that work for you. By the way, for me (not necessarily for you) Depakote caused a huge weight gain. So, my doc took me off it and I lost the weight. However, i never had a headache while I was on Depakote, and with the exception of the weight gain, it worked well for me."

LeAnn C replied: "I was on it for 3 months before I insisted on being taken off. Gained 30 lbs (never gained a lb. in my life) and hair was falling out by the handfuls."

For those of you on Depakote ER for bipolar disorder... How big is your dose? I'm on 500mg right now.. My manic episodes are less frequent but with the same amount of intensity when they do occur. I heard some people take up to 2500mg daily.

MJ replied: "I have it but, i refuse to take it.I like how I am. I don't care what people think, i am supposed to take 200mg ."

sharkinthewater replied: "Dosages vary. Depakote can also be combined with other drugs to lessen manic episodes. Talk to your psychiatrist about increasing your dose or adding an additional medication to your regimen. Don't vary your dose yourself based on what people tell you on here."

Who else takes Depakote for Bipolar Disorder ? I have been on both Depakote and Lamictal. I like Depakote better though there are more side effects.

ompie replied: "many people do"

frostdash replied: "its not just those who have bipolar disorder who takes depakote. depakote is also indicated to those who have uncontrollable migraine, and those with absence or partial seizure..."

violentfaygalette replied: "I have been on Depakote ER since 2001 for Bi-polar and Borderline Personality Disorder."

bugs280 replied: "I've been on Depakote since last September. The only side effects I ever had were frequent bowel movements for the first 2 weeks. It's working wonders for me."

lexi m replied: "I've taken both Depakote and Lamictal. Both I think do nothing for me. I still take Lamictal because my doctor wants me on something like that. Honestly, I think I don't cycle enough for these two medications to affect me strongly. It's pretty rare for me to be in a manic -psychosis state (about 6 days in 5 years). I mean, when it's bad then it is hospitalization bad, but usually, I was just depressed most of the time. I don't really experience side effects from Depakote or Lamictal. (I have also taken Geodon and Abilify with good results and Lexapro with no results.)"