Divalproex Sodium (Depakote)

Good Luck with this new med you have started Taygeta! I hope it will work for you.

UA

now that i have stopped the depakote, things are coming back into a more realistic perspective. ugh. That was frightening! Really frightening! I didn't think that was going to happen on that stuff, not just within a couple of weeks. it will be interesting to see what my pdoc suggests this week when I see her. I'm back on lithium in the interim, which does seem to help with my mood. It will take about 2-3 days, then the nasty stomach side effects will likely hit, but by then I will have my appt. Such choices I've got. a med that I can tolerate, but it shoots me the other way. a med I have a terrible time tolerating, but it actually seems to help my moods. The next one has got to be the med I can tolerate and the med that also helps my moods. Right? - Taygeta

I have tried abilify. Initially, it caused a lot of muscle aches, which I was able to tolerate, and finally they dissipated. Unfortunately, when I increased the dosage from 1 mg per day to 2 mg per day, I started to have significant increases in anxiety, which I began counteracting with increased amounts of clonazepam, which really wasn't a solution. Abilify didn't seem to help much other than to increase my anxieties, no real affect on my moods - not much help in the depression area. I have a complete bottle of Abilify sitting in my drawer untouched.

I have not been on Lamotringe yet. My doctor says there are still a number of options for me, though I don't know what she has in mind. For my depression, before I was diagnosed with bipolar, I was on in some order other than I am listing them - paroxetine (huge weight gain - minimal results), Cymbalta, Citalopram (huge weight gain, a bunch of other stuff, minimal results), mirtazapine (caused me to become Mr. Hyde, irritated all the time - nearly got into a road rage incident, which is completely out of norm for me because I've learned to blow that stuff off anymore), trazodone (ineffective and can't remember the side effects), a couple others I cannot remember, plus ambien and sonata when the ads were causing insomnia, of which ambien made me throw up the first morning after I took it. Since I was not diagnosed with bipolar during the use of those ADs, it makes sense that none of them were very efficient. Cymbalta was the worst for side effects. I was on it about a year or so, with increasing levels of side effects, which made me think I was "losing it" because I couldn't understand what was happening to me. At the time I was under the care of a regular MD, and I have found MDs just don't put in the effort that psychiatrists do when it comes to followup. So I stopped Cymbalta cold turkey because I couldn't take the side effects, and I was becoming increasingly depressed - scary depressed. That cold turkey stop caused one long strange, painful month. I wouldn't even consider another AD for nearly two years after that. Thanks for your comment. We will see what happens this week with my appointment. I try to be hopeful, but I tell you it's hard at times due to my previous experiences. - Taygeta

I have yet to get to the therapeutic dose of any AD or equivalent. The Dr. says I need to push you to 60 mg, and Im shaking my head - no way. I seem to be especially sensitive to meds that have connections to the nervous system and brain activity. The recommended initial daily dose of depakote is 750 mg. I was on 250 mg every other day - and it still caused significant effects, unfortunately to the negative. I have to tell ALL of my doctors that I am sensitive to many meds, and they cannot start me at the standard dose they might start with other patients. The only meds I can take without issue at recommended doses are most antibiotics and narcotics for pain. I can't take more than one benedryl without passing out. I can't take more than one sudafed without getting a buzz (that I don't like). I have met others like me - so I know it's just not me. The patience thing with lamotringe has me nervous. Side effects usually hit me first and if the benefits take a long time to be realized, and the side effects are significant, it will force me to stop taking the med. Of course, on the other hand, therapeutic effects do sometimes happen more quickly with me too with some meds, so I never know what to expect. A big issues though is that several of my meds have interfered greatly with my performance at work - so that is a real problem for me. And it's not like I can tell anyone what is going on without risking losing my job. - Taygeta

That is good to hear. The less SE, the better. Thanks for your encouragement. Will post what the next step is when I learn . . . - Taygeta

Hi Linda,

I am now on Latuda. Depakote did not work, in fact it made my depression much worse, worse than it has been in six months. Latuda, so far, has worked well. My depression is broken, at least the deep depression, and I am functioning much more at a normal level.

Wow. 42 meds in 7 years. That is rough. I feel for you there.
I am on Escitalopram, Clonazapam, and Latuda now. I was taking the Clonaz for anxiety during the mornings and when I experienced it during the day, but with the Latuda, I don't experience anywhere near as much anxiety, so I am taking the Clonaz to help me sleep at night because the Latuda does make it a bit difficult to fall asleep.

I have tried amphetamines for my depression, and they worked, but unfortunately they put me too high, and I was in a buzzed state in which I wasn't all that functional. I felt good, but I couldn't do much else because I felt like I was wired without a direction to use it. That was many years ago though, so a lot has changed since then with meds, and maybe an amphetamine today would be different than what I was on years ago.

I am glad that the amphetamines have helped your depression, and I am glad they have changed your life for you. It is a wonderful feeling to feel good again - to get rid of that awful depression, which is a real killer.

Thanks, Linda. Best to you. Thanks for asking. Yes, doing better now. Keep on moving forward, that's my motto now.

- Taygeta