Posted by SalArmy4me on March 30, 2001, at 16:44:05
In reply to Klonopin nightmare / start Zyprexa / stop Depakote, posted by Noah on March 30, 2001, at 14:27:07
I like the Zyprexa idea. Seroquel would be my next choice if I were your doctor.
> Like many of you, I have a history that would take pages to tell, so suffice it so say that I have been on drug therapy for depression/anxiety/bipolar for at least 13 years. I have drug soup for blood, and it seems like I am always in that "adjustment" phase of some new medication. I wonder what it's like to be normal...
>
> I have been down to only Depakote and Klonopin for the past year. Depakote for bipolar disorder, and Klonopin for anxiety, which is mostly at night. I was on only 2mg of K per night, which I believe is a relatively small dose, but WHOA--it's a nightmare getting that stuff out of you. I recently had to change doctors because of insurance, and the new one wanted me off Klonopin because of the long-term dependence. The first thing I experienced was sleeplessness through the night, and by day I had constant shortness of breath and panic attacks. That went away after about a week, so the doc gave me Ambien for sleep. That helped my night, except that I was used to being completed knocked out, and started experiencing what felt like watching 5 movies through the night. I can't get the images out of my head in the morning. Also, I have been horribly nauseated every morning, and start by dry-heaving for about 10 minutes after I get up. I can't eat until late in the afternoon each day. I have been losing weight and have hardly any appetite. The nausea symptoms must have been masked by my sedation in the past. I went to see the doc again today, and he suggested that Depakote is causing the nausea. I'm on 3x250mg at night. So he suggested stopping Depakote altogether, and he gave me samples of Zyprexa to try instead. He thinks it will help me sleep, and do away with the morning yukkies too. For the past decade, this will be the LEAST amount of medication I will be on, which is good if it works. I guess I'm skeptical that with my history of depression and everything else, taking only Zyprexa is going to keep me stable. My biggest desire is to get a good night of sleep and not feel nauseated in the morning.
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> Does anyone know if it's okay to just stop Depakote after a year at that dose? He didn't mention tapering off. Also, has anyone had good success with Zyprexa as a sleep aid, when you're used to 2mg of Klonopin? Also, is Zyprexa a good replacement for Depakote? When I have been off Depakote in the past, I experience mood swings/suicidal thoughts/cry fests, etc.
poster:SalArmy4me
thread:58092
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010327/msgs/58117.html