Posted by Gracie2 on January 21, 2002, at 0:24:50
In reply to Depakote...An ugly Beast or gentle friend?, posted by mr.scott on January 18, 2002, at 13:06:14
I believe that Depakote has it's uses. I was precribed 500 mg daily for long-term anxiety and insomnia, which was destroying my health and personal relationships. Initially, Depakote helped to calm me down and regulate my sleep cycle
(for a dedicated insomnic, this is like winning at Powerball). However, after 6 months of taking the same dosage, my system became over-saturated with the drug and I grew terribly lethargic and disinterested in everything. My thinking slowed to the point where I could almost hear my IQ falling. As a medical worker who is often required to make quick and sometimes creative decisions, my professional life and the care of my patients suffered.I have no formal psychiatric training, but my uuprofessional opinion is that Depakote should be reserved as an initial treatment for patients in crisis - those who suffer from self-destructive tendencies and cannot function in daily life due to violent mood swings, panic attacks, OCD or disabilitating anxiety. After the patient shows signs of stabalizing, he should be tapered from the Depakote SLOWLY (it's powerful stuff) and his medication substituted by a drug known to have less profound and long-term effects. If you have established a trusting relationship with your doctor, he may prescribe some kind of benzodiazapene to be used PRN for break-through anxiety or insomnia, which I found to be quite helpful.
Again, this is my own opinion derived from my own experience, along with all the other usual disclaimers. My psychiatrist, who was from Pakistan, was quite young and I believe somewhat inexperienced. However, I continued to see her on a regular basis until she disappeared for a six- week vacation to get married in Pakistan and enjoy an extended honeymoon. While I would never begrudge her a personal life, she did not inform her patients that she was leaving or assign a doctor to see her out-patients while she was absent, according to her staff. They suggested I go to the emergency room if I was having a problem. Having worked with dozens, maybe hundreds of doctors over the course of my career,
I had never once seen a doctor who treated their patients in such a manner, and it struck me as being completely uncaring and unprofessional. I never saw her again, and I suspect the regimen of pyschiatric drugs that she prescribed for me may not have been the best. At the very least, I think Depakote usage should be closely monitered
so that the drug's benefits do not overrun their course.
-Mouthy
poster:Gracie2
thread:90695
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020116/msgs/90938.html