Posted by ratgrrl on September 25, 2003, at 14:07:51
In reply to I have been taking Depakote 250 mg for 2 days now, posted by Michelle0202 on September 25, 2003, at 8:48:13
When I was diagnosed 5 years ago I was started on Depakote. I was pretty miserable for several weeks, though it was so long ago I'm having trouble remembering exactly what my side effects were. I definitely remember stomach upset and, unlike you, I was sleeping A LOT.
After several weeks, though, I felt better and my symptoms improved. Unfortunately I had some more longstanding and troublesome side effects (horrible tremor and cognitive slowing). It's funny though, I didn't realize about the cognitive slowing until I switched to Tegretol and realized all of my exams and homework suddenly got a lot easier!
Unfortunately it takes time to find out if a med is going to help. You might want to talk to your doctor about how long you are willing to commit to the drug trial before switching to something else. Also, keep in mind for the future that switching drugs isn't easy either. I try to schedule med changes for low stress periods when I don't have to be all that functional.
Hang in there,
ratgrrl
poster:ratgrrl
thread:263161
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030923/msgs/263247.html