Posted by shoebox on September 25, 2003, at 15:10:28
In reply to Just Diagnosed with Bipolar « Michelle0202, posted by Dr. Bob on September 25, 2003, at 8:29:20
My pdoc put me on Depakote when he diagnosed me in 2000. It is an excellent drug and made me feel serene for probably the first time in my life. Unfortunately, it seemed to "wear off" after about 6 months and rather than go to a higher dose, I was switched to Lamictal, which I still take. The reason I didn't want to go higher was that Depakote sent my appetite out of control and I gained a lot of weight (guessing somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 - 20 lbs., since I do not own a scale). I was eating entire chocolate cakes in one sitting! Fortunately, this came after a severe manic phase that left me rail-thin, so when I got "fat" I wasn't too bad. I lost the weight once I got on Lamictal. Lamictal can cause dizziness and mental fogging, so it's not the ideal solution either; tradeoffs, always tradeoffs...*sigh* <:-\
Stick with the Depakote for a few weeks--it has recently been upgraded to "first-line" along with lithium--and be on the lookout for an appetite increase so you don't go buying whole cakes like I did! It is an excellent medication.
> > Hello. I was just diagnosed with bipolar. I was put on Depakote 250 mg, to be doubled in week. Anyone else take this? All of this is new to me. So any input is appreciated. This is from my primary dr, he has refered me to a specialist on this illness. I will be seeing him soon.
> > Thanks!
>
poster:shoebox
thread:263154
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030923/msgs/263258.html