Posted by med_empowered on August 12, 2005, at 14:28:30
In reply to Re: Scared of Depakote, Topomax » holymama, posted by Nickengland on August 12, 2005, at 9:25:26
hey! I understand your fear of Depakote and Topomax. Depakote made lots of my friends fat and slow, and it made me throw up so much that I couldnt even take it (maybe that was for the best?). Topomax...I've never taken it, but in people I know I've seen mixed results. Some people seem just fine, and they love the weight loss; some people seem kinda stupid and "flat". So...its a mixed-bag, I guess. I completely understand the SSRI-induced cycling..its awful, isn't it? And...I hear you on the cognitive thing. I'm in college, and I have been delayed in graduating b/c of a bad doc who had me so overmedicated I couldn't function as I needed to (hate to sound bitter but, hey, that's what happened). I'm going to talk to a doc soon about Keppra, which (supposedly) controls mood swings without causing stupidity. I also have the hardcore depression you seem to get--I came out of a period of depression with psychotic features a few months ago, and I still feel blah (but better). Have you thought about Lamictal? I dont think it'd be a great idea for monotherapy if you've had signifcant problems with mania or hypomania, but it does seem to help lots of people with bipolar disorder while depressed...sometimes its combined with a stronger "anti-manic" mood-stabilizer to (hypothetically, at least) get the best of both worlds. Usually, the combo seems to be depakote+lamictal....I'm going to ask my new doc about Keppra+lamictal...do you think that'd be something you'd be interested in, as well? Another thing that interests me is "as-needed (PRN)" use of antipsychotics, especially Zyprexa. The idea seems to be that if you feel yourself really "losing your grip," you can take an antipsychotic, chill, and then address the situation as-needed. In my experience, alot of times all that's needed to prevent severe depression or mixed-episodes (I dont get "classic" mania) is something to calm my brain down...so, it seems like a PRN prescription of zyprexa or abilify would be potentially useful (and comforting, reassuring) add-on med. Maybe your shrink would consider something like that? Anyway, good luck and please post and let us all know how you're doing.
poster:med_empowered
thread:540562
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050811/msgs/540736.html