Posted by Josiejo on October 22, 2002, at 2:42:41
In reply to Help Please!! -- Violent mood swings, s/e of meds?, posted by Mr Cushing on October 20, 2002, at 18:41:29
Hi, I can only share my own experience with Depakote, which sounds very similar to yours. Let's just say that it was a very unpleasant experience, not only for me, but for everyone around me. I was a complete b*tch! After not quite a month on it, I went back to my doctor and she asked if I was angry. I almost screamed "YES!!". She took me off Depakote that same day and I was back to my somewhat, some kind, of normal self.
Hope this helps!
> Hi, I've recently been diagnosed as being Bi-Polar II and I'm currently taking 75mg of Effexor XR every day, up to 2.5mg of Klonopin a day, and have just recently started on Depakote 150mg before bedtime.
>
> Since I started the Depakote, I've been feeling really psychotic. I noticed it my first night when I took the drug that I kind of "blacked out" while watching TV on the couch downstairs and woke up like 12 hours later in bed. The only person that could have moved me from the couch to my bed was myself, and the last clear thought I had was watching a TV program on the couch. I also had some really messed up dreams that night.
>
> The following morning was really tough. I felt HEAVILY sedated for maybe the first 5 hours of the day, like barely able to do anything, then once that wore off my moods started jumping all over the place. I would go from being happy, to anxious, to sad, to extremely po'd, back to happy, etc.
>
> I've been taking this drug now for the past 4 nights at bedtime and every night is pretty much the same. I don't remember falling asleep, I have terrible dreams, I have to get up and get water and use the toilet excessively during the night, the mornings are VERY hard, and my moods start jumping all over the place immediately after the sedation wears off.
>
> Now, last night is what really scared me. Same process, don't remember falling asleep, woke up to my brother having very loud sex in the room beside mine, this made me very po'd, I went and knocked on his door and he slowed down for maybe 5 minutes. Then it was back into it again, really loud... this made me REALLY angry, so angry that I basically punched a hole directly through his door. This scared him for a little bit, then about 30 minutes later (I was seriously raging by this point and was trying not to have a panic attack) he gets back into it. I went downstairs screaming and cursing the whole way, grabbed a snow shovel, and went back upstairs to basically kill him. Luckily all this commotion woke my father up and he wrestled me to the ground from behind and got the shovel out of my hand then made my brother leave for the night.
>
> Now, from being Bi-Polar (from my diagnosis) I have mood swings but they're usually very slow to cycle. I've had severe depression in the past for about 5 years till I got it treated and it went away in like 2 years after that. Then I started to develop Hypomania, which eventually turned into a severe Manic Episode because I didn't treat it, but then with the Effexor XR and Klonopin everything seemed to settle down. I still wasn't 100% but I wasn't as crazy as I am now. I've also always had a problem with my temper, but i don't remember ever losing it as bad as I did last night. I remember doing what I did last night, and I remember it being perfectly rational to me at the time that in order to get back to sleep and to teach him a lesson, I was going to have to bash my brother's head open with a shovel. That's not like me whatsoever, I'm not a violent person, and like the rest of my family at the moment, I'm pretty scared of myself.
>
> Anybody have any idea as to how this could have happened? I'm waiting to hear from my Doctor tommorrow.
poster:Josiejo
thread:124418
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021019/msgs/124638.html