Posted by lepus on February 5, 2004, at 20:16:59
In reply to Re: Hand Tremors ?? » lepus, posted by lauram on February 5, 2004, at 19:07:21
> I started Depakote 1250 mg ER six months ago after a three month manic phase. I noticed after one week a resolution of my mania. It was such a relief to me. It has made the side effects tolerable after being so manic.
>
> My side effects have been a lot of hair loss. My hair is quite thick so I've been able to tolerate that. My hand tremors at first were pretty bad, also when I held a cup or a fork. In my job I have to do a lot of charting and noticed my hand writing getting quite sloppy. I gained a bit of weight but not enough to be of concern. Like you these side effects are decreasing the longer I am on this med.
>
> With all of that said I still think it was a life saver for me as it had a fairly rapid onset of action. However, my Pdoc would like to switch me to Lamictal for it's AD effect as I am still prone to depression. He is slowly titrating the Lamictal up to 150 mg and then will slowly decrease the Depakote. I'll let you know how this goes. Hope you are doing well.I also have thick hair and yet am noticing the hair loss. My bathroom sometimes looks like Bigfoot has been showering in there! Have you tried taking Selenium and Zinc along with using a shampoo that contains Selenium to try to combat this side-effect? I have been using the shampoo (Selsun Blue) and my multi-vit has Selenium and Zinc so I hope that combination has been combating the hair loss some.
Sounds like your pdoc is on the right track with trying Lamictal if you are still having some depression. I am on Lexapro for the depression but it is still too early to tell if it is really helping. Are you taking any other meds or just the Depakote?
Hope you are doing well also.
poster:lepus
thread:309080
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040204/msgs/309964.html