Posted by fluffy on March 25, 2004, at 11:05:55
In reply to Lam.//Trileptal » fluffy, posted by katia on March 24, 2004, at 13:46:57
Hi Katia--
I'm holding up ok on the Depakote 750mg for right now. I've been under a lot of stress lately (good kind) trying to get an art show underway and keep my (two) jobs going smoothly. I still cycle fairly predictably. Under stress, it gets more erratic...the highs get higher and the lows a bit lower. But all in all, I seem to be normal for at least 2/3 of a month. Funny how that is "successful" to me, when others don't quantify their moods.
I've recently met someone who is really special. We'll see where it goes. But for right now, he is wonderful, and pulls me out of my pathologizing... I was getting downright hard on myself about being bipolar. Thus far, he doesn't seem to mind my moodiness. He's suffered from depressions (some of them psychotic), so we're probably two crazy peas in a pod. But it helps that someone isn't treating me like their science project! (and I'm not that focused on my disorder that I forget I have good parts too).
I've had a lot of trouble sleeping without the benzo still, and I wonder what may come next for sleep. We may just keep titrating up on the Depakote until I can't take it anymore and see if it helps the sleep problems. As long as I take the Depakote and the benzo every night, I seem to have 4 normal days, 2 up, 4 normal days, 2 down. At least that's how it's been of late....moving targets, you know?
Now..to answer your questions RE: trileptal. What I actually had was sodium loss. It caused me to be very thirsty, tired, nauseous, dizzy, and it felt like the flu but worse. It probably didn't help my kidneys any either. But if you want to be extra cautious, just make sure you are not losing feeling (numbness) in your mouth area. That was the first sign for me. Your doctor may have asked you to get bloodwork done before starting. If he didn't, and you want to be cautious about the sodium problem, you could request a blood/sodium level. Trust me--you'd know if that was the problem though without a test. It's a pretty rare side effect.
When I got up to a decent level of Trileptal, though, it did seem to help my depression. I hope it helps you! Wellbutrin made me crazy, too! (what's all this about it being the least likely to trigger mania??) I guess we're all wired differently. I'm starting to not care about charts and research and studies anymore.
Take care Katia...keep in touch. Sorry for not doing the same. I'm glad you wrote. If you have any more questions, I'll follow this thread, ok?
Katy
poster:fluffy
thread:221828
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040325/msgs/328187.html