Posted by CrazyGuy on March 26, 2004, at 17:03:09
In reply to depakote questions, posted by Ayla on March 26, 2004, at 1:31:51
The following is my experience with Depakote, but (as you noted) everybody's different: The 2 times I've been put on Depakote, it was started in the hospital when I was manic/psychotic (first time) or mixed state/psychotic (second time). That first time, I was given Depakote alone and the second time, Depakote plus Zyprexa. I forget the initial dose, but I do believe it was 500 mg/day. The Depakote *REALLY* helped to bring me down (especially the 2nd time when it was paired with Zyprexa though the circumstances with the hospital experiences (first time, involuntary and second time, voluntary) may also have been a factor). Anyway, the Depakote worked REALLY well in the short-term, but I've found I can't take it over the long-term -- it makes me depressed, even when antidepressants are added on and depression has always been my chief complaint and I've only had manic/mixed/psychotic episodes when I've been on the *wrong* meds or med combos. That being said, I have retained a small personal stash of Depakote in case I find myself getting manic/psychotic and am afraid I'll lose it before I can see/get meds from my pdoc. I hope Depakote works for you. If it doesn't, you may want to consider (with your pdoc) Trileptal -- it seems to be working OK for me.... Good luck!
poster:CrazyGuy
thread:328596
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040324/msgs/328814.html