Shown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Ellen on January 30, 2000, at 5:35:22
I have been given depakote for manic depression. I am taking 1500mgs a day. I have been on this dose for about three weeks now. The nausea is often times unbearable. Does anyone have this side effect. Also when I take it in the a.m. by four o'clock I am really tired. My new doc is also weaning me off neurontin. I take klonopin with my depakote at night to help me sleep. Any response would be helpful. Ellen
Posted by Cam W. on January 30, 2000, at 10:45:38
In reply to side effects of Depakote, posted by Ellen on January 30, 2000, at 5:35:22
> I have been given depakote for manic depression. I am taking 1500mgs a day. I have been on this dose for about three weeks now. The nausea is often times unbearable. Does anyone have this side effect. Also when I take it in the a.m. by four o'clock I am really tired. My new doc is also weaning me off neurontin. I take klonopin with my depakote at night to help me sleep. Any response would be helpful. Ellen
Ellen - Instead of taking the Depakote at bedtime with food, or better yet take it with supper. The bulkier the food the better (eg crackers, muffin steak & potatoes, etc). This may help. The tiredness should abate with time. Also you could consider taking 500mg three times daily to see if that helps, but eating at that adjusted schedule may be a pain in the ... butt. Good luck - Cam W.
Posted by judy on January 30, 2000, at 11:24:45
In reply to Re: side effects of Depakote, posted by Cam W. on January 30, 2000, at 10:45:38
Dear Ellen,
I was vomiting at the dose of depakote you are taking. Have you had your blood levels done yet? At 1500mgs, mine were at 87, and my pdoc lowered the dose to 1000mgs where they remained at 58- I believe the therapeutic range is 50-100. Anyway I agree with Cam, take your meds tid with food. Did the neurontin not work? Too bad if that's the case, it has a much more benign profile than depakote. Good luck.
Posted by Janice on January 30, 2000, at 22:06:45
In reply to Re: side effects of Depakote, posted by judy on January 30, 2000, at 11:24:45
try gingerroot.
This works for my nausea! Make sure it is gingerroot and not just ginger.
Posted by Ellen Brodie on January 31, 2000, at 6:01:39
In reply to Re: side effects of Depakote, posted by judy on January 30, 2000, at 11:24:45
> I have had my blood levels checked. Every time the dose was increased. I am at 75. My doc feels that the nausea will go away. I don't think that the neurontin did anything for me. Neither does my doc. He is weaning me off neurontin and going to start another mood stabilizer on top of the depakote. I cycle very quickly and they feel that one is not going to do the job. They want to try lithium but that stuff scares me. I am hoping to convince him to let me try topomax first. Thanks for the response. Ellen
Posted by Dear Ellen on January 31, 2000, at 13:12:09
In reply to Re: side effects of Depakote, posted by Ellen Brodie on January 31, 2000, at 6:01:39
I have the same dx as you. Nothing worked for me- and I certainly understand your feelings about lithium (besides it really doesn't work well in rapid cyclers, although as an add-on there are some reports of success). I assume you are not on any AD's. Before topiramate, try lamictal if you haven't tried it yet. Also you said you're tapering off of neurontin- did you try a therapeutic dose along with the depakote? I hate depakote, I found it to have a depressing effect- although that is not true for all. Are you bipolar 1? Is that why he wants at least a 75 level? If you just get hypomanic episodes, some pdocs feel a level closer to 50 is acceptable and that will take care of the nausea probably. I know how incredibly frustrating this is- I got so frustrated, I gave up on meds. (see earlier controversial posts). I do NOT recommend this as a course of action for everyone, I am on a very rough road right now. The upside is I haven't been hospitalized since I gave up psychiatrists and medications- either for mani or depression. I hope this all works out for you. Take care.
Posted by judy on January 31, 2000, at 16:41:59
In reply to Re: side effects of Depakote, posted by Dear Ellen on January 31, 2000, at 13:12:09
Ellen,
I guess I'm having a rougher time than I thought- that last post (dear ellen) was by me.
Posted by sara on January 31, 2000, at 17:37:49
In reply to Re: side effects of Depakote, posted by judy on January 31, 2000, at 16:41:59
> Ellen,
> I guess I'm having a rougher time than I thought- that last post (dear ellen) was by me.Hi Ellen and others,
I have just moved up to 1000mg of Depakote in the last few weeks. Splitting the dosage is helpful as is the advice about taking with food. I imagine regularity in dosage and timing will also help. I felt EXTREMELY tired when I first started ramping up the dosage, but that isn't so bad now. Nor am I experiencing much nausea. Give it some time. I recall my experience with starting birth control pills. . .it just took a lot of patience and I feel the benefits of finally having a regular menstrual cycle with fewer cramps are worth it. You may consider talking with your doctor about decreasing the dosage to 1250 daily. Try to stick with it and see what happens in another 4 to 6 weeks. These meds are not supposed to be overnight wonders, although I oftentimes wish they were. My biggest problem is my use of alcohol in conjunction with taking these meds whether it was when I was just on Zoloft or now that I am on Depakote. So sometimes I won't take a dose and my whole "routine"--something I don't really have to begin with -- gets screwed up. Does anyone have any ideas?
This is the end of the thread.
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