![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Janelle on May 30, 2003, at 19:57:06
I've been having bad mood swings (BiPolar2) for some time now and my pdoc's constant tweaking of my meds does NOT seem to be working. I am seeing him early next week and will tell him everything I've gone through since last visit, then shut up and see first what HE suggests.
However, MY idea is as follows: well, first of all being back on Buspar 30mg/day has made a huge difference, but I think I should ramp up the Depakote (which is being used with a low dose of lithium) from 250 to 500 mg and deal with the side effects and be more patient about them possibly going away. (Pdoc originally had me on 500 but lowered it due to my complaints).
As any of you who've read my other threads know, I also plan to taper off Klonopin at the same time I increase Depakote (my pdoc is into doing only ONE thing at a time to be able to accurately assess/trace back any reaction, but in this case, I KNOW Klonopin is doing NOTHING so I can taper it with no big deal).
Anything else I might do besides ramp up the Depakote from 250 to 500mg/day? I'm at 450mg/day of Lithium (could only tolerate 600mg/day!!) and I know pdoc will NOT want me to increase both at the same time, nor would I!
I hope and pray a Depakote increase will get rid of the hypomanic anger, impatience, going off on everyone, being restless, etc., then crashing into zombie depression.
Posted by Ritch on May 31, 2003, at 10:37:39
In reply to Do you think this MIGHT work ??, posted by Janelle on May 30, 2003, at 19:57:06
> I've been having bad mood swings (BiPolar2) for some time now and my pdoc's constant tweaking of my meds does NOT seem to be working. I am seeing him early next week and will tell him everything I've gone through since last visit, then shut up and see first what HE suggests.
>
> However, MY idea is as follows: well, first of all being back on Buspar 30mg/day has made a huge difference, but I think I should ramp up the Depakote (which is being used with a low dose of lithium) from 250 to 500 mg and deal with the side effects and be more patient about them possibly going away. (Pdoc originally had me on 500 but lowered it due to my complaints).
>
> As any of you who've read my other threads know, I also plan to taper off Klonopin at the same time I increase Depakote (my pdoc is into doing only ONE thing at a time to be able to accurately assess/trace back any reaction, but in this case, I KNOW Klonopin is doing NOTHING so I can taper it with no big deal).
>
> Anything else I might do besides ramp up the Depakote from 250 to 500mg/day? I'm at 450mg/day of Lithium (could only tolerate 600mg/day!!) and I know pdoc will NOT want me to increase both at the same time, nor would I!
>
> I hope and pray a Depakote increase will get rid of the hypomanic anger, impatience, going off on everyone, being restless, etc., then crashing into zombie depression.
Hi Janelle, I agree with your doc about NOT going off the clonazepam at the same time you increase your Depakote! I have spent the last two months between .5mg and 1.0mg, and the last week I've been sticking with just .5mg and can definitely feel the anxiety. It is like it wasn't doing anything for me either. Doesn't seem to be helping sleep like it used to. But, oh man, back off on the dose and you can feel *icky*. As far as the Depakote goes.. you might find that going to 375mg might be enough for you. I increase mine from 250mg to 375mg every so often when I get a little too racey and it seems to help. You have to use 125mg tabs though and that is a little bit of a hassle. I WISH they would make a 375mg ER tablet! My weight gain doesn't start to happen until 500mg.
Posted by Janelle on June 1, 2003, at 19:01:37
In reply to Re: Do you think this MIGHT work ?? » Janelle, posted by Ritch on May 31, 2003, at 10:37:39
I AM planning to both INCREASE the Depakote (though maybe to 375 like you suggested - is there a 125 ER Tablet?) and TAPER OFF the Klonopin only because I KNOW that the Klonopin is doing NOTHING for me and I had a successful gradual taper about a year ago before a witch of a new pdoc put me right back on it during a time when I was too weak to fight her.
Posted by Ritch on June 2, 2003, at 10:21:12
In reply to Woops! I think you misunderstood !! » Ritch, posted by Janelle on June 1, 2003, at 19:01:37
> I AM planning to both INCREASE the Depakote (though maybe to 375 like you suggested - is there a 125 ER Tablet?) and TAPER OFF the Klonopin only because I KNOW that the Klonopin is doing NOTHING for me and I had a successful gradual taper about a year ago before a witch of a new pdoc put me right back on it during a time when I was too weak to fight her.
Oh, I understood that you were going to do both at the same time. I didn't realize however that you had an easy time of it the last time you discontinued Klonopin. I just thought it might be easier on you if you waited until you had been on the higher Depakote dosage for one-two weeks before you started the Klonopin taper. Yes, they make 125mg Depakote tablets. They are convenient for smaller dose changes. Let us know how the cross-taper goes.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.