Posted by Ritch on April 1, 2002, at 9:55:26
In reply to Zombified on DEPAKOTE- anyone else? (new to group), posted by BlueJay Bird on March 31, 2002, at 22:00:13
> i just started taking depakote 500 mg/night and became a zombie after the very first night (my pdoc told me to take it at bedtime, which that night was supposed to be 11pm, so that's when I took the pill).
>
> i heard that depakote is supposed to be quite sedating so i expected to feel woozy and drowsy quite quickly - nope - it took about an hour before i felt even remotely sleepy
>
> when i awoke the next morning, i was zonked out so badly i remained in bed most of the day (till very late in the afternoon) even when I finally did get up i felt out of it, hazy, druggy, groggy
>
> has anyone else experienced this on depakote?
>
> will this wear off?
>
> just how sedating is depakote supposed to be?
My guess is that you are taking this for BPII? You need to tell your doctor about it. It's not good to sleep all the time like that (hypersomnia), it will mess up your sleep/wake cycles and possibly aggravate depression, etc. Perhaps he can lower your dose to 250mg and see how that goes. I can't handle more than 250mg/day because of the same reason. Depakote induces metabolic slowing more than the other mood stabilizers do usually manifesting as sleepiness and weight gain. Your doc might be able to lower the Depakote and add-on another mood stabilizer that isn't quite as sedative, even lithium (I have found) not to be nearly as sedative as Depakote. I would get foggy-headed, but I wouldn't be sleeping all the time. Some people have had low-dose thyroid hormone (T4 or T3+T4) added to the Depakote with some success in reducing the lethargy.good luck,
Mitch
poster:Ritch
thread:101190
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020327/msgs/101276.html