Posted by HappyGirl on January 2, 2006, at 1:01:59
In reply to somebody tell me if the depakote is working?, posted by becksA on January 1, 2006, at 8:52:49
HI:
Upon having dx'ed with Bipolar in 1998, then milder form, I was rx'ed the Depakote, 750 mg., 250 mg. tid and even around 5 tabs of 250 mg., 1250 mg. Some of Bper's taking even more high dosage, by reading and hearing. At that time, the Depakote was a kind one of 'best' meds. for Bipolar, not only a mood-stabilizer to get 'highs' and 'lows' alleviated but also, as you quote, ... good for 'Anxiety' related problem. Because, Bp and Anxiety goes hand-in-hand, among many bper's.However, ... in my 'vivid' recollection now, the Depakote made me 'nightmarish' dreams, ... made me screamed in the middle of night, not only once but even more than twice some nights. However, in my 'fond' memory, the Depakote CERTAINLY alleviated the Bp symptoms in the beginning of my tx, then I had a sort of milder form, like the one you described in your post.
As time flyed by with the Depakote, about two years' taking, however my symptoms went downhill climb, ... simply getting aggravated to the point I started 'cycling' more often. For this, I asked an additional med., but my pdoc.(former) did NOT rx, saying that my Bp was 'hard-to-treatment.' In other word, for her 'out-of-hand.' Afterwards, I had no choice but seeked a more authority pdoc. That change/move gave me 'positive' effect to getting better. The pdoc.(current) rx'ed more 'potent' med., to calm down my 'rapid cycling.' Since around late 2002 to early 2003, my Bp symptoms has been stabilized fairly well, except I still has one occassionaly when the stress level getting high.
In my opinion through my 'personal' experience on the Depakote, ... it is a wonderful med. for a person with milder Bp along with Anxiety, however the Depakote is NOT a long-term med., unless you get a potential relief, such as 'feeling NO depressive, nor manic episodes.'
Probably, you could keep taking the Depakote 'if' you'd feel a beneficial effect, at least, partial effect at which you are able to do the things you'd like to, but otherwise, you may need other form of mood-stabilizer which helps you feel 'normalcy.'
H.G.
poster:HappyGirl
thread:593918
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051231/msgs/594264.html