Posted by SLS on January 22, 2012, at 5:13:52
In reply to The valproates, posted by never2late on January 21, 2012, at 23:36:58
1. Perhaps you are underdosed on the Effexor. 150 mg is low, and usually insufficient for more severe depressions. I would look into this first.
2. Low-dosage (300-600 mg) lithium can stabilize one's depressive mood even if they are unipolar.
3. Valproate might help if your illness falls somewhere along the bipolar spectrum - "soft bipolar". Valproate can leave someone feeling somewhat more depressed, though. It is hard to know in advance who will be affected this way. Weight-gain and hair-loss are possible side effects that affect a minority of people. You must perform blood tests before beginning valproate and then several times up to 6 months to check for liver abnormalities.
If your doctor feels that strongly about it, perhaps you should give valproate a try. You can stop it at any time if you don't like what's happening. I can give no guarantees that increasing the Effexor up to 300 mg will help, but it seems like the logical thing to do. The post-dose tiredness might dissipated after awhile. 300 mg of lithium is low and unlikely to produce any toxic effects (thyroid, kidneys), even when used long-term.
- Scott
Some see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1008030
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120120/msgs/1008048.html