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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 chiron on February 7, 2007, at 9:44:11
Started Depakote 5 days ago. I was suprised to notice that I felt 'pulled up' slightly from my miserable state the day after starting it. I have since done some online searching for other experiences & it looks like it is common with this drug to have a quick reaction.
But I can't find any experiences where there is later improvement. I am still depressed & am hoping that I will see more improvement (a lot would be nice). Has anyone found that Depakote kicked in weeks later?
Posted by naughtypuppy on February 7, 2007, at 12:04:24
In reply to DEPAKOTE - positive experiences + how long?, posted by chiron on February 7, 2007, at 9:44:11
> Started Depakote 5 days ago. I was suprised to notice that I felt 'pulled up' slightly from my miserable state the day after starting it. I have since done some online searching for other experiences & it looks like it is common with this drug to have a quick reaction.
>
> But I can't find any experiences where there is later improvement. I am still depressed & am hoping that I will see more improvement (a lot would be nice). Has anyone found that Depakote kicked in weeks later?Depakote really doesn't do much for the depressive side of things. It is sometimes mistakenly called a mood stabilizer, but it is more of an anxiety reducer. It is commonly used in bipolar situations to level out the periods of mania as well as unipolar anxiety. You probably need an antidepressant in conjunction with it to help the depressive part.
Posted by blueberry1 on February 7, 2007, at 19:30:41
In reply to DEPAKOTE - positive experiences + how long?, posted by chiron on February 7, 2007, at 9:44:11
I can't speak for depakote alone because when I tried it at 500mgER I was also on 5mg zyprexa and 25mg zoloft.
I had immediate antidepressant action in 24 hours. Best I had felt in a very long time. For the next month I commented in my notes "not depressed, just blah". But I've been blah with all meds. Being not depressed was more of a blessing than I had realized at the time now that I look back on it.
While weaning off depakote because I didn't think it was doing anything I ended up in the emergency room in a crying sobbing despair crash. Felt like a dopamine crash like the comedown after cocaine or amphetamines. They told me to go home and take my depakote. Not within 24 hours, but within 48 hours I was back to being undepressed and blah again.
I tried depakote by itself since then. First few hours I felt a soft warmth comfort mood lift. Again the second day. The third day I could feel my depression was getting a lot worse and it scared me away. Felt better after I stopped it. I think somehow depakote works in combination with antidepressant or antipsychotic but not by itself, for depression. Except, there was someone here a while back that was depression cured with 2500mg depakote.
Strange thing though. While it is supposed to be good for anxiety, I actually had my anxiety increase a notch while on it.
Posted by chiron on February 8, 2007, at 20:46:33
In reply to Re: DEPAKOTE - positive experiences + how long?, posted by blueberry1 on February 7, 2007, at 19:30:41
Thank you for your response. I am also on 50mg of zoloft (and wellbutrin & topamax).
Funny (well actually not), how even these mood stabilizers can de-stabilize and be so unpredictable. During my first 2 weeks on topamax I was in an agitated/creative state, then week 3 turned into a mellow/crying state. My pdoc said he had never heard of anyone becoming more agitated on topamax - only the opposite.
And then on Geodon - the first week I felt great - I cried tears of joy as I listened to Barry Manilow's "I Made It Through The Rain." Then came a major hellish crash.
I'm really getting sick of this game, I would say it's been about 20 years now. I've tried about everything. So I really hope Depakote to be good.
This is the end of the thread.
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