Question:
I have been recently diagnosed with bipolar, and been prescribed
divalproex sodium (generic name), or Depakote (USA brand name)/Epilval
(in Canada). I've read on it on the Internet and was shocked to find
such severe side effects as hair loss, impotency, weight gain,
diarrhea, heartburn, chest pain, fever, somnolence, etc etc etc. I was
wondering if there is anyone here who is taking/have taken it? Are the
side effects as bad as they seem? Did the drug help you at all? If so,
in what ways?
My pdoc started me off with only 250mg/day, but he said he'll increase
it in the future.
Answer:
same situation here. My doc just prescribed this for me as well, but
said he is starting me out at a low dose of 250mg, 2 in the am, 2 in the pm,
which is a total of 1000mg so you are on an extremely low dose. I've heard
some people are taking 1500-2000mg/day. I did some reading on the net, too and saw those side effects, but all meds
have side effects. As far as the hair loss, I've been having that problem
since I was in my early 20's so hopefully it doesn't get worse. I've only
been on the generic Depakote for about a month. My main side effect is the
diarrhea, but everyone has different side effects. I find at first it
helped, like the first couple of weeks I was a bit more mellowed out. Now I
feel as if the dose needs to be increased because I still have episodes of
being explosive. I'm really surprised that your doc only started you off with 250mg though.
What made him diagnose you as being bipolar and are you taking an
anti-depressant along with it? I'm also on Lexapro. I met all the criteria for bipolar, apparently. I didn't want to be
diagnosed with it, but my pdoc said "everything you've said about yourself
so far describes a perfect bipolar I." Alrighty then. I suppose he only
started me off with 250mg because I'm only 20. Also, my mania is not *as*
intense as most people's. I generally get elated and behave preposterously,
or get angry and violent/destructive. I also have problems with sleep.
Yeah, I take Wellbutrin and Seroquel for extreme anxiety. I told him I had
hallucinations, but he just said "Epival's going to take care of that." Same here I.S. with my mania not being that intense. It's more of what you
described, the angriness, moodiness, constant ups and downs. I didn't
realize you also took Wellbutrin. Sometimes that causes a lot of anxiety in
people. In my case, I took it for about 3 days and immediately stopped
taking it. I went into extreme rages and had to retreat to my room. I'll
never touch it again. I think Seroquel is an anti-psychotic med (and many people in here take it
with great results). If you are having hallucinations then I can see why
he's going with the Seroquel/Depakote combo. You might want to check out the
panic/anxiety internet too because many folks in there will explain to you
about their experiences with Wellbutrin and anxiety, it's not pretty.
Wellbutrin used to make me manic for a while, and then it stopped. I
suppose I got adjusted to it, or something. Now it mostly gives me energy
when I'm in lows. Seroquel is a wonderful drug, I agree. Depakote, like all psychotropic medications, can cause a wide variety
of side effects, and its effects (both beneficial and undesirable) can
vary tremendously from person to person. That is the unfortunate
reality of all these medications.
