Rapid Cycling...and not on a bicycle.

[thunter34]

So....after an on and off again relationship with Wellbutrin, the time has come to get started with something else.  I've just started Depakote as of yesterday.  I had a pow wow with the psyche doc down at Grady IDP and told him how things had gotten for me in the last year, and that's what he decided I should try.  Anyone else have experience with this drug?

I'm curious about some of the potential interactions and side effects.  Specifically, the ketoconazole shampoo I use (which is listed as an interaction) and - gasp! - klonopin.  I'm also not too keen on the notion of weight gain.  I already have a problem with binge eating...the last thing I need is something that will promote weight gain.  If that turns out to be the case, I will just have to try something else. 

I'm glad to get started on something, though.  My up and down manic depression cycles had started getting way out of hand - and rapid.  I could go up and down in a matter of moments, and burst into a boo hoo over a tampon commercial.

Oy.

[zach]

tim, i see some humor in finally meeting you, at a shrinks office. i have been on a depakote seroquel combo before, which is what i am trying to get on again. my results were fantastic. honestly my memories of that time period in my life are just brighter.

yes i had some weight gain, and cravings for french fries all the time, but it looked good on me. my advice, for the little its worth, is give it a try.

on a personal note, i'll drive up there tomorrow if you'll walk up every step of amicalola with me. if not, i do want you to know something. you were the first person to reach out to me. many of the things you have said over the last year and half have helped hold me together and shown me i'm not alone, and that my struggles are shared and understood by people who have walked this trail before me. your thread about reclusiveness led directly to me twisting myself up enough to get to the ponce center. i wrote you a long emotional email about it, but i think you were held up somewhere for a minute   i want to say thanks for that.

[thunter34]

tim, i see some humor in finally meeting you, at a shrinks office. i have been on a depakote seroquel combo before, which is what i am trying to get on again. my results were fantastic. honestly my memories of that time period in my life are just brighter.

yes i had some weight gain, and cravings for french fries all the time, but it looked good on me. my advice, for the little its worth, is give it a try.

on a personal note, i'll drive up there tomorrow if you'll walk up every step of amicalola with me. if not, i do want you to know something. you were the first person to reach out to me. many of the things you have said over the last year and half have helped hold me together and shown me i'm not alone, and that my struggles are shared and understood by people who have walked this trail before me. your thread about reclusiveness led directly to me twisting myself up enough to get to the ponce center. i wrote you a long emotional email about it, but i think you were held up somewhere for a minute   i want to say thanks for that.

Aw, Zach....what wonderful things to say!  I'm all smiley and weepy at the same time - but in a good, normal way for once.    

Sorry I'm a bit late on the draw with a reply here.  The sedative effect of the Depakote pretty much zonked me out for the remainder of yesterday.  I would be totally game for the hike up the falls.  If it's too late to get that going today then ASAP.

[Buckmark]

Tim,

I'm so sorry to hear your are continuing your struggle with mental health issues, and rapid cycling.  I have no direct experience with Depakote myself, so I have nothing to offer there.  But I do have support to offer you.  And I'm glad you are reaching out and trying to take some actions.  If you're anything like me, I don't usually reach out and post here until after I realize how serious a problem my mental health is becoming for me.

I'm not a psychiatrist.  But if I recall correctly (and I'm sure you'll correct me), I thought your depression was diagnosed as bi-polar.  If so, I wouldn't think that Wellbutrin alone would be the medication of choice.  The use of a "mood stabilizer" (like Depakote or Lamictal) would seem to make sense.  I guess what I am trying to say is that you may be on the right track.

Coincidentally, my 21 year-old nephew (who is bi-polar), just started taking Depakote about a week ago.  So far, he seems to be doing fine with it -- most of his compaints are with being a little foggy / groggy.  Prior to this, he went through a 3-month stretch of refusing to take medication, requiring 3 hospitalizations and narrowly escaping a charge of assault.   

Keep working on this.  Remember, you're not alone.

Hugs,

Henry

[thunter34]

Thanks, Henry!  I am hoping this is more on the right track.  So far, so good....though it's a little hard to say since I have largely been asleep for the last several days. 

Hard to notice any drastic mood swings when you're unconscious.

[thunter34]

So....

Still on the Depakote, but I think I'm getting tolerant to it or something.  It's still working, but um....less so than it was.  I am starting to get small and infrequent cycles again. 

*sigh*

I even had one in my sleep earlier.  That's happened to me once or twice before, but it's been a long time.  heh...

I guess this means looking to add onto or perhaps keep fishing for something new.  I'm thinking something supplemental.  The psych doc wanted me to try to back down to one pill a day instead of two, but since I've been cycling again I chickened out on cutting back.

What I really, really, really wish I could get (for one thing) would be some mild dose of stimulant to counter all this endless fatigue and sleepiness, but it doesn't seem to be all that forthcoming.  I don't think they even offer anything like that through GA's ADAP formulary.  It sucks not feeling the energy to get started on anything.  It just tends to feed the depression side of things.

So um...yeah.

[thunter34]

Went to see the psych doc yesterday and got a scrip for Wellbutrin once again.  They are putting me on it with the Depakote to hopefully keep me not only stabilize but lifted.  They are also hoping it will have a mild stimulant effect so that I can function.

Y'all cross your fingers that it will.  I'm tired of being tired all the time - though having fewer and less pronounced cycles is STILL worth it...even if I gain a few pounds.  That up and down crap is just no way to live.

[Buckmark]

Tim,

I'm glad you went back to your psych dr and are trying to add something to go along with the Depakote.  Wellbutrin might be a good choice, as it can have a stimulant effect, especially with a higher dose.  While Wellbutrin does have a warning about seizures, my psych dr said that if you've take it for a while and haven't had a seizure problem, the chances are pretty slim that you will have that problem.  He even pushed me up to 600mg per day at one point, and I didn't have any seizures, but it did make me feel like I was a bit manic.

Bonus:  Wellbutrin is available as generic bupropion and is usually dirt cheap.

Don't give up!  It takes a while to find the right meds. 

Hugs,

Henry

[thunter34]

Tim,

I'm glad you went back to your psych dr and are trying to add something to go along with the Depakote.  Wellbutrin might be a good choice, as it can have a stimulant effect, especially with a higher dose.  While Wellbutrin does have a warning about seizures, my psych dr said that if you've take it for a while and haven't had a seizure problem, the chances are pretty slim that you will have that problem.  He even pushed me up to 600mg per day at one point, and I didn't have any seizures, but it did make me feel like I was a bit manic.

Bonus:  Wellbutrin is available as generic bupropion and is usually dirt cheap.

Don't give up!  It takes a while to find the right meds. 

Hugs,

Henry

Henrietta,

So far, the addition of Wellbutrin is working rather well.  I am currently taking 100mg daily, but think I want to boost up to at least 150mg.  The only caution on that is that I have had a few tremors - not seizures or all over shakes, but trembling hands for a bit.  It seems to be subsiding, though, so maybe I am getting adjusted to it.  I hope so because it is giving me the energy lift that I've needed - not completely so, but a heck of a lot better than it was.  I think the 150 would do the trick.

It's all about the combo with the Depakote, though...cuz when I just did the Wellbutrin alone I tended to be just a weeeeeeeee lil' bit on the manic side.