[Scott in Fenton]

so, it's almost been 4 months into PCS for me. I've been on Depakote for about the last three, but my work comp Neuro has decided to stop the Depakote and switch to Topamax b/c I wasn't getting very far. Depakote had made me feel some better, but it only controlled some headaches, not all, and my biggest problem has been the light sensitivity and sound sensitivity, niether of which has really changed since the beginning.

I stopped taking Depakote two days ago; the Neuro wants me to call him at the end of next week to start the Topomax, so I will be without any medication for several days in between. I'm wondering what I'll feel like; will I go back to the beginning, reliving the symptoms that Depakote had been masking? I am not expecting an answer of course, no one knows. I do feel that, since nothing that the Depakote wasn't helping with has improved all this time, the headaches that the Depakote was helping with will come back. And since Topamax takes a few weeks or so to build up the dose, I will be miserable as when this all started for a few weeks. Ugh.

A month ago, the Neuro upped my Depakote from 500 to 1000 mg daily; immediately after that my blood pressure jumped badly. I told him it was the Depakote but he argued. He agreed to go back down on it anyway, and lo and behold my blood pressure went back down. Now I'm going off of it entirely. Anybody have experience with Depakote, and in particular blood pressure issues related to Depakote? What about Diabetes Insipidus? My PCP has suggested being tested for it.

[Mark in Idaho]

Depakote has not been researched at all for use with PCS. It is labeled as a migraine prevention med along with seizures and bi-polar mania. It is a very strong ( drastic in my opinion ) drug.

Topamax is labeled for seizures and migraine prevention.

Scott, I'd be more worried about the knowledge of your doctor if he wanted to argue with you. A failure to listen to the patient is a deal killer for me. Is he your PCP, a neuro, or a pain or head ache specialist? Oops, I see he is a WC neuro. Sounds like the WC neuro I was examined by. He was worthless and struggled to keep his practice going so he became a WC hired gun. They get paid for writing reports. I suggest you request a copy of his reports and get a copy of your medical records that he has. They are not necessarily the same.

[Jomar]

It might be good to get a feeling of your baseline without meds, as long as there are no withdrawals involved & no rebound effect.

Do you only see the work comp Neuro for your injury , or do you have your own neuro & a wc atty??
I suggest seeking out a good atty to help you thru the wc jungle.

I agree w/Mark that the wc docs are not on your side, very rarely will they be of help to the claimant.

We have a work comp forum here also, for more tips on how to get thru the system.