Out of control II
 

I am so tired. I have slept most of the day. I think I am going to go back to bed. I don't feel well
bobby

I am sorry you don't feel well.
((((HUGS))))
bizi

Bobby,

I hope that you have a good day Saturday.




M

Thank you. I don't know if it is the depakote or reduction in klonopin that is making me feel so awful. She said the depakote should help with the reduction. I have been having such vivid dreams that they are interfering with a peaceful sleep. I am so tired. I am going to bed early but as usual waking up like at two or three. eventually I got back to bed.I played a josh groban album. I feel so isolated but just want to stay in my bed. It is even hard to get the mail which I had trouble with for years but finally over came it. My leg was finally feeling better but last night when I woke up it was so painful and had trouble walking but it went away with aleve. I don't think I like depakote. It also usually causes weight gain ugh

How long have you been on Depakote?
You may want to write down all the problems you are having with it so that you don't forget anything when you see your pdoc.
You sound depressed to me, so maybe it's not worth the side effects (((HUGS)))

I'm glad that the Aleve is helping with the pain in your leg :)

I think i have been on it for six weeks. She started me on a low dose. It is inferring with my antidepressant.

What dose are you on and I wonder what dose she wants you to taper up to? What is a maintenance dose?
bizi

i started at 125 for a week and then 125 in morning and night and then 125 in morning and 250 at night. maintenance will be 125 and 375. actually maintenance might be higher. were you ever on it?

I was on it along long time ago.
can't remember any thing about it really.
sorry
bizi

i just read that depakote treats the manic phase of bipolar-it didn't mention anxiety or depression. I DON'T HAVE A MANIC PHASE-just anxiety and depression. it is making me feel worse and more tired. I am just making peppermint tea to help my stomach.

Bobby

The morning and evening dosage should as far as
I know be say 250 and 250. Like Dan takes 500 and 500
it does work on depression also. I honestly dont know about it working on anxiety. Ignore my typing, now what are you taking that you call your antidepressant, because this is too.

Donna:grouphug::hug:

I take aplenzin(sp) for my antidepressant which was working great til i started taking depakote. It is making me so tired!

Most mood stabilizers can work for both depression and mania, but I guess some of them are better for BPI or II. I thought that Depakote was prescribed more for patents with BPI, but I'm not a pdoc, so what do I know?
Some meds do have added benefits like reducing anxiety. I take Seroquel, which is one of them. Maybe Depakote helps some people with anxiety, too. It seems that you are NOT be one of them tho. Drugs effect people differently.

I know that you see your pdoc soon, but could you call her to tell her how terrible you are feeling? This just may not be the med for you :hug:

I hope you feel better Bobby (((HUGS)))

Did the peppermint tea help?

the peppermint helped.today after I told my antidepressant I was fine. I read on the internet that some people gained a huge amount of weight and had sugar cravings and an increased appetite. I now am afraid to get on the scale.
as i mentioned one article said it works on the manic phase which I don't have except for spending on ebay and buying books.

When it says the "manic phase" of Bipolar Disorder, it means around-the-clock full-blown mania.

The prescribing information on the internet says what it's FDA approved for, but psychiatrists will use a med off-label for a different condition that they have collectively found will respond to it. So, it's hard to find information about dosing and indications for other uses unless you read psych articles or other similar publications, which are hard to find, and hard for me to read. And they use SOOOO many meds off label for psych.

Unfortunately, Depakote is one of those meds that can cause heavy weight gain (((HUGS)))

I am going to ask my psychiatrist about that. I have never had a manic phase.

I just got on the scale and haven't gained any weight in over a month. I lost weight when I had no appetite and hardly ate and then when I started eating I gained four pounds. I guess I will check my weight every day because so many people gain a lot of weight from depakote

When I said pdocs use things off-label, I meant they routinely use Depakote and other meds for both depression and hypo/mania even if they are not FDA approved specifically for one or the other. But it is common practice, and has been done for a long time among the profession. It’s not a new or unsafe practice. They do it all the time. Half of my meds are prescribed off-label.

You do not have to be in a manic episode to take Depakote, but I know you have been having other issues since you started taking it tho. You should talk to your pdoc about those things :hug:

I already told her about my anxiety which has gotten better now. I don't know if it is because of the peppermint and chamomille tea. I told her that I am always tired and more so than before. I feel relieved about my weight but will ask her about it.

Keep the lines of communication open. That's all you can do :hug::hug::hug:

I think it's wonderful that the tea is helping!!! :)

yesterday I stayed in bed all day and thought a lot about God. I feel out of control and don't know what is happening to me. I am also bloated. Last night Abby and I were butting heads. It was so sweet. Cecilia just called me and said she was very depressed. We are going out to eat on Wednesday. I am so afraid weight gain from depakote

That is sweet!

Hope you have a nice meal out with your friend.
((((HUGS))))
bizi

I am going to ask the doctor to go off depkakote. I am so tired all the time. I am now depressed so much of the time. It is interfering with my antidepressant. I am eating more. My stomach is bothering me more. This is no life

I am sorry....
bizi

I'm so sorry you feel so f'ing lousy, Bobby (((HUGS)))

I should probably keep my mouth shut, but I'm not going to...
I think you should tell your pdoc you want to stop taking the Depakote. You are clearly doing WORSE since you started taking it. 6 weeks is a long enough trial. I think it's time to try something different (((HUGS)))

I hope you have a nice time with Cecilia today,
And I hope you feel better :hug::hug::hug:

she upped the dosage. took it once and and my stomach felt so lousy. I won't raise it again.I will tell her I can't take it

Do you mean that you just told her how shitty you feel and she raised the dose?

I'm so sorry you feel terrible, Bobby (((HUGS)))

Did you go out with Cecilia? Did you have a nice time?

she raised the dose last time I saw her. I had a nice time with cecilia

I am sorry it is not woriking out for you. please tell her if you have not already.
((((HUGS))))
bizi

I was really stupid. I should have called the beginning of last week to try to get an earlier appointment. I have been feeling so rotten. My appointment is on wednesday . last night I tried to go to bed at 7:30. My stomach is really bothering me. I gained about six pounds. I am exhausted all day.

Of course it would have been better to get an earlier appointment, but you didn't know that you would continue to feel so shitty :hug::hug::hug:

It is still rather early in the day. Could you CALL her and ask her over the phone if you can discontinue the Depakote because you are feeling so rotten? You still have to get through the weekend, and then wait for 3 days otherwise.

I know you had issues with your stomach before the Depakote. Do you think it's making it worse?
How does your stomach feel? Is it a cramping feeling? Sharp pain? Maybe we can make suggestions that will help if we have a better idea of what's going on.
How is your appetite?

I hope you start feeling better. You sound miserable (((HUGS)))

her office is closed on friday. It is more like indigestion. I looked up how to get off of Depakote and it said to taper. I didn't raise the dosage since I was feeling so rotten. I am about on the initial dosage and it might not be hard to get off of it since I haven't been on it that long I don't know why I need a mood stabilizer since the antidepressant and the klonopin were working. I don't know if I ever had a manic phase and that it what it is prescribed for. right now i am depressed.i forgot that i had stomach issues before. this is really uncomfortable. i had stomach problems when i was under a lot of stress and Pudgey was sick and I was switching psychiatrists. I totally lot my appetite and lost 18 pounds.

I am going to ask her if I can take topamax as a mood stabilizer. I have to tell her for health reasons F@#k it she should know I an't afford to gain more weight.I can't take medications that cause weight gain. I can't take lamictal because it bothered my gums. She doesn't strike me as adaptable. She should know that I can't afford to gain weight. I desperately need to lose it. I gained so much weight on the medications. At 35 I was 128 to 130 pounds. I blew up on lithium that didn't work. All the other mood stabilizers
cause weight gain.

I think you are right in that it will not be hard (or take too long) to get off the Depakote.

You probably have never had a full-blown manic episode since you are BP type II. You probably have had plenty of hypomanic episodes that aren't as severe tho. It is very common for people who are type II to take mood stabilizers even tho their main symptom is depression. I can't tell you whether or not a mood stabilizer is right for you or not. That is something you have to discuss with your pdoc the next time you see her. I would ask her that question directly.

I have stomach problems that are being treated somewhat better now, but I know how lousy it feels to deal with that kind of discomfort all the time, and to have anxiety aggravate it. I'm sorry that you are having to go though it (((HUGS)))

Have you tried taking Zantac yet? It's an older med, but it works really well, and may help you.

But I think you should consider seeing your PCP about your stomach problems since this has been going on for so long. If you have acid reflux, it could do damage over time if untreated...
And 18 pounds is A LOT of weight to lose without trying, too :hug::hug::hug:

Are there any particular kinds of foods, textures of foods, etc that are appealing to you at all? When I have no appetite, I will eat small amounts of random things that I like just to eat something. Since I got out of the hospital, I've been trying to eat applesauce when I've needed to make myself eat something. It goes down easy, and has been working out well.

I thought that you had cognitive problems on Topamax, Bobby?

Geodon is the only mood stabilizer I can think of at the moment that doesn't cause weight gain, but I think that there are new ones out there that don't.

I was under 120lbs (I'm 5'8") when I started taking Seroquel and gained 50lbs!!! At my heaviest, I was 168lbs before I went on the South Beach Diet and went down into the 130's. I've been between 135-155lbs since then.
I am not overweight, but my pdoc doesn't want to prescribe me meds that cause weight gain. I don't know if it's just because I'm already on Seroquel, or what, but she just doesn't want to do it even tho my options are already so limited...

I would *think* that all of the pdocs you see would be very careful about not prescribing you meds that could cause rapid weight gain. But since that's not the case, you have to advocate for yourself. Before accepting another prescription, make sure you ask your pdoc if one of the side effects is rapid weight gain and/or tell her you won't take any meds with that side effect. They all know which meds have that side effect.

I just ordered zantac. II ordered ginger tea yesterday. I have tried phillips antacid and gaviscon and rolaids and gasx. I looked up geodon but it looked iffy about mood stabilizer. I think i was okay with topamax at 200 but maybe it was 150. I have to look at my bottle. I really want real ice cream but that is fattening.
I have been having celanto (sp) eggplant parmigano(sp). I like applesauce. so you know what it is like to gain so much weight. I couldn't maintain the south beach diet. I have been so constipated and usually take a laxative. My stomach cleared up before depakote and when the stress in my life decreased dramatically. I am afraid if I make an appt with my gp he will make go for tests. I don't like tests. I have also been drinking peppermint tea and chamomille tea.

There are several things over the counter to try.
zantac
nexium
pepcid, and the generics of each.
I am sorry for the weight gain.

Don't your periods of hypomania compulsion include massive buying of things?
bizi who is gaining weight every day.
sigh
bizi

I have been buying tops and books

weren't you buying shoes and pants for a while back last year? and then giving them away?

bizi

I was buying shoes and if they didn't fit was giving them away. I did give away some pants also.Yes I was buying a lot of pants.This time I have bought some black
leggings and two didn't fit so gave them to Cecilia. I still get things for Marci my aide.
I have good news. I didn't have stomach problems and woke up without them.I really cut down the dosage of depakote to one pill at 125. Last week I was so tired I wanted one to go to bed at 5. Last night I finally fell asleep at 1:30. I was obsessing about my psychiatrist and what she will say and what she will give me. she doesn't like klonopin either so I don't know what she will do. I found two psychiatrists on the net who I think take medicare. One of them got great reviews. The current one had one review saying she was a monster. I still have been buying books and listening a lot to Josh Groban