... way up as needed. I was so sleepy all day. Does anyone have experience to tell me about how long it takes to adjust to the sedation? BTW. Going up to 500mg tonight
I started taking Depakote last night. It is not the ER and I started at 250mg and going to work my?
Question posted by danielbonner on 18 Dec 2011
Last updated on 24 December 2011
Added 18 Dec 2011:
I took the 500mg last night and couldn't sleep but 7 hours. The last hour was having to force myself back to sleep a couple of times. The medicine has made me very manic this morning. I am so uncomfortable. I am also sooo sedated. I take adderall and it is just barely keeping me awake. I have bipolar, adhd and narcolepsy. I am on a high dose of 120mg of adderall a day and that really don't get me through the day as it should.
The adderall worked strong or normal at first. Then i started taking zyprexa, which believe it or not, DID NOT make me sedated at all. The problem with the zyprexa is that it started blocking the adderall (adderall lasted two hours, not four hours like it did, plus had to double my daily dosage in milligrams). I am all this because I am looking for support and advise and experience. I am at my wits end. I believe by taking so much adderall while it was being hindered has made my tolerance very high. The only way I know to reduce tolerance is by taking time off the adderall. However, since I have narcolepsy, without it I can't function - example: Stay awake long enough to keep my job, take care of simple home chores. I had worked my way down and finally stopped the zyprexa about a week before starting the depakote and I was doing better on nothing. Yes I am a wreck this morning! HELP! ~this to shall pass~
Also, and I'm sorry if I'm whining. I had diarrhea yesterday on 250mg and today on the 500mg, I still have diarrhea but now am very nauseated. My question is has anyone else had these side effects and if so how long did they last. As I listed on the last update, I'm feeling more manic too. I am trying to figure out if I should continue and if so how long should I deal with the side effects before calling it quits or at least calling my pdoc? Thank you everyone for your help.
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6 Answers
Inactive
20 Dec 2011
Ok, let me first say that this has been only my experience with Depakote and Depakote ER... your reactions may differ. I was on Depakote (the pink ones) 1000mg a day for no more than a month. The nausea and vomiting were horrible. I was then put on Depakote ER 2000mg per day for ten years. The vomiting went away but still got nauseaus a lot. I had that "funny" feeling too. The diahrea never went away. As a matter of fact, it took me over a year after quiting Depakote to start having normal bowel movements. Just a forewarning... NEVER drink alchohol within 12 hours of taking Depakote. The vomiting is horrible and, trust me, it will happen. All in all I feel as if I wasted ten years on a drug that wasn't truly helping. I think I felt worse with all the side effects than any plusses there may have been. Depakote has also been prescribed en-mass as a "shut the patient up" drug. This is just my observation. There are much better things out there.
slattery
20 Dec 2011
This is just a joke hotrock, but depakote being a "shut the patient up" drug??? Well I've taken the stuff for eight years, and they'd have a hard time shutting ME up... if that was the perception of depakote, the effort was lost on me!!! No, I do know what you're saying though. At the dosage(s) you were taking it at... up to 2000mgs... wow!!! No wonder you felt as you did... that's a pretty radical dosage for that drug! That's why I insist on being at the dosage I'm at - 500mgs, and I could go to 750mgs too, as long as an anti-psychotic wasn't thrown into the mix. With what I take now, I'm as sharp as a tack, no sedation, any side effects at all. So I guess the moral of the story is that it all depends on what your dosage is, plus what you are combining it with.
pinkgirl1983
24 Dec 2011
Hey hotrock77. I am sorry you had that experience with Depakote. I found out i was bipoler in May so almost 8 months ago. My Dr. started me on Seroquel XR 150mg it did not work for me at all put me to sleep! Then my Dr. put me on Depakote SOD 125MG I take 2 in the morning and 1 at bed time. Depakote has made a world of difference for me. I have never experienced diahrea or vomiting. I hope you can find something that will work out for you very soon. I know firsthand that it is horrible to live a live with biopolar and until you find the right kind of meds. that work well for you sometimes you just have to try a bunch of different kind before you find the right one. Best of Wishes
pinkgirl1983
24 Dec 2011
Hey hotrock77. I am sorry you had that experience with Depakote. I found out i was bipoler in May so almost 8 months ago. My Dr. started me on Seroquel XR 150mg it did not work for me at all put me to sleep! Then my Dr. put me on Depakote SOD 125MG I take 2 in the morning and 1 at bed time. Depakote has made a world of difference for me. I have never experienced diahrea or vomiting. I hope you can find something that will work out for you very soon. I know firsthand that it is horrible to live a live with biopolar and until you find the right kind of meds. that work well for you sometimes you just have to try a bunch of different kind before you find the right one. Best of Wishes
Inactive
19 Dec 2011
Daniel,
I thought I'd had every mental illness there was... I am wrong. Was never diagnosed with narcolepsy. First things first, I am allergic to all atypical anti-psychotics, i.e. Geodon, Zyprexa, Seroquel, Abilify... ALLERGIC..can't take 'em, and I was on the edge of having a psychotic break, was seeing all kinds of weird stuff, the scaariest of which was seeing peole walk up to my front door and not knock. Whatever was that all about? So, I'd get up and look... no one there. Good grief. There are other medications that can take the place of those particular medications. Apparently, the pharmaceutic companies have a lot of pull as far as what docs prescribe, greedy people, cuz they cost a fortune. I digress. Simply ask your doc if there is anything that you can take to substitute for the newer meds.
Second, there are also other meds besides adderall to adress your narcolepsy and any other condition you may require stimulants for, and I'm not talking about non-amphetamines.
Depakote is a marvelous medication, i personnally never had any trouble with it besides when the docs prescribed 1200 mg three times a day. I was a walking, no wobbling, no crawling zombie. As fast as I could make it to the doc, I got him to change the dosage, I already had. Good god, was he trying to kill me. One must get liver function tests every so often to check for liver damage or increased liver enzyme production, thus signifying something is going on with your liver. Daniel... u are not on enough to make a difference with your liver unless u r a flaming alcoholic... I think not!
Oh Lord, my short attention span hath removed all the rest of your questions from my asleep brain... only 2 18 ounce cups of coffee so far today. I'll get back to you in a few sweet. Don't wory, we all will figure this situation out or at least load u up with questions to ask your doc.
Peace and Ho Ho's,
Laura
danielbonner
20 Dec 2011
Thanks. I have sleep apnea and Diabetes too. Fully insulin dependent. So the anti-psychotics don't help my diabetes at all. I didn't take the depakote last night. It was really sooo bad and I could barely work. I have felt fine today. I know all about the cycle of A) I stopped my meds B) I feel so great and lively C) Ummm... oops, I am too lively aka. MANIC with PSYCHOSIS D) Back to the meds and MAN, they are great. Ha-ha! So, I am really careful and make sure I have my old trusted meds ready to go in case. I also have been praying a lot and I am sold out for Jesus, and you never know when He might have mercy and heal. Honestly since my body has gotten used to the stimulant (been taking about 3-4 months now) it does not make me too manic anymore.
See I was off all bipolar meds for a couple of years and was doing pretty good. Then I decided I wanted to start back to work and since I have narcolepsy, I have to have some kind of stimulant to make it through a full day. I started on dexedrine and got a job and also went through the roof (MANIA w/PSYCHOSIS). I had to start back on bipolar meds. I am going to see if now that the stims are not sooo strong, like when I first started, maybe back to no BP meds. I am very cautious. Been diagnosed 7 years now.
BTW... I know all too much about seeing things and people, you name it. Anything can be there and not really be there. It gives me chills just thinking about it. I have had hallucinations with all of my senses, except taste. Seeing, smelling, touch, hearing. Even all at once which is really bad. There is not really a sense to maybe tell you ummm... something just ain't right. One can really get lost in another reality that is, well a real reality to that person. Real reality... that's redundant huh? :) Since you touched on the psychosis I just felt lead to share my experience.
Inactive
18 Dec 2011
Daniel,
From a 20+ year experienced Depakote user, it made me little sleepy for a short time a long time ago. Boy, I certainly wish it did that now. But, I am presently on 750 mgs of Depakote a day and don't get sleepy at all.
I believe you will feel less sleepy in a few or couple of days, once your body gets used to it. I also agree with slattery... depends on what other medications you are taking with the Depakote. I, personally, take Cymbalta and Klonopin. One would think something i take would make me sleep, but all medications and the time on them does not make me sleep or gain weight.
Good luck and hope I helped a bit.
Peace,
Laura
danielbonner
18 Dec 2011
Thank you so much! I am not taking anything else that would make me sleepy. As a matter of fact I take adderall. I was able to function just tired and irritable. I have adhd, narcolepsy and bipolar, so when I get sleepy, I get aggravated, mind racing, intrusive thoughts, etc. I will wait it out for sure because I was on an antipsychotic and it blocked at least 50% of the adderall's function. Now I'm on such a high dose because of the AP blocking the stimulant. Hopefully this will all even out. :)
danielbonner
19 Dec 2011
I updated my post and really need some opinions. I don't know how to make the post send out an email about my updated question. Maybe this will work...
slattery
20 Dec 2011
Daniel, I totally give Laura's two postings about depakote the thumbs up- she kids you not, and she is right on target in her assessment that this can be a miracle drug which works wonders if it's the case that you suffer from mania. It's my guess that it's the best that there is for rapid-acting treatment of this area of the illness. I did indeed have a massive psychotic break eight years ago, went as mad as a hatter for a very prolonged period of time. I won't even go into the horrific hallucinations and delusions, because it's not worth going back there for me. But the depakote pulled me out of the mess. Of course it was probably helped along with the anti-psychotic too, but I attribute a lot to depakote. Ditto for a year and a half ago... I had another manic episode (my fault-abstained from the drugs for a year)...
but honestly, with immediate access to the depakote plus abilify, it only lasted three weeks, and I rapidly was as right as rain again... could feel the drug working within a couple of days of it's consumption. So if this was your main area for concern - and it sounds to me like mania is a problem of yours - I wouldn't give up on it fast. I'm not certain that too many other drugs out there has as fast-acting a response as depakote, and I think that's why it's often a first line of defense in hospitals.
Inactive
20 Dec 2011
Thank you very much,
I am not kidding when I say thank you for the compliment on my Depakote experiences. As far as psychoses go, I have had auditory hallucinations too frequently when i get "sick". What amazes me is the stigma still attached to mental illnesses, like we picked this disease to live with. It certainly is not the easiest accomplishment to manage life. My mother still blames me for inheriting bipoar disease from my father. Good grief. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I appeciate the support.
May both of you walk with the Angels,
Peace,
Laura
Princess22008
18 Dec 2011
I know I was taking Depakote ER 500mg twice a day and I started sleeping 22 hours a day. But because I was taking other sedating meds they put me down to 1 pill at night. Now I am back up to twice a day and seem to be doing ok. I dont know if it is because it is too much for me or it was in combination with the other meds that was making me so sleepy Also because I was so sleepy I could not push myself to do anything that would require me to to do things that requires alot of detailed attention except get up and eat once a day.
slattery
18 Dec 2011
Hi Princess, your theory is correct, based on my own experience. i.e. that IF it is taken in conjunction with certain other drugs, you will end up sleeping for obscene numbers of hours. While I was taking depakote in conjunction with zyprexa for many years, that's exactly what happened. Plus as the two drugs (especially zyprexa) are notorious for weight gain, I stacked on a ton of weight too.
But after quitting both, and losing the weight, I resumed with depakote at a lower dosage, and took it with abilify, and not a bit of it happened. No weight gain, no outrageous sleeping. Just 7-8 hours, same as everyone else. So I guess the operative thing here is to be careful about what other drugs you combine it with, and to find the dosage which keeps your symptoms at bay, but which is the lowest dose of depakote which you can take.
Weinrott
18 Dec 2011
Hello, danielbonner.My experience with Depakote was not a good one. However, it may work for you. My doc had instructed longer periods to level up from 250 mg to 1000 mg. The sedated, tired feeling is very common. It was enough to make me be very cautious while driving. The sedation was extreme enough that I'd fall asleep sitting up. Another very common side effect is weight gain. I gained 10 pounds the first month. There were some very extreme rare side effects for me, so I had to discontinue the medication and be put on another. If you have vacation time, I'd urge you to give it a chance to see how you will adapt. Maybe call your prescribing doctor to see if titrating your dose more gradual may lessen drowsiness. Best of luck to you, and Happy Holidays. ~ Weinrott
danielbonner
18 Dec 2011
Thanks for both replies. I also take adderall, but believe it or not I was still dragging. Thanks for being so in depth!
slattery
18 Dec 2011
Daniel, I take 500mgs daily of depakote. It's the ER version, but my doc told me that there's really very little difference between the regular and the ER... just the way that it distributes time-wise in your body. For example, you might have to take two 250mgs morning and night, while with the ER I can just take my one 500 all at once. That's all it is.
Now, the sedation. I have taken this stuff for eight years, and I won't tell you that the sedation stops completely after a point. It doesn't. But at the dosage you are planning to take it -500mgs - after a bit, can't remember how long, you really shouldn't feel highly drugged... that's why I take this dosage, it's the lowest you can go for bipolar. I do take it at about 7:00PM, the reason being that within two hours or so the drowsiness hits me, and I can go to bed & get a night's sleep by 10:00PM. It takes 6 hours for this drug to peek...
that's the point whereby it's at it's strongest.
So if you take your depakote at night only, then my experience is that yes, you'll sleep deeply, but after a bit with 500mgs, you shouldn't feel it at all during the day. I'm 118lbs, your approx. weight is taken into consideration also when they prescribe the drug, and the sedation feeling is just not there at all for me when I arise in the AM. So I don't think this is going to be a problem for you. Good luck... I've found it to be a very trust-worthy drug! Kathleen
danielbonner
18 Dec 2011
Thanks for taking the time to explain so well! :)
Related topics
depakote, mania, bipolar disorder, sedation
Further information
- Depakote uses and safety info
- Depakote prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Depakote (detailed)
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