Depakote

I want to try giving up taking Depakote, but I'm too chicken to stop. I
didn't take it when I took my night meds like I usually do last night,
but I got up at 2:00 and took it.

--
-slunky

"slunky" <slunky@globalzero.org> wrote in message
news:slrnel4j19.8bh.slunky@equator.zero...
>I want to try giving up taking Depakote, but I'm too chicken to stop. I
> didn't take it when I took my night meds like I usually do last night,
> but I got up at 2:00 and took it.
>

why would you stop taking it?

_/ used2be wrote \_
> why would you stop taking it?

It's big and hard to swallow, and I think it's causing me to gain
weight.

--
-slunky

slunky wrote:
> I want to try giving up taking Depakote, but I'm too chicken to stop. I
> didn't take it when I took my night meds like I usually do last night,
> but I got up at 2:00 and took it.
>

Perhaps if you continued to take it, but at just a little lower dose the
side effects would go away.

_/ Franz Bestuchev wrote \_
> Perhaps if you continued to take it, but at just a little lower dose the
> side effects would go away.

I'm even too chicken to try that. It would cut my dosage in half because
I only have 500mg pills.

--
-slunky

slunky wrote:
> _/ Franz Bestuchev wrote \_
>> Perhaps if you continued to take it, but at just a little lower dose the
>> side effects would go away.
>
> I'm even too chicken to try that. It would cut my dosage in half because
> I only have 500mg pills.
>

You can chip a section off of the 500 mg pill to make it a 480-490 or
so...then if that's working well for you after a couple of weeks you
know you're on to something.

After all if you take you 500s and start chopping you can end up getting
reasonable doseage reductions without needing entirely different pills.

(Of course consult your physician first)

_/ Franz Bestuchev wrote \_
> You can chip a section off of the 500 mg pill to make it a 480-490 or
> so...then if that's working well for you after a couple of weeks you
> know you're on to something.
>
> After all if you take you 500s and start chopping you can end up getting
> reasonable doseage reductions without needing entirely different pills.
>
> (Of course consult your physician first)

I think the next time I see my doctor I'm going to be bold and ask to
switch to Lamactil (sp?). He's mentioned it before, but I chickened out
at making the switch because I wasn't feeling real stable. I'm feeling a
little better now, and think I could stand an outpatient med switch.

--
-slunky

slunky wrote:
> _/ Franz Bestuchev wrote \_
>> You can chip a section off of the 500 mg pill to make it a 480-490 or
>> so...then if that's working well for you after a couple of weeks you
>> know you're on to something.
>>
>> After all if you take you 500s and start chopping you can end up getting
>> reasonable doseage reductions without needing entirely different pills.
>>
>> (Of course consult your physician first)
>
> I think the next time I see my doctor I'm going to be bold and ask to
> switch to Lamactil (sp?). He's mentioned it before, but I chickened out
> at making the switch because I wasn't feeling real stable. I'm feeling a
> little better now, and think I could stand an outpatient med switch.
>

I've had GREAT luck with Lamictal, but I've found myself really
sensitive to some of the mood stabilizers. A starter dose of Depakote
had me in bed for an entire weekend. Lamictal and Depakote require a
much different approach, you have to increase the dose of Lamictal much
slower.

Even though I wasn't on Depakote, I went at about 1/2 of the schedule
for those who are. It took me a LONG time to get up to a therapeutic
dose and to kind of "recognize" what was meant by "mood stabilizer".
I've settled at 400mg and it's been trouble free for over a year now.

I just decided to get serious and get very patient.

_/ Franz Bestuchev wrote \_
> I just decided to get serious and get very patient.

I'm not even sure I need a mood stabilizer. I guess the docs think I do.
I've had two different docs prescribe me mood stabilizers, but only on
top of other drugs. I don't get manic. The closest I get is when I'm
suicidal.

--
-slunky

slunky wrote:
> _/ Franz Bestuchev wrote \_
>> I just decided to get serious and get very patient.
>
> I'm not even sure I need a mood stabilizer. I guess the docs think I do.
> I've had two different docs prescribe me mood stabilizers, but only on
> top of other drugs. I don't get manic. The closest I get is when I'm
> suicidal.
>

I never focus on the label/category of the drug. I'd take birth control
pills if they were an effective AD with no side effects for me.