Zonegran

[Spanophile]

My doctor put me on Zonegran. I have tried every mood stabilizer but Depakote but I refuse to do so because it scares me. She said it would help with the weight I've gained with Seroquel as well. Has anyone had any luck with it? I've read about a couple of studies that showed it was pretty effective.

[nalgas]

To be completely honest, I've heard of a lot more people happy with Depakote than Zonegran, even accounting for the difference in number of people who've tried each. I can go look stuff up later, but just based on memory and anecdotal stuff from people on here, Zonegran is generally a lot better at dealing with seizures than mood issues, but it's hardly even used for epilepsy. It seems to have earned a reputation for not working well enough often enough compared to the common side effects that show up. Occasionally someone will show up who's had it turn out to work for them, so that might be true for you. I can't think of a single person off the top of my head who's even tried it for mood stuff, though.

Basically, the impression I get is that Zonegran is like Topamax, only more so (not in terms of how it works, but in terms of effects it has). People get excited about it because it does make some of them lose weight (but certainly not all), but it also seems to have a tendency to do the same things that earned Topamax the "Dopamax" name. It does seem to get occasionally looked into for migraines and mood stabilization, so it must work for some people. With some luck, you'll be one of them.

Don't completely write off Depakote if this doesn't work out, though. I'm not terribly excited about trying it, either, but it's higher up on my list than Zonegran. It's still used because it still works for a bunch of people when the newer meds don't. A higher risk of side effects does mean that they're more likely to happen, but it doesn't mean they're definitely going to happen. 6% is three times as likely to happen as 2%, for example, but that's still 94% of people not having it happen.

[Spanophile]

I've already gained so much weight and am afraid my hair will fall out. I'm not thrilled with blood tests either. So far the combo of Seroquel and Abilify seems to be working though - my hypomania is gone and I'm not depressed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will keep working and that the Zonegran may help a bit with mood and cause some weight loss. I read a study where Zonegran did well with BP depression. Who knows with these drugs? Thanks for your response!

[nalgas]

I read a study where Zonegran did well with BP depression.

That's mostly what I've seen that it's been tried for, too, and not so much the mania side of things. If you've already gotten that part taken care of and don't need/expect the Zonegran to hold down both ends at once, then that's encouraging.

[Spanophile]

Since I'm BPII I have a worse problem with depression so hopefully it will help. I read another study that said it can be good for anxiety too. We'll see what happens - I will keep everyone posted. Thanks for your replies!

[dumdum]

Zonegran is still used for peeps with epilepsy, just not as monotherapy. When all of the other adjunctives I tried were just too brutal on my system (Lyrica, Dilantin, Lamictal, Carbatrol, Topamax) my epi. doc decided to try "Z." It's known in the seizure world as "Topamax Lite." It's kindler and gentler.

I've heard that Depakote works well, although can cause weight gain. yikes!

I hope "Z" works for you!

[notmadd]

I'm about to start Zonegran, just checking to see how it's treating everybody.