area99 Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I currently take 500mg of Depakote daily. I calms me down very well. It helps my racing thoughts and anxiety....It seems to quell all that nicely. The only thing is it doesn't really help my depression much, and the higher the dose the more it seems to possibly make the depression worse. However, at 500mg it does not make me depressed. The last time I was on Depakote I was on an antidepressant with it. I don't remember the name of it off hand. My dr. says I'm probably going to need an antidepressant with it again because of the introduction of the Depakote. Antidepressants seem to make me anxious so I could understand the Depakote with it. For those of you on Depakote (or other anticonvulsants or mood stabilizers for that matter) which antidepressant has played the best with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vapourware Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I currently take sodium valproate, and I've tried augmenting it with an AD once - I tried Pristiq. It was okay and valproate seemed to play nicely with the drug, although I eventually stopped Pristiq because of some of Pristiq's side effects. I've had more luck using Ziprasidone [aka Geodon/Zeldox, but I hate those names because they are lame]. That drug acted as a good mood adjunct for me, and helped me maintain a good baseline mood. Generally, I found valproate to not be that good for depression. I've been on it since 2009, and had two major episodes of depression while on it, but that's just my personal experience with the drug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmo Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I've been on depakote for about 3 months, and sertaline for about a year. I take 1500 mg of depakote, and I haven't noticed my depression getting worse. But I haven't been on it long enough to say that statement for sure. I can tell you that I was concerned with taking depakote because I read that it can cause worsening depression, but I can honestly say that if that were absolutely true, the non-BP related depression days I've had most likely would have become full-blown episodes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I've taken welbutrin with depakote and that has worked out quite nicely. Until it pooped out on me (took several winters, I used to just get seasonal depressions). There really aren't any ad's that you cannot take with depakote, but it depends on the flavor of your illness. If you are bp, i'd suggest trying something other than the ssri/snri class first, if you can, it's less likely to cause manic switching. I can't take traditional ad's at all another option is remeoron, which might work out well. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laume Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 As my signature says, I am taking Cipralex which is apparently pretty good for the depressive-ness tendencies of BP. Not a lot of side effects with it. My doc has augmented it with Wellbutrin XR almost 2 weeks ago to help with my apathy and energy levels. ETA: Cirpalex/Lexapro = same thing apparently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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