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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-28-2004
new to this
3
Wed, 08-01-2007 - 11:58am

Hello everyone,
About a month ago, I went to talk to my dr. about depression. I'm thirty years old and I've suffered from depression/mood swings my entire life. I'm also in therapy. I was abused as a child and my parents both suffer from mental illness so I figured perhaps medication might be a good route for me. After taking a test, my dr. told me I was actually "atypically depressed" and was in the bipolar category instead. I don't have massive mood swings that interfere with my daily life, but it does interfere with my private life and quality of life.

She put me on 500 mg. of depakote as a mood stabilizer. the first two weeks i was taking it, I felt better than ever. I was optimistic, energetic and felt great. I got a ton of things done and felt very positive about the medication. this past week, i have felt horrible. I started my period two days ago and for the past four days, I have been super sensitive, very tired and all I do is cry. these two extremes are more extreme than I felt before taking the medication. EVERYTHING hurts my feelings and makes me want to cry. I'm still functional, but I feel terrible. I saw my doc today and told her about my symptoms and she said she wanted to increase the dosage to 750 mg. So I guess I will try that and see what happens.

In short, it seems like the medication has given me greater mood swings than I had before. I know that I lot of people take an anti-depressant with their mood stabilizer, but I really don't want to do that.

Does anyone have a similar story or any suggestions about what could be going on?

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-15-2006
In reply to: baherrma
Wed, 08-01-2007 - 2:45pm

Yes, I can remember my DR. warning me about this the first time I was ever given

medication just for depression. She said that due to certain past traumas, that I may

become more upset as the numbness of the depression wore off, forcing me to deal with any

pent-up sadness,fear & anger left over from the abuse. In my own case i found this to be

true, that i had to get worse before feeling a little better. However, IMHO you may want

to emphasize to the Dr. just how debilitating this has become for you lately. It seems

like they don't fully realize the extent unless you really make it obvious to them. I

have noticed that with my mood stabilizer/anti-psychotic combo I still suffer from

depression, just don't have the "highs" that I used to experience. So, I might have to

add an anti-depressant to the mix, also. And, around "that time of the month", it doesn't

seem to be as effective for me, either. Maybe some stabilizers react w/ hormone levels

in the body, I don't know for sure...but I feel for you. Best of luck solving this &

(((hugs)))

Wonderbread77

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2004
In reply to: baherrma
Wed, 08-01-2007 - 3:48pm

Welcome to the board, I'm glad you found us and hope you will find this to be a great place of support.


Depakote is a mood stabilizer that deals primarily with just the manic (Up) side of BP and if depression is an issue, is normally rx'd along with an AD.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-28-2004
In reply to: baherrma
Wed, 08-01-2007 - 4:43pm

Thank you for your informative response. the only reason I'm hesitant to use an AD is because I'm new to the whole meds thing and get a little freaked out at the thought of being on two meds. like I said, I have always been functional - no manic episodes - but very depressed/irritated/sad the majority of the time.

however, I am not opposed to it. I was just alarmed at how high I felt and then how low I felt - I thought the mood stabilizer was supposed to eliminate that. I too struggle with depression the most. I didn't know there were medications that combined mood stabilizers with AD - i will definitely ask my dr. about those. I'm not completely confident in her ability to diagnose me correctly - she always seems in a hurry. I may switch providers.

as far as 'that time of the month,' i do experience debilitating depression/mood swings and I was hoping that the mood stabilizer would help with that. instead it seems to have heightened it. every single thing makes me cry. it is difficult explaining to my bf why I am crying when I don't even know. He is so simple and his moods are so stable, I feel like a mess compared to him. but he is very compassionate and supportive in my efforts to get better.

thank you again for your advice.