ive been on depakote 500 mg for a month now, i was diagnosed with bpd a year and a half a go and my current dr. thinks i may have temporal lobe epilepsy but hasnt tested me yet, i had to stop taking it everyday because it would make my stomcah hurt and i would end up with diahrea, recently ive been getting sleepless and urinating way more than i normally do, to top it all off ive been getting weakness and dizzy spells that i never normally got, i havent been able to get in contact with my dr yet to ask him anything, although he never did any kind of blood test before he gave the depakote to me im a little woried...should i be more worried than i am???
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9/29/08 1:30pm
Hi, Jenny. The Depakote is only part of the problem. The real problem is your lack of a relationship with your doctor. You two need to be in regular contact. You need to pick up that phone. Your doctor needs to be returning your calls.
If you're the one not communicating, you need to change your habits. If your doctor is the one not communicating, you need to change doctors.
Whenever a med is not working right (bad side effects, not feeling better) it is up to the patient to let the doctor know - immediately. Often, the side effects are transient. Often, the healing effects need time to kick in. But it sounds like you have gone well beyond this stage.
Often, the solution is simple - a change in dosage or a change to a different med. But your doctor will never make the necessary adjustments for you if you fail to keep him or her informed.
10/ 2/08 6:01pm
After I was diagnosed, Depakote was the first drug I tried. I went from 250mg to 500mg, and the jump knocked me on my ass! I was a zombie after dinner, practically comatose when I had to get up in the morning for work, and the dizziness was a problem. I suggest that you definitely get tested for the epilepsy first, since Depakote is a drug that treats it. However, there are som many more effective drugs that will not make a zombie out of you or have you running to the bathroom ... you need a good sit-down with the doctor, and a blood test.
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By jennie85— Last Modified: 12/26/10, First Published: 09/28/08
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