I have not been on here much in the last several months. Only occasionally as I’ve been away much of the winter! I have come so close on numerous occasions to writing a success story but get so frightened of jinxing myself. I will write another post on that today so I can update you all and hopefully help some of you newly diagnosed or even long time sufferers.
This post is about Depakote. Just a brief explanation…I have been feeling great on 225 mg (I know, crazy) of Effexor generic brand venlaxaphine. But my driving is still hard. I can drive now, which is great. But driving long distances and still even short distances are bothersome. Also, working out is improving and I’m almost at the point of being to where I can get up to a full on strenuous workout. But not without some bothersome symptoms lie these weird head pulses. Awhile back Dr Fife urged me to push through those as much as possible. And he was right, pushing through those has helped. However, I still can’t move my head while working out without getting a quick temporary spin.
Anyway, Dr Fife prescribed me Depakote but because of my fear of gaining more weight, he told me to hold off until I am consistently working out at a very high strenuous sweaty level (which I’m almost there). He said it will actually help with the weight at that point. Not sure I totally understood that. But anyway, because I had such a horrible time with topamax, I’m a little hesitant. I was wondering if anyone here has tried this drug and how did it effect you. I am not scared to try drugs anymore but I am fearful of the weight gain. That’s the only thing I loved about topamax is that I lost weight.
First off, that is wonderful about the effexor!!! what symptoms do you feel like it has helped you with most? has it consistently kept working? how long have you been on it? did you have any trouble walking and did it help with that?
Second- I did try depakote for 2 months- I was on a therapeutic dose but i dont remember how much. it did nothing for my dizziness. i dont want to scare you but in those 2 months it made me put on 10 lbs…i have now been off the drug, and have been unable to lose the weight which is not normal for me. The first month my appetite was normal and i still gained, and in the second month, my appetite went wayyyy up, and i gained from that too. I honestly believe though if these drugs are going to make you gain weight, there is little you can do to combat it- at least in my experience. that being said, if it is going to get you to 100%, i say go for it. i would have stayed on the depakote no questions asked, if it got me to 100%. and my experience is just me- you may not gain anything at all!!! i say go for it!
Thanks for the reply. I had so many symptoms. I was in really bad shape. I was pretty much bed ridden for like 8 months. I did have some trouble walking, 24/7 dizziness, rocking, nausea, ear pain, could not drive at all, grocery stores were horrid, brain fog, extreme motion sensitivity, extreme fatigue. It was so awful. I tried a couple meds before Effexor but they were awful. Effexor was a very slow and gradual process. But every time I upped it, I would feel just a little bit better. It has Truley saved my life along with my amazing doctor and also the support and information from this group.
I’m sorry that the Depakote didn’t work for you. But thanks so much for sharing your experience. I think I’ll hold off on it for a few more weeks. What are your symptoms? What other meds have you tried. This illness is just horrible and I hope you find some relief soon
How long have you been on the effexor for? My symptoms at this point are mostly trouble with walking and visual problems (everything moves in my vision constantly and the horizon bounces when I walk). But honestly the thing that is preventing me from functioning is that I can hardly walk now- the visual stuff sucks but I can pretty much ignore it.
As for meds- I have tried a ton over the past 2 years. The ones that I have given fair trials are Nortriptyline, Depakote, Lyrica, and Gabapentin. I currently take Nortriptiline which helps with my rockinng when sitting, motion sensitivity, brain fog, and a lot of false motion sensations. It is frustrating because the nortrip has helped with so many symptoms- I dont understand why it doesnt affect my balance or vision problems. I am currently re-trialing lyrica which i think is helping with my balance but it is so sedating i dont think i can get to a high enough dose. I tried effexor but only lasted 10 days- it made my balance horrendous- was walking into walls.
Good luck if you decide to try the depakote- besides the weight gain it was super easy for me to tolerate- no other side effects!
I’m currently taking 500 mg of Depakote. Five days after I started on it I was skiing, running, driving and feeling close to normal . I was almost bed ridden for about three months. Its been about a month since I started the depakote and I have gained about two pounds. I’m 132 pounds 5’ 4" and pretty obsessive about what I eat after loosing about 20 pounds on weight watchers a few years ago.
I am also taking 300 mg of effexor and 240 mg of verapamil. I found a gal on this forums that takes another antidepressant (something that starts with a “c” Celexa I think), verapamil-240mg and Depakote-500mg and asked me doctor if I could try the depakote. She doesn’t know what to do with me and was willing to let me try it. I’m feeling about 70-80 percent now. I feel best about an hour after I take the meds in the morning and then about dark I feel like the meds start to wear off. My daughter calls me a reverse vampire…I can only go out when the sun is shinning. My doc wants to up my depakote, but I’m thinking that it is messing up my tummy, so I’m scared to take more.
I have an appointment with Dr Fife in March and I can live like this until then.
Mavprincess, I hope you continue to feel better and can keep your weight under control. I found Weight Watches helpful a few years back and I continue to pay close attention to what I eat, and excercise 30-60 minutes a day.
Wholly crap Beth, I think you are my dizzy idol!!! That is incredible that you started feeling better so quickly- but I have seen people post that on this forum before where they have huge improvement within days. How much do u think the other 2 drugs have helped you? About the meds wearing off- I think there is an extended release version of this drug- can you try that? Were you bedridden because of trouble walking or what were your symptoms? Glad to hear you are doing so well!!!
I’m currently taking 500 mg of Depakote. Five days after I started on it I was skiing, running, driving and feeling close to normal . I was almost bed ridden for about three months. Its been about a month since I started the depakote and I have gained about two pounds. I’m 132 pounds 5’ 4" and pretty obsessive about what I eat after loosing about 20 pounds on weight watchers a few years ago.
I am also taking 300 mg of effexor and 240 mg of verapamil. I found a gal on this forums that takes another antidepressant (something that starts with a “c” Celexa I think), verapamil-240mg and Depakote-500mg and asked me doctor if I could try the depakote. She doesn’t know what to do with me and was willing to let me try it. I’m feeling about 70-80 percent now. I feel best about an hour after I take the meds in the morning and then about dark I feel like the meds start to wear off. My daughter calls me a reverse vampire…I can only go out when the sun is shinning. My doc wants to up my depakote, but I’m thinking that it is messing up my tummy, so I’m scared to take more.
I have an appointment with Dr Fife in March and I can live like this until then.
Mavprincess, I hope you continue to feel better and can keep your weight under control. I found Weight Watches helpful a few years back and I continue to pay close attention to what I eat, and excercise 30-60 minutes a day.
Sarah, I wish you well too.
Beth
— End quote
Hi Beth
I am just seeing your response now as I haven’t been on here a lot in the past few months. I was so happy to hear there is another maver that takes Effexor combined with depakote as I’ve been a bit hesitant to be taking both. I literally finally started the depakote 3 days ago so I’m very excited to see how you are doing???
Can you please update us on what Dr Fife said, how you are feeling and what dosages you are on now? He is also my Dr and I love him.
Hey everyone. Hope you don’t mind me jumping in, but I found this topic interesting to my case.
I have been on Depakote 500mg for around 3 weeks now. Nothing positive or negative resulting from it yet. I am also on 100mg of Zoloft. My visuals (worst symptoms) are still the same. I still have imbalance and horrible, 24/7 brain fog. Have we come to a consensus on how long we should stick with these drugs to know if they are working? I have read 3 months, 6 months, and even a success story where someone said it took them almost a year. I don’t recall which drug that was though. I stuck with Topamax for almost a year and it did nothing… I just wonder if I should speak up about increasing my dose or adding another drug soon.
For those who said their brain fog got better, was your’s also 24/7? How did you notice the fog lifting?
This always seems to happen to me. I comment and ask a question on a post that seems to have a lot of action, yet I get no response. No one has a response to my post?
I hope you are doing well. Dr. Fife took me off the depakote when I saw him in March. My vertigo was returning and the side effects were worsening. My side effects were a tremor and weight gain. The tremor increased when I was hungry, which seemed all the time. I am now maxed out on verapamil (360 mg a day),and Effexor (300 mg) and Klonipin .25 a day. I have an appointment to see dr fife on Tuesday and I’ll make an effort to post soon after. I’m doing ok, 80% during most days, but I’m usually feeling rotton by suppertime. I have had a sprinkle of pretty bad days lasting 3 or 4 days. dr Fife mentioned a Dhe 45 3 day infusion at my last appointment. I’m going to ask more questions about that and see if there is any adjustments to my current meds I can do.
I tried Sodiumvalproate ( aka Depakote) for 9 weeks, slowly building it up from 150 mg. to 600 mg… Right from the beginning I had a lot of hairloss, and this was worsening when the dose went up. Als feeling hungry all the time , but no weight gain at all, and it was sedating somewhat. Because of the hair loss I had to stop after 9 weeks. So I will never know if it could have become a real succes. I noticed some decrease in headaches, and less pressure in the ears.
I’ve never been on a forum before, but from what I’ve just read, it looks like I’ve finally found a group that speaks my language. My vertigo and dizziness started in April, 2014. Initially diagnosed with Ménière’s disease. But then the migraines started in February 2016. I’ve been on 5 migraine prevention drugs. All made me very sick and none helped. I’ve done sterouds. Used to help, but not any more. Just had my second botox treatment. Hasn’t helped yet. Have any of you tried that? Just started the Depakote last night. Encouraging to see how many of you have been helped by this. I’ve avoided taking it because of all of the potential side effects. But, im tired of being sick. I want my life back
I tried botox 4 times and depakote 500 to 1000mg. They did not work. Now i am on Ami 60 mg, cefaly and transcraniane magnetic stimulation ( 20 sessions plus manutetion) and they are working, i am 85%. But botox and depakote work for a lot of people, try to be positive.
Sorry. It sounds like you have been very sick for a long time. I dont have the brain fog, thank God. Do you also have migraines? Living with a chronic illness sucks. I have vertigo and migraines. 2 botox treatments and just started the Depakote. Jury is still out on both. Good luck.