QUESTION:
Dear Dr. Heller,
I am bipolar. I've tried Depakote and couldn't handle the terrible side effects. I was gaining 5 pounds a week and my hair was breaking off. I switched to Topamax and immediately lost all my weight in 1 month - 40 pounds!. Weight gain is hard for anyone. My mother was bipolar and gained her weight from lithium, because she had gained so much weight, my father left her for another woman when she was in the state institution in Norfolk.
I lived with my grandparents, and my grandfather was bipolar. He just walked out the front door and we could not find him for months. Hitchhiked from NE to CA at age 50. My mother ended up committing suicide. So I know a lot about bipolar and the hellish lives we live. If only there was the perfect medicine out there, so we could live normal lives.
I too walked out of a marriage of 18 years, had an affair and remarried 6 months later. What our poor children suffer. I could go on and on about this horrible disease. Topamax did not give me the mental stability that Depakote did.
What do you think of Depakote ER for bipolar.? I have been on it for about 3 months, along with Prozac. I feel very calm. So far the hunger attacks have not kicked in. I take 1000 mg of it.
ANSWER:
Since it's the same medication in a different "delivery system,"
Depakote ER is unfortunately just as likely as regular Depakote to cause weight gain.
Perhaps in combination with the Prozac your appetite won't be increased.
Most epilepsy medications work for bipolar. Additional options include Tegretol and
Neurontin - neither of which causes weight gain with the exception of Tegretol if it
causes low thyroid (not common but it does happen).
