I was recently diagnosed with bipolar (nos). I am taking depakote?

Question

I need some indication how long before I might be close to "normal"? How long before I will be full functioning again? I ask for my own knowledge but also for information to give my overly protective and involved parents. I also have three children and would like how to know how this will effect them in the long run. I am also at the beginning of a divorce-is this something I should put off until I feel more stable? I am very sure I do not want to be married any more, I just don't want to make a huge mistake because of the bipolar or is this just a excuse? I don't know how much of my life problems can be blamed on being bipolar. Help!

Answer 1

Well...

1. You need counseling. That is not a mean comment, we all can use counseling.

2. The moment you start taking Depacote you better start excersising your tail off because your going to balloon up if you do not excercise. Your going to want to eat everything in front of you, this goes for a LOT of anti-depressant drugs and similar drugs.

3. Please put off the divorce, don't EVER mention it to her, at this point if you do your killing your marriage and shooting yourself in the foot until #1 and #2 are fully addressed.

God bless you.

Answer 2

How long before feeling normal or fully functional - You will always have Bipolar, you will need a journal too record your feelings, you will need to talk to a councellor, and you will need a tremendous amount of support from friends and relatives. You should be feeling alot better in 4-7 weeks. If your kids are at a good age to understand, you should tell them that you have a sickness, and that you always will, but that it can be managed, and that you need their support and understanding.
I think that you should put off the divorce right now. You should go to councelling with your partner. You have lots of confused thoughts right now. You say that you don't want to be married right now, but this can just be irrational thoughts because you are depressed and feel lonely or unsupported at this moment. Do not jump into conclusion or do anything drastic, go get some help and talk it through.I think that your partner must love you alot too if they are still there throught all that you have been through. They are probably having a hard time coping with this too.
My partner has Bipolar also, and there are alot too deal with at times too. But I love him very much and give him all the support I can.
Try to get more support.....Her eare a few links that might help you. Some you can talk to people who might help you understand this sickness more clearly.

http://www.isitbipolar.com/node/home.aspx
http://www.massgeneral.org/schoolpsychiatry/info_bipolar.asp
http://www.psychiatry24x7.com/homes/bipolar.jhtml?source=google&gclid=CK--hJ2O3IgCFQboPgodyTIuqA
http://www.mdf.org.uk/

SUPPORT:
http://www.bipolarworld.net/_Storage/indexa.html
http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/PageServer?pagename=home

Hope this helps you . Take care.

Answer 3

I always get sad when I hear that a Dr. has put a patient on Depakote... It is a horrible drug. Causes alopecia and horrible weight gain, all sorts of other side effects too that are counterproductive with the actual act of helping someone get better... What sense does it make to try and heal someone by disfiguring them? Weight gain and baldness won't make you normal, it will make things worse!

You really should consider talking to your doctor about it... There are better ones and since they really don't know what will work and wont work until they actually give them to you... ask to try something else.

If you want to really know what can be blamed on being Bi Polar... Bi Polar is a symptomatic expression of juxtaposition in the part of the brain that makes decisions and filters life choices. Inconsistant and poor choices and a failure to be honest with yourself or responsable with the outcome all make for a case of Bipolarity. I believe it is a manipulative condition used to manipulate a way out of taking stock and responsability for actions... That is a choice, sick or not.

It can also come from being controlled and improperly trained on how to adjust from adolescence to adulthood by an overly judgental or very nervous or emotionally detached person. usually the mother.

The best way to deal with it is honesty and rationality... taking the time to know yourself and learning from your mistakes. Try journaling. be proactive with your treatment and your recovery. You achieve in life what you put your mind to correcting. No one and no medication can help you if you don't want to be proactive in your own treatment and heal yourself.

Im sorry... a lot of Doctors would think that what I am saying is horrible... I find that most people that go one Depakote, either go off it or end up having to change it eventually anyway. I do not like it at all... unless you are the kind of person that needs to be almost catatonic in order to function... Ask about something else!
and ask your therapist to be honest with you about the side effects! If they were... I don't know that you would have started on it to begin with.

Answer 4

Wow...

You should notice some improvement within about two weeks time, but full effect will probably not be noted until about two months. It will take a while after acheiving the proper amount in your bloodstream (doctor should be doing "valproic acid level" check by labwork to determine if you are on proper dose for the way you metabolize meds) for you to notice full effect.

You should also be receiving psychotherapy, in addition to medication, by a qualified counselor or Licensed Clinicial Social Worker.) This will help you to cope with the new diagnosis as well as determine what thoughts, feelings, ideas, notion, behaviors and decisions might be based more on a manic cycle or depression rather than something that you've truly thought through logically and with a clear mind.

As for your children, they will be affected by your behaviors so they should be in support counseling as well so they can learn that if your behavior is bizarre, it is not their fault... but something that could be attributed to your disorder. It's equally important that you not use the disorder as a scapegoat... to blame everyone on... but rather as a question mark for you to mark your thought process by. It's important to have someone you can trust to help you to judge when you're not *yourself* or thinking clearly as this could indicate the need for a med change when you are just thinking that someone is being a jerk :)

Your children are also going to be genetically predisposed to bipolar disorder, so they will need to be aware for their own future and medical history. In some families, it travels through same-sex members, so be especially aware of that fact.

I would not advise any major life changes until you are stable and have been able to think things through and discuss all of this rationally with your spouse. At the end of two months time you may realize that this is a person who has tolerated a great deal from you (in retrospect) and that it's amazing your spouse has stuck with you this long. You never know.

Any problems you have in your life must be fully addressed, and you still have to accept full responsibility. Bipolar disorder can make it difficult to make good choices, however, it can certainly be tamed with a good medication plan and the right mindset. Speak with your spouse and see if there is a willingness to give things a bit of time until you can get your head straight and know for certain if this is the right decision for yourself... and your family. Please consider that your children will need a stable parent in their lives and single parenting as a parent with bipolar disorder is extraordinarily difficult... for the parent as well as the children. A supportive spouse/co-parent is a must in my unless you are planning to relinquish custody to the other parent during the divorce.

Good luck to you and keep in mind that Depakote is hardly the only medication available for bipolar disorder and if you need another medication or additional medication to manage symptoms, it's fine to keep working at it until you get it right. Don't become discouraged if the first pill they try you on isn't perfect for you.

Answer 5

It takes approximately 4-6 weeks for your medication to have it's full effect. Then the doctors will probably put you on another medication which will also take just as long for it to take effect. Most bipolars are on more then one medication to control their ups, downs, and in between moods. They will gradually give you a new medication over time. Then there's a possibility that the medication is not right for you and they will have to try again. It takes time to feel fully normal, just be patient.

Answer 6

Let the medication do it's job---and you do yours. You HAVE to go into counseling. You would anyway just for the bipolar, but with the divorce, too...you have to go. The medication will only help so much. It will reach "therapeutic" levels in your blood stream in 2 weeks. Being bipolar sucks....but getting it treated and taking your meds and doing the counseling.....YOU have the power to get to a normal emotional level. No extreme highs or lows.

Answer 7

Phew! first element you should do is take a deep breath. And comprehend that it is not an uncommon element to be clinically determined as bipolar. Many a lot of human beings have it, and stay with its united statesand downs widely used. 2d element you should do is really imagine about the way you experience and how a lot extra valuable you'll experience in case you actually *did* communicate with someone about issues. make sure to detect a therapist to communicate with, even if you don't want to in the starting up. because of affected human being confidentiality regulations, they are surely not meant to inform your mom and father something that you don't want them to, so i do not imagine you should issue about them telling your mom and father something till it incriminates you, or makes the therapist imagine you're putting your self or others in probability finally. Being a mushy human being on excellent of being bipolar basically resources on your situation, notwithstanding the great thing about it really is you receives previous that in many years xD each teen is going through an emotional roller coaster. basically attempt to be your self. locate belongings you want about your self and comprehend that you're an wonderful human being :) in certain situations its the little issues in life that can make you satisfied. do not attempt to manage this on my own though. in case you are able to't communicate which include your mom and father, locate someone who you are able to percentage your emotions with - that's really major that you benefit this. i wish you keep your chin up ^^ you're literally not likely loopy. There is often drugs you are able to attempt to help stabilize issues for you, and a psychiatrist can help you detect the proper one for you. A psychologist or therapist may also help grant you with equipment to conquer the severe united statesand/or downs that you've the most problems with. that's no longer the top of the international though - please do not imagine it really is ^^ *hugsquish*

Answer 8

with bi-polar i don't think there is ever a normal but stable as long as you take meds me i am rapid cycling i take tegretol and resperdal also adhd take adderall but it has to be at certain level in blood to work if your in a depressed state you may be ending relationship for wrong reasons i did i purposely found fault in a great guy this might not be you but stop and think also keep a journal of highs and low educate yourself read every thing you can earmark pages and show Dr i do this sometimes i believe it was Jane Pauly could be mistaken but i read her book it was like reading about me scarey but helpful to know we are not alone 2 of my 3 kids are bi-polar adhd watch if they are ever diagnosed they miss diagnose kids alot usually say adhd no you are not blaming bi-polar its like having diabetes you have to watch your self cause you have 2 precious little ones depending on you thank god for your parents having involved parents may help pull you out of darkness and rage

Answer 9

This is a very good blog, a beginner’s guide to abnormal psychology.
Short, clear and simple; and you can even post your question and contact the author regarding particular subject you are interested in, for FREE

http://sensitive-psychoworld.blogspot.com/

Answer 10

you will always be bipolar. please make sure you keep taking your meds to help you. it is heridatary. as far as your divorce goes if you haven't been on your meds long you may want to hold off. he apparently loves you if he stuck it out this long...i am sure your moods were very tough to take at times but he hung in there....good luck