Concerned about a possible episode

[Meggylou]

I'm starting to feel a wee bit "off"
I think with all the stress of school and money and I have a job interview tomorrow...but I don't know if I can handle work with a full 4th year uni course load GAH
I'm feeling overwhelmed and having sad thoughts. It's nothing big yet but I'm concerned it is.
My psychiatrist recommended me upping my valproic acid, BUT he didn't say this during a sad time, he said it last week when I felt "normal", so I don't fully know why he would say that. It's only in the last week I"ve started feeling sad, tired a lot...so busy up at 6:30 3-4 days a week. 13 hours days, ya know the drill.
Anyway I'm thinking I will follow his advice and up it,but I'm also scared that it's going to give me more side effects. Currently i'm at 250mg daily, it's the smallest dose, so maybe not even that effective?? I just don't want to take it and become non functional and mess up schoo, but I also don't want to be so depressed and fluctuate so much that I mess up school that way.
I'm just rambling I know. I'm sorry.
Does anyone find that at the 500mg daily dose they were more tired? or anything like that??
Thanks!!!
Meg

 

[Mari]

H! Meggylou, I do not know anything about anything today but sending you a hug for support. :hug: Mari

 

[ladylore]

I can't talk about the medication issue as I don't have experience with that specific medication. You may want to ask your doctor why he suggested you increase the dose.

With looking for work and going to school full time, that would overwhelming for most of us, mental health issues or not. Is there any possibility to drop a class or go to part time or seeking a loan for living expenses? If the university has a disability resource centre you may want to book an appointment with them to talk about options.

I also find the stress can bring on symptoms of PTSD. I know that isn't your diagnosis, but in my mind recovery is recovery. I would think the kind of stress your under would bring on symptoms regardless of the diagnosis.

Your not loosing it or slipping back. Go to your bag of tricks and tools and conciously use them every day. Just by doing that may help you a bit. Your doing all the right things.

Hang in there. Your not alone.

 

[Retired]

Meggylou,

I don't have first hand experience with valproic acid either, but I here is some info I've collected for your consideration:

According to the drug information on Medicine-Net, valproic acid is used to treat the manic phase of bipolar disorder.

To have a clear understanding of your doctor's prescribing rationale, you may want to call for some follow up questions. It would also be a good time to report your current change in mood.

I've attached the Canadian product monograph for Depakene, the Abbott brand name valproic acid from Health Canada database..

The important information for your reference involves the warnings for drug / drug interactions, which anyone taking this medication should be aware of.

Others may have information based on their own experience.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Actually, valproic acid is used as a mood stabilzer so it's not only prescribed during manic phases.

The reason for the suggested increase may well be because he noted increased stress or that he was aware that you were anticpating a stressful time. Stress is known to increase bipolar symptoms, either depressive or hypomanic, so he may well have been suggesting this as proactive.

 

[Meggylou]

thanks for the advice everyone.
the reason I need work is to pay for school, because I am married I don't get enough to cover tuition, not even close. OSAP is mean that way. And we can't take out a line of credit right now and it's paycheck to paycheck, so hence the need for employment. It's only for a part time job, but still..
I have to be in school full time to get the most money out of OSAP as possible, even with my permanent disability status, I got 1500 from that and only 600 from osap for the ENTIRE year, tuition is nearly 6000 annually with all the fees included in that.
See I'm not feeling manic either, so the increased dose recommendation is weird, and I won't see him again for 6 weeks and he's a complete tool so I can't get ahold of him in the mean time. Plus I don't have a gp appointment until next friday, GAH!
should I up my seroquel instead??

 

[ladylore]

I wouldn't do increase any medication or change it in any way until you at least see your GP. Better safety first.

 

[Halo]

I agree with Ladylore. What about calling your GP and seeing if you can get an earlier appointment? Or the other alternative would be to call your phamacist and talk with them about potential side effects.

Take care

 

[darkestburningstar]

Hey MeggyLou. I was on valproic acid at the start, I can't remember what dosage, but I didn't find very many side effects at all; the only reason I had to change was because, as usual, I began to "tolerate" my meds and had to change to something new. I think that maybe you should just take a little trust and try out the higher dosage. Remember that a lot of the initial side effects wear off the longer that you take it, so it does get better. I suggest, if you have a counsellor, that you see her/him regularly during the medication change, to help you think out on what you are worried about to find solutions, and to help you reflect on the experiences you've already had in order to learn from your mistakes and figure out what coping mechanisms work best for you. If you don't have a counsellor, it will be worth it to find one. Thankfully, if you go to the school's Student Services, you can sign up with a counsellor that is FREE. Since I kind of know you, I have a suggestion for one if you are interested in asking. She helped me through a lot, and helped me begin to put my life back together after a very bad relationship. But she never told me what to do, which was nice, it was more of a facilitation in realizing what I needed from MY thoughts.

If this is indeed a new episode, then make sure you tell those around you that you are feeling on a downswing. It may help them to help you deal with the episode without creating tension, because communication is the best tool you have. I find that telling my close friends, those I spend the most time with and trust, it makes life easier because they make sure to check in on me and see how I'm doing randomly, to help keep me a little more even-keeled. I know how much I hate calling/talking to anyone when I'm depressed, so them calling me really helps to motivate me to be social when I really dont want to, and helps remind me that people do care and I'm not bothering them.

I hope this helps, Meg, and don't hesitate to contact me either :support: