I've recently been diagnosed with bi-polar and I was just wondering... is anyone else who's been put on Depakote having issues with anger? It seems since I started it, I've been a lot more sensitive to little things that truly irritate me, to the point that I have to leave classes because I'm afraid of screaming at someone for something as small as tapping a pencil against a desk. We called the doctor and he said it was normal for someone just starting a new medication, and that it should go away within the week, but it's been several weeks now, and it doesn't appear to be changing at all. I'm not sure exactly how much I'm on at this point because the bottle isn't with me and I haven't memorized it just yet. Am I just being very impatient, or is this something I should be bringing up at my next appointment?

Is the anger totally new and just started with the addition of the depakote?are you taking any other meds besides the depakote?Marcia

my 11 year old son is taking depakote , epival or divalproex acid. In canada. He has been taking it for almost a year. I haven't noticed his anger getting worse because it was bad before. He was up to 1000mg a day he is five foot four inches tall and 100 pounds. He was metabolizing it so quickly his levels were only at 338 or so when they should be between 500-700 in canada so we are taking him off slowly.

Since the decrease ,he is on half the dose now . I am noticing him becoming more irritable and angry. The first week was terrible. , seemed to settle down after the second week. I would think it would have the opposite effect , calm down the anger, are you taking something else besides.?

could be your not at the right level . hope things work out for you

peace

I had that problem with Topamax not long ago. It not only sent me into a horrible depression my anger was awful. That is the only drug like that I have taken and was only on it for 2 weeks. Now I'm afraid to take another type like it.

I've been on Depakote now for about 2 months and have not noticed any increase in anger. If anything, I've become much calmer. I noticed I don't snap at people as much and stuff, in general, doesn't bother me as easily. And I'm more patient. I'm also on Zoloft, btw.

No new anger from the wife. She has been on it for years now.

Sorry it took me so long to respond... been away for some time.

My PCP messed around with the Depakote for a while, then added some Cymbalta (which I guess is a fairly new anti-depressent?) but the combination made me so sick I could eat. I went almost three weeks on basically nothing, lost at least fifteen pounds, and ended up going to the ER at three in the morning because I was in serious pain from the stomach aches. That doctor told me to stop taking everything until my meeting with the psychiatrist, which was two days away. I filled those two days with non-stop eating, and gained all that weight back! :(
The meeting with the psychiatrist went fine, and she wanted to put me on Wellbutrin (SP?) instead of the other two, but I decided to wait and recover from the sick feeling before I started something new. So I've been drug-free for about a week now, and I have noticed my anger levels go down significantly, but I am having a very hard time concentrating on anything, and I haven't been sleeping very well. So I guess the Depakote may have had something to do with my anger, but it was helping me out quite a bit.

So does any one have any advice on Wellbutrin? Has it had any really intensly good or bad negative effects? Did it work pretty good for depression? Thanks for all the comments and advice!