Depakote ER side effect ?

[wffirefighter]

Hello all,

iam a firefighter that had a seizure on August 25th first one ever and i was put on Topamax for a day and a half and then the doc switched me over to Depakote ER.

I cannot work being a firefighter until iam cleared but i can go to the firehouse and chill and hangout with my crew. Well yesterday was my first FULL day on it since i take it once a day before bed time and well i was HYPER FULL OF ENERGY sort of like i was on drugs. it might have been the ONE large cup of coffee i had but i doubt it because it lasted THE ENTIRE DAY AND NIGHT!!! well to say the least i was bouncing off the walls going over the trucks and cleaning and walking back and forth throughout the station. Had a prank that went bad where i got locked in the cleaning room and i came out and the guy who locked me in there got sprayed with a apple scent spray he said it was ON!!! so i said ok and then i took a sip of water he got the idea and poured a cup of water on me well i got wet took off my shirts and was about to pull down my shorts (had boxer shorts under-neath) and got a woah cause there was a girl in the room even though shes apart of the crew and doesnt act like one but moving on. and the water that got over i cleaned it up just by mopping the entire floor and i never do that so again it seemed like i was on drugs and today i got called into the station by the chief and basically was told i cannot come back to the station until my next doctor visit on october 4th. because of the reaction last night of being so hyper or so energetic and the thought of being on drugs and the safety of others.So i was given a couple of books and was told to get a reading and do a couple of papers and have them ready when i return.


Well with that said Anybody else have the side effect of being hyper or very energetic ?

Rob

[Travis from MN]

You reacted opposite to how the drug usually causes symptoms. Drowsiness, upset stomach, and other symptoms are frequently reported. Hyperness is VERY RARE to abnormal.

You should report this reaction to your Dr (Neuro) and see what they say to you about it. Always keep your Neuro up to date about how your body reacts to medication, or if it all of a sudden acts or "feels" out of normal. It will help them in treating you.

As for your posts statement about being placed briefly on Topamax... Usually patients are not placed on Topa briefly unless they show reaction or bad symptoms to the medication (then taken off). Being you didn't explain at all (or maybe were not told) why you did remain on Topamax I canot go off in that direction. I can explain for your benefit that Topa is increased weekly in 25mg bits so the body can adapt. It takes that long for the body to readapt to this medication. Topamax is not for everybody.

--Travis

[wffirefighter]

to answer your question im not really sure why but i think it was something about him saying it wasnt going to work for me.

[030free]

I agree w travis in the affects it has on different individuals. I took topomax last year for about a few months and it actually had the opposite effects on me. I had slow body reactions, deppression, weakness, upset stomach and more and eventhough it takes a while for any person to adjust to AEMs, this would b one of the slowest meds to adjust to, cause it doesnt work for everyone; I had to b taken off and switched to another. I also suggest to speak to ur neuro soon if this persist because there's gotta b another AEM that would work better for u. In case u didnt know, the majority of epileptic individuals go through so many AEMs given by their neuro in a matter of years just trying to find the correct AEM that will work with the type of seizures that person has. it's not easy, but its annoying especially to the body during all the transactions from one med to another. My only way out of meds was surgery this year, but that was my solution after 10 years in different AEMs and ther type of epilepsy I had. Once again, speak to your neuro and I hope everything goes well.

[winston59]

wfffirefighter,

I am on 250mg of depakote one in the am and one in the pm. I was told to stay away from caffeine while on depakote. I used to be able to drink 1/2 caff 1/2 regular but can't even do that anymore because that brings on "mini" seizures. Perhaps it was that one coffee.