Depa - K-O - te

Tonight is the night I say sayonara to, give the old one-two punch, and K-O my Depakote. I have really been so unhappy with this drug; the weight gain more than anything else. But since I have been coming off of it, I have noticed the shakes FAR less often (practically never, in truth), and the appetitie and weight issues seem to be improving finally! My doctor said once I am totally off the Depakote, the weight should start coming off fairly quickly.
I am hoping that the little things I am doing more often (going to the gym, eating healthier and smaller portions) will help with that too! ;-)
That's all from the land of milkshakes!

Week one is done

So I have gone through my first week with Primidone (Mysoline) and so far so good. I haven't felt overly exhausted on the primidone yet, but then, it does take a while to build up in your system, so... I will start going down to 1500 of Depakote today, and I am looking forward to combining better eating, more exercise, and NO DEPAKOTE so I can get to a better, more healthy weight!

Medco sucks

FINALLY got an email that my medication had shipped... This was the NEW (ok, old - the Mysoline I took as a kid) medication that I am starting on while I wean off of the Depakote which has been turning me into Porky Pig.
If it arrives tommorrow (knock on wood), then I will get about a week on it before my parents arrive. That would be nice!

the blahs

Last night I curled up on the couch with Mary and was hit with a case of the blahs. Part of me is wondering if it was because I had experienced a mild seizelet the night before (the type where my face twitches, not a grand-mal or tonic colonic). I spent Sunday morning with a sore face (spare me the jokes of "does your face hurt? cuz it's killin me!"), took some Advil, and after a while, was physically ok. But am I mentally? I still wonder sometimes how my epilepsy will affect those around me as I get older - Mary, my parents, my children (or child) to be...
I don't know if this is what was giving me the blahs or not. Mary said they came on while we were watching Pretty Woman. huh...
This morning (A day and a half later) I had mild dizzy spells for a couple of minutes.
The twitching is also becoming more noticeable and (I think?) more frequent, but the twitching is not so severe as to diminish my capacity for doing anything. It is the sort of thing, for example, where my fingers will be "waiting" over the keyboard for me to formulate my thoughts, when suddenly they will "twitch out" and strike a couple of keys randomly. Or I will be holding a cup, and I will have a brief twitch where, while I don't really think I will throw the cup somewhere then, the though of what will happen in the future scares me. Sometimes I look at my hands stretched out in front of me when I feel this way and I see ever so slight trembles. Trembles, Blahs, Dizzy spells? Or no Seizures? I don't know.
This seems to be the common dilemna faced by most anyone with brain issues - what is the balances between side effects and control?

Go Depakote!

So I am pretty pleased that after about 3 weeks, I am tolerating the Depakote extremely well (knock on wood, fingers crossed!) - by and large my morning dizzy spells are virtually non-existant... a couple of VERY small instances of disorientation/dizziness, but overall I am very happy!
The main issue I DO have is that I am starting to notice what the doctor was talking about when he said that some people gain weight on Depakote. I need to use the old "mind power" to stop myself from gorging, as I do tend to feel much hungrier, and while I have gained a few pounds, I don't want to jump to the conclusion that it is the meds, as Christmas was certainly a food-fest!
But again, Yay Depakote! :-)