Q:  New Med & Mood Swings Increased

Hello. I do have bipolar disorder. However, i do have a seizure problem. I was just put on Depalote ER and i have found that my mood swings have increased. Is it due to the new medication i am on? Please help.

thanks,
erica

Dear Erica -- 
There's always the difficulty of deciding whether a medication is making things worse, or if it's just a phase of what we're trying to treat, and would have happened anyway, and the medication is just an "innocent bystander".  But, a doctor friend of mine says "medications are guilty until proven innocent".  So, it may be that the Depakote is making your mood swings worse -- but that would be extremely unusual, in fact I'm pretty sure I've never seen that happen (or recognized it as such, anyway).  I've seen Depakote make depression worse for sure, though not too often, fortunately.  So, not knowing anything else, I'd say it's unlikely (but possible) that the Depakote is making you worse in this way. 

Dr. Phelps

Published June, 2003