Withdrawal issues for depakote, effexor, klonipin, doxepine

[azlisa555]

Hi,
On December 30th, my son was sent to jail over an unpaid traffic ticket.  The judge totally threw the proverbial book at him and sentenced him to nearly 6 months.  I was doing everything possible to fight it, but he became severely depressed and anxious.  (He had anxiety issues before this and took Xanax as needed)  While in jail, he saw a psychologist who diagnosed him with severe depression and anxiety and set him up to see a psychiatrist.  He agreed with the diagnosis and put him on Effexor 75 mg in the morning, Klonipin 2 mg in the morning and Doxepine 100 mg at night.  About 5 days ago, a different psychiatrist said he was misdiagnosed and decided he had Bipolar Disorder.  He added another drug - Depakote 1000 mg BID.  I have no idea how he justified the diagnosis, but that's not my primary concern right now.  Last night, he was told that an anonymous donor had paid his fine and he was being released.  He was told to call the jail and get a copy of his medication records to take to a dr.  He has no insurance, and it will take a bit of time to get an emergency appointment for AHCCCS (Medicaid).  He's home now, but has no medicine and no means to get any in the next couple of weeks.  I did some research on the withdrawal problems and it is all really scary.  I don't know what to do - I don't even know if he has been on the medicines long enough for the abrupt discontinuation to be an issue.  The Depakote has been 5 days and the others about 3 weeks.

What am I up against?  Will he be ok until I can get him to a dr or is this an impending crisis?  Should I take him to the emergency room?  Is there any herbal or natural remedies that may help him?  He seems ok right now, but I'm really worried.  On a less urgent matter, how is a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder made?  What is the difference between being depressed and anxious over a scary, depressing incident in one's life and a mental illness?  This is all uncharted territory to me!

Thanks in advance for any advice,
Lisa

[azlisa555]

Thank you both very much for your thoughtful replies and all the information and links.  It will help tremendously!  I think I've got a lot of research to do.  I will take your advice and take him to the ER if things start to get bad and look for other resources for more long term help.

Thanks again,
Lisa

[heyjude1]

I can speak for 2 of the drugs, the Effexor and the Depakote.  If he has only been on the Depakote for 5 days I don't believe he will have issues coming off.  The Effexor does have a withdrawal but 75 mg. is a small dose, I take 300 mg.  However, I would suspect he will have some withdrawal.  My concern is he will go right back into a depession or a Bipolar episode quickly.  I know the Klonipin is to have a brutal withdrawal also but I have never taken it and can not tell of any experience with it.

You can always take him to Emergency Room at a hospital to seek help if he starts getting in bad shape.  The hospital will keep him even w/o insurance and they can put him on the Physc ward for a few days and the Social Workers can always help to get aftercare for you..  Have you checked with the state mental heath and mental retardation clinics in your area and explain what is going on and see if they can get him in as Emergency case?

One other option, alot of the churches, especially the Catholic churches have programs to help the needy.  Most will pay for your medicine at least once a year.  You could call a church in your area and explain your situation and they should be able to refer you.  The bottom line is that there is help out there but you just have to know where to look.

[ILADVOCATE]

If you go with him to the emergency room he would be eligible for emergency Medicaid which could transition into standard Medicaid. It would be essential for him to remain on medication and that's one way to remain eligible. You could find out more information by contacting your local NAMI chapter as well as your local independent living center:
http://www.ilru.org/html/publications/directory/index.html