I also have bipolar type I and was diagnosed a few months after crashing from an intense months-long manic episode.
The psychiatrist put me on 500 mg, then 750 mg of Depakote (no other medications), which fixed it right away. I don't get sleeplessness like other people seem to either, which is strange.
I went from 208# to 220# inside of a few months on the 500 mg. This stabilized for a while until my dose was increased to 750 mg, then my weight started to increase again (slower) from 220# to 230# over a year. I did not eat differently whatsoever.
In the last three months I've done some heavy weight training and my weight has gone down from 230# to about 222-223#. I may add some boring cardio and see if it helps out.
I've put on a fair amount of muscle mass, so the recomp effect is nice. I don't think a keto diet would be safe with Depakote, though.
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