Hi,
Does anyone here take Depacote. I have been falling down a lot and having what drs think might be pseudo seizures. I also find myself blacking out occasionally. I hope the Depacote helps. Have lost my sense of taste and smell recently, anyone having that problem? I hate eating cardboard for lunch!

Hi Jordan,
I just started depakote last night so I don't have much input to give you.

I'm sorry for all the problems you're having. Hope the depakote helps. I'm taking it to manage my anger episodes. My food tastes like cardboard too!

Keep in touch.

Jordan, I lost most of my smell/taste a year or two ago. Actually, "lost" is the wrong word. I got together some of the smells suggested for testing, and found I could smell them a little if they were literally in my face. I'm guessing the same is true for taste. The only things I can taste are sugary things, doggone it!!

Just once, can't I have something happen in my brain, that makes me love vegetables?

Lisa, I'm eager to hear how the depakote hits you. Are you worried about the possible weight gain, or is there something you can do to fight it?

Alan,

The shrink told me that depakote shouldn't add to my weight gain. Was he lying??

Hi Lisa,
So far my side effects seem to be drowsiness and a bit of tremor. The seizures have dropped a bit, now if i can only get my balance back along with my taste and smell ill be fine!!

Let me know about you Depacote stuff...

Lisa, how much are you taking? I remember that the general way to dose somebody was 10 times their body weight. E.g., a person weight 140 pounds would probably need 1400 mg. depakote, and a bigger person of 320 would need around 3200 mg. of depakote.

Re: side effects, I don't know how prevalent weight gain is. And, I'm betting you're on a lower dose, which usually reduces the risk of side effects.

Jordan, forgive me if you've said it elsewhere, but - - do you have a pre-existing seizure disorder, or is it part of your dementia process?

I'm only taking 500mg er @ bedtime. But, I am sleeping a little better.

The anger thing is still there, though.

Jordan, how are you doing?

My lady started taking Depakote ER about 6 weeks ago for anger, yelling at other peoople or people on TV etc. She has Down Syndrome also so it may affect her differently. She takes 250 mg at bedtime but she didn't have problems sleeping originally, it was during the day that she had problems. I saw a little improvement but since she still was having the anger issues in the day, the doctor increased it to 250 mg. in the morning about 2 weeks ago.

It increased her symptoms significantly. After about 4 days, I called the Dr. to see if this was normal until the med. reaches it's level, and he said to give it 2 more weeks and then call back if she isn't better. It takes a month for the depakote and any changes in the dose to work properly. I have seen a very minor improvement in the day, but she also gets very sleepy/high after about 4 hours in the morning after taking it which then calms her down. Until then she is Baby Godzilla. During the late afternoon she reverts back to her godzilla status.

They say that the sleepiness/high is a side effect that will wear off eventually. I would say that she looks as if she is "high" and acts like it too, which then in turn makes her fall asleep, unless you keep her awake.

Her dosage is lower because she is only 4'6" and weighs 134. I have another lady who is taking it and she takes 500mg 4 times a day but she is much larger. It doesn't seem to affect her with sleepiness during the day at all. She sometimes has trouble sleeping at night still.

Hope this helps and I'll keep you updated as we progress thru this.

Please, if someone else is taking this then let us know how you are doing on it.

One other note, you should get labwork done while on Depakote that includes, liver function test, blood clotting test, ammonia levels in the blood and the level of Depakote in your system and in the beginning a check to make sure you don't have any urea disease. You should do this on a regular basis at first with your doctor.

Her Jordan L,

How are you doing on your depakote?

I'm still on the same dose. Anger is better but not gone but still not sleeping to well. Will speak with my doctor today.

Hi I am not sure I like the depacote it has calmed my seizures a bit butmy head seems to be so foggy I was just with my daughter and grandchildren for a week and I actually felt so much better now I feel like crap again confused disoriented clumsy damn I hate this disease
at this moment I feel like packing it in

quote:

Hi I am not sure I like the depacote it has calmed my seizures a bit butmy head seems to be so foggy I was just with my daughter and grandchildren for a week and I actually felt so much better now I feel like crap again confused disoriented clumsy damn I hate this disease
at this moment I feel like packing it in

Hey Jordan, tell me about it! Why is it too much to ask for a drug that just helps, and doesn't hurt?

It might be a good idea to call your doctor in the morning, tell him how his latest experiment is going? The doc should know if you're just having a transient side effect, or if this just isn't a drug for you. There are other drugs that do what depakote is supposed to do.

Jordan,

I agree with Alan. Call your doc.