DEPAKOTE Reviews (DIVALPROEX SODIUM)Average Rating: 3.0 (584 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare DEPAKOTE with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Date added. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 |
More on DEPAKOTE: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR DEPAKOTE | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 2 | bipolar | dizzyness, stomach pains, sleepy, fatigue... just plain blah!!! | after taking the first pill, i woke up the next morning feeling horrible!!! towards the afternoon, the stomach pains go away, but im still tired and feeling blah. so far, im not enjoying it, and neither is my job... | F | 21 | 1 weeks 500mg 1X day | 2/4/2010 | 2 | seizures | "In a fog" grogginess, strong negative effect on short-term memory loss, dehydration and serious peeling of skin, weakness, lessened sense of balance, nausea, vivid nightmares | I was being weaned from lamictal (caused more seizures) and introduced to depakote. Transition went well, but now that I'm on just the depakote, I feel like I'm in a fog or 'suspended animation' for about 4 hrs after taking a dose. My coordination is poor, my speech is slurring. I don't know if it will affect my seizures since I've been on it just over a week by itself. Considering its current effects, my hope is slim. Within 48 hrs of beginning the drug, my hand & foot flesh became terribly dehydrated, wrinkled, separating into small patches, ripping off if I inadvertently brushed up against something. Moisturizer hasn't helped. The visual and headache side effects of the lamictal have ceased, but it seems a whole new trainload of terror is awaiting me. I'd been on depakote years ago and forgot why I came off of it. Between then and now,everything else has had horrific side effects, particularly the lamictal and topomax which nearly killed me(I guess a side effect of being dead should be okay if I'm seizure-free?). From reading the patient reviews, I share many of the same side effects. If the depakote doesn't do something positive in about 3 mos, I'll go back to no Rx at all where I would have 1 or 2 seizures per 3 to 5 years; on Rxs, I have about 4-5 per 2 months. The state requires me to be on a Rx and seizure free if I am to continue to drive;if the Rx causes the seizures, how then will I ever become seizure free? Somewhere, I'm missing the logic in all of | F | 54 | 28 days 500mg 2X day | 2/4/2010 | 1 | bipolar | major hair loss | i have very long hair and I had major hair loss. I had to stop taking this medication immediately | F | 17 | 1 days 1X day | 2/4/2010 | 1 | BP II | Memory loss, confusion, brain fog, difficulty concentrating, tremor, major weight gain (80lb+), major hair loss, difficulty finding the right words, painful bone aches. | Honestly this has been the worst medication I've ever taken, and I've tried a lot. It helps bring down the highs (and is the only one that does that for me, so far) but it comes at a huge cost. My pdoc described the side effects as "pseudo-dementia" when I was on a higher dosage. I'm also experiencing terrible aches in my bones, and now I'm trying to get myself tested for bone loss (this isn't uncommon with depakote!). I hate it! Also the weight gain is terrible... dieting just makes it worse. | M | 21 | 1 years 1000mg 1X day | 2/4/2010 | 3 | Grand Mal Seizure | Weight Gain, tingling in my legs and feet, tingling in my head in the last 8 hours of dose. | I had my first and only Grand Mal Seizure in Oct.2009. I had just stepped off my motorcycle. I have been becoming unmotivated and my short term memory is becoming a real issue. I just dont feel like myself. My body clock has always woke me up at 6 am. and now I am not awake until 8am or even as late as 10am. I also have the dizziness. | M | 49 | 3 months | 1/24/2010 | 1 | bipolar | weight gain | this medicine didnt do anything for me, i felt no changes | F | 21 | 3 months | 1/22/2010 | 2 | severe daily migraines | weight gain, hand tremors, hair loss, fuzzy vision, indigestion, confusion | Doc put me on Depakote as a last resort in addition to 400 mg/day of Topomax to try to break the cycle of 24/7 migraines. He started low, but within 2 months I was on 1500 mg and my life was impossible. I couldn't think, wake up, have a social life, and was still trying to work and raise 4 kids. I asked for a second opinion, and was seen by 2 other docs. One was out of state at UC-San Fran. He was awesome and set me up with some "rescue" painkillers. He suggested I start weaning myself off of the high levels of drugs I was on and take the painkillers only when needed. That's what I've done. I'm now on 200 mg. of Topomax and 500 mg of Depakote and still trying to work my way down. I THINK I WAS OVERMEDICATED AND HAVING REBOUND HEADACHES IN BETWEEN DOSES. Now I can take one of my painkillers in between doses if I need one (maybe 2x/week). GET A SECOND OR THIRD OPINION!!! GOOD LUCK!!! | F | 45 | 18 months | 1/16/2010 | 4 | Depression | At first, dizziness. Dropped from 1500 mg to 1000, it went away. I can get slightly scatterbrained though. Eventually I went up to 2000 mg. (starting last week) After 3 wks I am still dealing with a bit of scatterbrainedness and most noticably, clumsiness. I have broken more glasses by dropping them in the last week than I have in the last 5 years. | I am def'ly getting better results with is vs. the SSRIs (Zoloft or Prozac) I was on. I think I have had some sexual side effects in the realm of oversensitivity around the glans, leading to premature ejaculation. However I am not sure if that is due to the coming off of SSRIs with their notorious sexual-response-deadening side effects getting reversed-out suddenly or if it is related specif'ly to the depekote. | M | 41 | 21 days | 1/8/2010 | 1 | diagnose bipolar | My mother lost the ability to walk, talk, feed herself, and could not communicate with us. She could not sit nor turn over in the bed. She was falsely diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease for years. Depakote destroyed her life and cost her years. | I was contacted by the nursing facility and urged to have hospice take care of my mother since her "Alzheimers" and "Parkinson's disease" had progressed to the point that she could not eat enough to sustain her life much longer. During the Hospice meeting I was told that Mother would not be given anything to sustain her life. I refused to sign with them and had her transported to her neurologist. He said that she was in late stage Alzheimers and could not live more than 18 months. I still refused Hospice "care". I decided to get her medical records instead,and became horrified at what I found! A few years earlier she had told one of her doctors that she would not take Depakote anymore because it was stopping her from being able to walk very well. He stated this in the records, then stated that she would from then on be given Depakote syrup and he raised the dosage. This was hidden in her drinks. He actually signed this report. I started to research Depakote and found that Alzheimer's and Parkinson's caused by this drug was reversible. I had him take the dosage down until she could come off the drug. She woke up! That was almost 4 years ago. She will never be able to walk again because her muscles athropied. She can barely sit up, but her mind is alert to everything that is going on and she remembers everything except for the years of being bedridden because of this dangerous drug. She also calls to tell us what goodies she would like to have us | F | 61 | | 1/8/2010 | 3 | migraine headaches | hair loss, weight gain, tremors, dizziness, delayed mental response time, indegestion, reflux | My neurologist told me the Depakote ER was the "court of last resort" for my migraines. I have noticed it takes my body about a month before I can see the results of the medication. I have 13 to 14 severe migraines a month that are linked to my monthly cycle. The Depakote ER 500 mg per day almost stopped them at first, then they crept back. Now I'm up to 1000 mg per day and am not sure I can keep it up because of the worsening side effects. It's like my digestive system has completely stopped working and I'm gaining more weight and losing more hair if that's possible. I may try the topomax again sooooooon! | F | 34 | 8 months | 1/1/2010 | 3 | Bipolar 2 | no side effects for first 2 weeks - after that I had weight gain, irritability, hallicinations, trouble sleeping, confusion, dizziness when I look to the left or right | I hate this medicine and want off of it ASAP | F | 31 | 30 days | 12/30/2009 | 3 | Seizure Disorder | nausea,weight gain, hair loss, hand tremors, CRAZY DREAMS that I remember almost every morning & insomnia | I was just diagnosed with a "seizure disorder" in July of 09'. Apparently I have been experiencing the "aura" as my crazy doctor call its for years but had my first full blown seizure this year. Depakote ER is my third medicine and for the most part the only one that is stopping the seizures from coming on but I have experience alot of side effects. At first on this medicine I was nauseated for about the first month. Now I have horrible hair loss and I've just started to notice I get tremors in my hands and I've gain 15 lbs in about 3 months. I have been experiencing insomnia and when I do get to sleep I have the crazy vivid dreams that I remember almost every morning when I wake up. I have had two seizures since I've been on depakote er but again according to my Dr. they are what are to be considered "break through" seizures. I am currently looking for a new neurologist. Hopefully I can get something that I can have a normal life on!! | F | 29 | 3 months | 12/16/2009 | 1 | epilepsy - partial complex seizures | personality change, severe depression, suicidal thoughts, my period stopped, memory problems, loss of interest, gained 40 pounds and unable to work. | I took depakote, 1250 mg twice a day, for 15 years and it destroyed my life. It did stop my seizures at first. And that was all my neurologist cared about even though it was evident that it had changed me and I kept telling him that it made me depressed. At first it was okay, I finished undergrad and grad school but my personality changed overtime, I became severely depressed, suicidal, I had memory problems, loss of interest, gained 40 pounds, my period stopped and I was unable to work. I started seeing a psychiatrist/psychopharmacologist for the depression and he became my advocate. He said I should not be on this drug and definitely not at 2500mg a day. With his help I finally switched to another doctor and then to another drug. It was like I came out of a fog. My brother said that the sister he remembered was back. Slowly, I was able start working again and to have a life – to laugh and have fun. This medication stopped my ability to live and I will never get the last 10 of those 15 years back. NO ONE should ever take this drug for epilepsy. It may help people with bipolar disorder from being manic but if you do not have a manic problem it takes you so far down past the medium line of normal emotions into depression that I would have preferred to have seizures everyday. There are other epilepsy drugs that have little to no side effects. Make it clear to your doctor if you are having problems. I now take lamictal and keppra and am doing great! | F | 43 | 15 years | 11/28/2009 | 4 | Bipolar I | Major hair loss, weight gain, tremors, muscle spasms, losing ability to spell words and speech, decreased ability to concentrate. | Despite the serious side effects of depakote, it has helped control my mania. I am taking 1500 mg a day. In addition to the depakote, I take seroquel and lamictal. This combination has greatly stabilized my mood swings. I have also suffered from migaine headaches for 32 years and depakote does nothing to diminish the pain. I am very concerned about the hair loss. I used to have very thick hair and the hair loss is most obvious on the top of my head. I'm considering requesting litium instead of the depakote to see if it will stop the hair loss. Does anyone know if the lithium is a good subsitute for depakote? | F | 53 | 4 years | 10/31/2009 | 1 | Bipolar Manic Insomnia | Severe heartburn, indigestion, nausea, almost 24/7. | Due to the severe side effects, actually brought me down into depression. Within two days of discontinuing usage, I was feeling great on just Seroquel. | F | 55 | 2 months | 10/30/2009 | 5 | Migraine prevention | The only side effect I had was when performing fine motorized skills such as typing on my computers keyboard like now. My fingers or hands twitch. I keep hitting the same key over, or, I'll hit wrong keys. It drives me crazy but the consequences are worse. | My migraines were familial (inherited) and atypical (not typical)I had them as long as I could remember. I get turned into an invalid. My mother & one brother got same thing, sometimes everyday for a while. When afflicted I was like a mind without a body. I knew what was going on arround me but couldn't walk or talk. I had one migraine 2 days after my first Depakote. I haven't had a migraine since. I only take 500 mg. every day. | M | 56 | 4 years | 10/13/2009 | 5 | bipolar II | weight gain, thinning hair, though i'm taking remeron too, so not sure it might me from that one too | taking 2000mg. The drug is beautiful, minor side effects, though it doesn't control my mood swings completely, i still can take only 7,5mg of remeron for my depression daily, be on casein/sugar/gluten/caffeine free diet, and control my binges, otherwise it doesn't help much | F | 24 | 3 years | 10/5/2009 | 3 | Chronic daily migraine | Very drowsy (needed nap after work, slept great at night), tremors. | Depakote ER did help with the headaches, which had caused me to miss a week of work. But it made me very sleepy and also caused tremors in my hands and jaw. I had a lot of trouble having minor dental work done, because of the jaw tremor. I also had trouble doing yoga. Only a little weight gain (5 lbs.) over two-and-a-half years. I went off it to see if I could end the tremors and fatigue, but had nothing but trouble with other drugs. | F | 56 | 2.5 years | 10/5/2009 | 5 | Bipolar Disorder | Slight Drowsiness | I was experiencing extreme paranoid delusions which led to an extended hospital stay. My doctor put me on Geodon 120mg/day and Depakote 1000mg/day. The delusions went away and I was able to resume life as normal, but I was extremely tired for the first two or three hours of the morning until I stopped taking Geodon. Now that I am only taking Depakote I feel much more stable and in control. | M | 30 | 8 months | 10/2/2009 | 2 | Epilepsy | Severe nausea, sleepiness, confusion, slight hair loss (curly regrowth), depression, memory loss | I took this medication for 2.5 years, starting out with a low dose and then gradually increasing to 1000mg/day. I had tried various other medications (and combinations of medications) for 3 years before I was put on Depakote. My doctor was very hesitant to try it because of my age and the effects it has on pregnancy. I was seizure-free after about 7 months of altering the dose, and once I hit 1000 mg/day I did not have another seizure on this medication. However, I was so sick from the side effects that I had to be slowly taken off Depakote. I vomited at least five times a week, and I had no appetite. I was down to only 86 pounds at one point (I'm 5'3") and my doctors decided it would be best to stop taking Depakote. While I was being weaned, I had no seizures, and I did not have another until I was off the medication completely. Since then I've had one seizure a month for 6 months, even on a new medication. | F | 23 | 2.5 years | 9/24/2009 |