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 |
| 5 | Bi Polar I | Bit sleepy (increased the lethargy I felt from 600mg Seroquel),mild hair loss and believe may be causing stomach cramps/painful periods. | Really helped with mood stabilising. Manic episodes minor and down from 15+ a year to a max of 5. Wouldn't consider anything else. | F | 37 | 18 months | 1/20/2008 | 5 | Migraines | Weight gain (45 lbs), crazy dreams and sluggish reaction | After 6 mos. of daily migraines, my neurologist put me on Topamax. I gave it a good effort of about 8 months but I had to give up daily life. I lost 20 lbs and my hair. After weaning off the Topamax, my doc put me on Depakote ER 500 mg, she added Inderal after a couple months. My hair has come back but it is "perm" curly, I have gained 45 lbs. My docs have been diligently treating me since 7/06 but it worked. I average 2 migraines per month now and after 3 months of cutting back on the Depakote and Inderal, my neurologist had taken me off it. Also, for those who suffer from migraines, check out allergies (find a doc who will also look at delayed allergies), TMJ, etc... I found I had delayed allergies to beans (all beans) Also, STAY AWAY FROM KNOWN TRIGGERS. All I can say, is search for good docs and research, research, research!!!!! | F | 45 | 10 months | 12/21/2007 | 4 | Bipolar | Side effects i had experienced were being very tired,feeling sick to my stomach,hair falling out,and some tremers. They wore off after 4 weeks. OH and I have never had any weight gain only weight loss on this drug go figure!!! | I will continue taking this drug. It has helped me so much. You must realize all meds. have some side effects it is just what can you handle and for how long. | F | 32 | 2 years | 12/17/2007 | 3 | Complex Migraine | Weight gain, little hair loss, tired, little depressed | I have lupus and very frequent complicated migraines, take many meds, nothing has every made me gain weight but this has, just starting 5th week. Migraines have decreased due to combo of depakote and prednisone. Very concerned about the weight gain. We'll meet with doc in 3 weeks to discuss. | F | 38 | 1 months | 12/16/2007 | 5 | SPS/Anxiety | slight tremor that went away. | I have better focus and feel like I am not going in 10 directions at once. I'm glad I did not see this site sooner or I would have been worried. I took Dilantin for 3 years and was unpredictable and angry although it worked. Within 3 days of Lamictal I broke out all over and had to take a medrol pack. 5 years on depakote er and no problems. Forgot what it was like to be nervous all the time which is good. | M | 28 | 5 years | 12/11/2007 | 4 | Bipolar. | Temporary skin discoloration, crazy hair loss, gained 40 lbs in one year of taking, sleepy without stimulant, "orgasm flush", hives, IMMENSE light-headedness when blood sugar is low, worse than without medicine. | I had a horrible psychiatrist, and he didn't really know what he was doing. As soon as I was put on a stimulant as well as the depakote, I balanced out very well. I was put on a stimulant for weight loss containing phenyl, a stimulant similar to the one contained in ADHD medication. I have lost the 40 pounds now, and am being treated for bipolar and ADHD. and the hair loss SUCKS. my doc says to take SELENIUM, but it isn't really helping. | F | 15 | 18 months | 12/11/2007 | 5 | hypomanic | absolutely no side effects | its a great experience ,i feel cool,calm and composed,no racing thoughts,no flight of ideas,i used to feel like "volcano" in my head ,i use to have too much of sex ,now after depakote my mind is icy,really a sweet drug that makes you calm | M | 35 | 10 days | 12/9/2007 | 4 | Bi-Polar II | Bleeding Gums | Absolutely no change in behaviour at all (1000mg a day) | F | 44 | 4 months | 12/6/2007 | 4 | Bipolar II | Hair Loss | If not for the hair loss I would be very satisfied. No weight gain at all. | M | 38 | 3 months | 12/3/2007 | 4 | migraine prophylaxix | Swelling around eyes and limbs; some muscle cramping--these symptoms made me think I was hypothyroid (although I am taking Synthroid). Severe diareah and rampant hair loss first few weeks, then constipation after one month. I have gained about 5 pounds in 3 months taking 2 Depakote ERs and feel "full" all the time. I am dreaming very bizarre dreams every night, and wondering if Depakote worsened my hypnic headaches for which I am taking Indocin SR prophylactically. | It is helping my hormonal migraines (first 8 days of cycle)which now respond to triptans (they had ceased responding prior to starting Depakote); is has reduced my visual auras and also visual sensitivity. It did not help my hypnic headaches (15 days per month), and many have possibly worsened them. | F | 50 | 90 days | 11/30/2007 | 3 | seizure disorder | crazy sleepy! falling asleep in class and at 6pm everynight for awhile, clumsiness, uncontrollable appetite (it's all about the carbs!), 40 lb weight gain(mostly in the beginning), hair loss | Started when I was 13. I gained 20 lbs the first month. I would eat a meal and 10 minutes later felt like I hadn't eaten in days. I had a lot of trouble remembering to take the 3:00 dose. I always thought I was just a klutz, but after reading this, maybe it was the depakote? Sleepiness subsided, but my appetite never did. Watching out for carbs & working out helped alot. ER was better, but I ultimately switched meds. | F | 21 | 7 years | 11/28/2007 | 1 | Bi polar | hair loss, weight gain, liver damage, sexual disfunction, lethargic | quickly damaged my liver with no relief of depression | F | 35 | 6 months | 11/27/2007 | 3 | not diagnosed bi-polar teen | stomach ache, vomitting. groggy..groggy spacey | 1st time fell asleep at breakfast, next day threw up in morning.. next day teachers asked me if I was on drugs.. next day could not stay awake to go to school. Going to try for 2 weeks I guess. Not having severe tantrums because of heavy sedation. | M | 15 | 5 days | 11/20/2007 | 4 | Re-occuring migraines | Only on day three of 500mg Depakote, but have had some diarrhea after eating. | Was on Topamax for 2 months and had a constant headache for 2 months (Topamax did not work for me). Today is the first day in three weeks that I am headache free!!! The doctor put me on Depakote and forwarned me it could cause some weight gain (vs loss on Topamax) and that did not make me happy. Comments on this site have scared the heck out of me thinking I can have so much weight gain, mood swings and even hair loss ?!?!?! I am hoping that I will fall in the small percentage that does not have any adverse side effects since it seems to be working on my nasty headaches. I go back to Dr. in 2 weeks for blood work (liver functions) and if any weight gain will be asking for something else. I dont want to be the next person on here to state they have gained 40lbs in 2 months since it does not seem to be the increase in appetite that causes the gain, it is the meds. | F | 36 | 3 days | 11/19/2007 | 1 | absence seizures | Initially the tremors were mild but increased over 6 years to become incapacitating. I gained a huge amount of weight-about four sizes-and became weak and terribly tired all the time. My lack of balance became a serious problem and I lost a lot of hair. I had difficulty concentrating and became progressively more confused. My libido was nearly non-existent and I was sleepy all the time. The side effects that were mildly annoying in the beginning became so pronounced that my family and friends were concerned about my health. It did control my seizures but I went from small seizures to major tremors. Not a good trade-off. | I would not recommend this to anyone but it has clearly helped some people. My advice would be to immediately revisit your doctor for a re-evaluation if you demonstrate any negative symptoms. Mine got progressively worse until my quality of life reached such a low point that a family member took me back to my neurologist. I am now on Lamictal and have none of the negative side effects that I experienced on Depakote. | F | 61 | 6 years | 11/18/2007 | 2 | Severe Migranes | jumpiness, depression, lack of concentration, loss of libido, dizziness, absent mindedness, tiredness, headaches, tremors | wow, I thought I was in the clear when I switched from Lamictal to Depakote. WRONG. This medicine has helped with mingranes (ie: i'm not going to the ER 4 times a week now) however, I still suffer from near daily headaches. It seems I'm in a rut, nothing really excites me and it's tough to get going in the morning. I'm always tired, which doesn't help the loss of libido and surely doesn't help my relationship either. Concentrating for more than 1.5 hours is a no. I just can't. It always seems I'm staring into space. Tremors are so horrible that when I was serving someone coffee I shook so hard I spilled hot coffee all over a poor gentleman's hand. Good luck to those who try this drug. | F | 20 | 3 months | 11/14/2007 | 2 | Bipolar/anxiety | I only took depakote for 37 days.Massive appetite increase with weight gain of 10 lbs and feeling over-medicated, so we decided to try something else. It helped the anxiety tho- just a little to strong for me. However....within 30 days AFTER stopping I began to have alot of hair breakage and suddenly it looked brittle/dull. This continued to the point I had to cut my hair 2-3 inches. Then 60 days after stopping the drug, I started loosing hair (quickly within a 2 week period) to 50% thickness. Saw a Dermatologist (Alopecia specialist at that) who said this was definitely a result of the depakote. I even had my ferratin tested and it was ok- so no iron deficiency...Unfortunately, she also said the damage was done and I might continue to loose hair anywhere from 1 to 6 months. I have had to further cut my hair all off because it was so thin! Fortunately, it is growing back at the same time it is coming out. | Definately helped the anxiety, but to the point where i felt relatively over-medicated and a sense of complete apathy. As far as the appetite issue: I felt like i wanted to eat all day long! MAJOR HAIR LOSS!!! | F | 44 | 37 days | 11/13/2007 | 1 | migraine | fried my brain | I used to have a above normal capacity to remember things. After using this drug for several months I would go to the store and not remember why I was there. When I quit taking the it I figured the memory problems were side affects from the drug and my memory would come back, I figured wrong. I have been off the drug for 5 years and still haven't recovered my memory. Doctor doesn't comment about this complaint but I am a very different person now and glad I am not in a profession where ones needs to be sharp because I would be unemployable now. Also didn't help the migraines. | F | 53 | 4 months | 11/12/2007 | 5 | Abnormal EEG Anxiety | I had some stomach and weight (10lb) side effects I would say for a good year. I have always taken 750mg or the ER version and that's been about 7 years. | In my case it just seems like it still works great but the side effects have gone away. I take a multi-vitamin and excercise but the excercise has just been recent, not for weight issues. I also take 20 mg prozac with it. I am grateful that my body adjusted and it it always works. It is dependable. | M | 31 | 8 years | 11/8/2007 | 1 | manic bipolar | gained 40 pounds since taking 1000mg. Upset stomach and constant aggrevation. Have to take at night time to subdue side effects | Would not suggest | F | 26 | 2 years | 11/2/2007 |