need advice on depakote

[pikedb]

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hello all...i am new to board but need some advice from those in the know. my six year old has been on zarontin for absence seizures since she was three. My sis had epilepsy when we we young so I knew what to see and encourage pediatrician to test her. since going on zarontin i have never/rarely witnessed anything I could adamently say was another seizure. however her bi annual eeg's have indicated 1 second and 10 second spikes. the neurologist is always quite dubious when i say that i haven't seen seizures. st any rate, dr now wants to incorporate depakote into the the drug therapy out of concern for my childs education foundation as she is now entering 1st grade (right now my child is ahead of the curve intellectually). While I understand where dr is coming from I am resistant to more druf therapy when I do not see any siezure indications. Addmittedly, my sister had a very hard time in school partially due to having enough phenobarbital in her to "put down a horse" as one doc opne phrased it. So you can see I have a bit of a prejudice against over medication and see no reason why, if there are no visable seizures and the child is intellectually ahead of the curve, to drug her further.

any thoughts? i have asked a friend who is bi-poler about depakote and she said she would never put her child on depakote willingly. thoughts?

[epileric]

I think you're smart to be reluctant. I was on depakene as well as other meds at the same time when in school & I was an awful student & I often found the seizures themselves to effect me less than the medications side-effects.

IMHO I think it would be best to wait & see if a need to add depakene develops, then maybe add. I see what your doctor doing as like taking aspirins just in case you get a headache.

[Bernard]

Hi pikedb, welcome to the forum.

From what you have written, I can't see the justification for adding depakote. Maybe the doc is concerned about an issue which he has not explained to you (ie. kindling for example).

Depakote turned my wife into a zombie when she was on it. Of course, everyone tolerates drugs differently and many people can take it without significant side effects.

Have you looked into other options for reducing epiletiform activity in the brain (diets, neurofeedback, etc.)?

[Meetz1064]

It did such a number on me. The ONLY good thing it did was to control the seizures, AND to limit my migraines, but it screwed me up in so many other ways.....weight, mental clarity, edema....just to name a few

Check out the alternative therapy link in Mr B(Bernard)'s post. LOTS of good stuff in it.

And BTW, welcome to CWE! This is a really cool place, and Mr B (Bernard) has made us an AWESOME home here.

Buckeye should be around soon with the coffee.......his is DELISH

Meetz

[skillefer]

I was put on depakote as a teen. I really didn't have any issues with it. The only side effect that I really noticed was weight gain....but then after the doc took me off of it, the weight came off really easily. All meds have side effects and risks...and we all react differently to meds. I would go in to the doc and ask him/her why they want to put your child on depakote. And don't leave till you have an answer that you can understand. I'm lucky. My doc breaks everything down as easily as he can. But some docs get locked into "doctor" speech and forget that the patient most likely hasn't gone to med school. BTW, welcome to CWE.

[pikedb]

Thank you all very much for your very valuable and personal experiences with this drug. Bernard I did have one question...what is this you speak of , "(ie. kindling for example)." It is not a term I am familier with.

i have discovered that on the zarontin there should be no seizure activity recorded on EEG thus the Dr's recco...but i still harken back to..if the seizures are not visable to the eye, are they really such a detriment? hmmmmm...the quest continues1 again, thanks to all you all so very much. i realize there is still a ton to learn but i feel more confident getting your personal input and opinions...thanks one and all!

pikedb!

[Bernard]

kindling