Depakote

[Doodlebop'smom]

Anyone else deal with Depakote? My daughter started it a week ago. She is 8 years old Generalized Epilepsy. She has been so sick since starting. Tummy pains and vomiting. Is this going to balance out? Or is this her body saying "no?" We have a call into the dr. But waiting.

[lindinig]

Stomach aches are one of the side-effects, but if she's vomitting, I would stop the depakote. My son doesn't experience too many negative symptoms of the depakote. He hasn't even gained weight from it, which is another nasty side-effect. Is she on the brand name or generic?

[Doodlebop'smom]

She is on the generic depakote. This was our last med option. As the doctor said we have used all the other "big guns." She too has not gained any weight on any of the meds. She was actually down 4 lbs. before we started the Depakote.
Right now we are activly looking into the VNS. But I think we need to really look at all the options before we let him go a head with it.
I placed a call for him. She is now over 24 hours of keeping anything down. We live in AZ and worry about dehydration. Which is a constant problem around here.
As of now we are just waiting for a phone call.

[Doodlebop'smom]

Oh, and her seizures are increasing. A lot in her sleep again. So it's really not working for her!

[Nakamova]

I'm so sorry it doesn't seem to be working out. Depakote is an older anti-epileptic drug (also known as Depakene, and Valproate) and for some it can lead to weight gain, as well as cognitive issues. But it sounds like your daughter's system is saying "no" to it.