My son on Depakote

[KATinKY]

ok, alot of you know my son who turns 10 next month, has Bi-Polar and ADHD, He is on celxa, zyprexa, and Depakote, ok, he was on just 625 mg of Depakote untill today, now the doctor raised his depakote level all the way up to 1000 mg a day. everybody I talked to, said that was too high of a dosage for a kid that age, and ever since he started depakote about a year ago, he has went from size 8 to size 16 huskys, can you imagine just how much more weight he will put on now? and before anyone says to get a second oppinion, this is the only phychiatrist that will see my son.... so he is on zyprexa 10 mg, celexa 10 mg, and depakote 1000 mg now, any advice, does anyone else know of any kids on this kind of medicine, please any advice would be gretaly appreciated, I mean I already have the baby to worry about, we are getting ready for his surgery for cleft lip and palate in less than a month, plus he has been real sick the last month. I mean how much does someone have to go through...

[cpbaby]

NO advice, hon, but plenty of {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}.


Have you called U of L? They have free(or reduced) clinics for children with certain problems. My youngest used to go the traveling cardiologist clinic. It may be worth a call.

[ginna74]

While I was on depakote My grades rose and I did very very well.... it wasn't until I was taken off that I went haywire. My mom sings the praises to that drug. I hope he will be ok :) I never gained weight but I was older in high school .... in the 9th grade.... so I think about 14. all I can do is wish you luck!

[odyssey]

{{{{{KATinKY and son}}}}}}
I have no advice, I hope you find the information you need and your son is doing well.

[rain_cries]

http://www.depakote.com/br/dep/dep003.htm

This one is for kids - http://www.vh.org/pediatric/patient/neurology/anticonvulsantdrugtherapy/depakene.html

Quoted from this site:http://www.angelfire.com/wa/support/meds.html
DEPAKOTE:
Many children are prescribed Depakote (divalproex sodium) but all too often we receive med charts from parents or emails reporting that the Depakote dosage was 250-500 mg a day and "it didn't work." Most children will require far higher doses to achieve therapeutic blood levels, and while all children will reach different blood levels at different dosages, it's important to get the right levels and wait a few weeks before making any judgment about the effectiveness of the drug.


Testing Before Treatment


*Medical exam to gauge liver function, blood cell and platelet counts, and serum iron concentrations.


Dosing:


Children are often started on a test dose of 125 mg and adolescents on 250 mg, and the doses are gradually increased to obtain a daily target dose of of between 1,000-1,200 mg. Some children will require 1,500-2,000 mg a day to maintain an effective Depakote level. Like Tegretol, Depakote increases its own breakdown and the levels will need to be examined after a month on the medication to see if the level has dropped.


Range of Effective Levels
Many children respond best at levels between 80-90 mg/ml, but some require levels of 100 to 125 mg/ml to achieve adequate symptom relief.

[justinenycole26]

My brother has been on it before. I do not know if that's the one that made him gain weight, but it may be. His weight has roller-coastered since he has been on different meds for depression, ADD and OCD.

[ooops]

My cousin had a brain tumor removed and was put on this to help with seizure control. It made her hair fall out. They removed her from it. My mom was put on it. It made her act weird. So, my opinion of Depakote is not a nice opinion.
Here is something I copied from a website:
More common side effects may include:
Abdominal pain, abnormal thinking, breathing difficulty, bronchitis, bruising, constipation, depression, diarrhea, dizziness, emotional changeability, fever, flu symptoms, hair loss, headache, incoordination, indigestion, infection, insomnia, loss of appetite, memory loss, nasal inflammation, nausea, nervousness, ringing in the ears, sleepiness, sore throat, tremor, vision problems, vomiting, weakness, weight loss or gain.
http://www.healthsquare.com/newrx/dep1125.htm

[gothgirl]

My son's phychologist put him on Depakote and he remained on it for a few months and then was taken off of it. It caused him to want to sleep all the time and he was unable to stay awake in school to do his work. My son currently only takes Adderall XR for his ADHD/autistic. He is doing better but still has some behavioral problems and is social maladjusted. He is in special classes and therapy so I am hoping he will do ok in higher grades. Hugs to you.

[cch]

Any time you have a question about meds is on talk to your pharmacist. He/she will be able to tell you most anything you want to know about it. I don't care if there are 10 people behind me, when I pick up a prescription I always ask about side-effects and dosage and stuff. I figure it's up to me to know what I'm putting into my child's body and if I don't ask how am I going to know.

[Vixen]

My son is also on a high dosage of depakote but he is not gaining weight due to a thyroid issue.. He is adhd, odd just make sure they are doing depakote levels on him periodically.. my son goes once a month and they draw blood to see how his liver is functioning on it and what his levels are.. if the levels get to high then they will change it.. A normal depakote lvl is between 50 and 100 my sons is 4 on his own... HTH

[kelblend]

I don't know, did the doc say why he raised it??? What made the need to raise it after a year??

[KATinKY]

thank you all for your good advice,I appreciate it and glad I can depend on you all, thanx so much, and the reason they raised it after a year was because he started acting out again and his moods has gotten so severe, that he said he was raising it. I am still reading up on the links that you all posted, again thanx so much!!!

[twinkiesmom]

I was on Depakote but for epilepsy. I don't think 1000mg for a 10yr old is much at all, but like I said, I used it for epilepsy. If you're concerned, I would recommend a second opinion.