Patty - posted on 04/15/2011 ( 5 moms have responded )
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Hi. My son is being put on depakote in addition to his Keppra because the Keppra isnt controlling his seizures. I was wondering if anyone has used this medicine for their children and what their experience was? Any information about this medicine is appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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Jennifer - posted on 04/20/2011
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One of my boys ( I have three with epilepsy) has been on Depakote since December. He had a REALLY rough start with it, sleeping 18+ hours a day for several weeks, but once he got used to the medication, he's done well. He is now on the Extended Release form (because of the side effects,sleepiness, some dizziness) and he just started Lamictal as well. Depakote and Keppra together didn't do it for him (but we haven't found anything that does!). Since he started taking the Depakote, his atonic seizures have all but stopped- a HUGE victory for us. We have to do regular blood work to watch for liver issues and my other concern was weight gain - I took this med for migraines about 8 years ago and still haven't lost the weight that I gained while on it. My son has another medical issue and had a surgery and he can't gain weight too quickly or it will ruin the surgery. He is a thin guy anyhow, though, so this is easy to monitor.
Cynthia - posted on 04/20/2011
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My daughter has been on Depakote since Jan 09 when she as switched from Keppra. No issues! Good luck!
Patty - posted on 04/20/2011
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Thanks for your input everyone! I appreciate it.Jen-I am glad that it is working for your daughter...that gives me hope. My osn just started taking Depakote on Saturday so I am hoping for positive results.
Jen - posted on 04/20/2011
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My daughter is on depakote and keppra and she has a seizure once a week or can go 3 weeks. That's much better than the 9 a day she was having before we started depakote. She's been ok with the side effects but I know weight gain and hair loss were two of the biggies. It's a very old and tested medicine. I believe it's been around since the 50s.
Jessica - posted on 04/16/2011
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My son is on depakene (same thing as depakote) and has been since September/October of 2010. The depakene itself has not been bad at all . He was a little sleepy to begin with and could not tolerate it when the dose was increased (he slept for 20 hours that day) but overall he has not had any major side effects. He is not completely controlled on it, so we added zarontin which didn't help and keppra which made rage all day and still didn't help. Our experience with the depakote has been positive. We have also closely monitored his blood levels with frequent labs and he also gets carnitor to prevent carnitine deficiency.
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