DEPAKOTE Reviews (DIVALPROEX SODIUM)Average Rating: 3.0 (584 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare DEPAKOTE with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
|
Results are sorted by Age oldest to youngest. 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 |
| 1 | Bipolar | Depression - Dizziness - Drowsiness - Exhaustion Insomnia - Lethargy - Memory loss - Nervousness - Ringing in my ears - Weakness - General feeling of ill health | Try something else -- there must be something else. | F | 84 | | 11/3/2008 | 1 | BiPolar | Exhausted. Destroyed my memory. | AVOID this Rx -- it made me a ZOMBIE. | F | 80 | 1 years | 7/21/2008 | 2 | seizures | Gait problems, cannot sleep, and speech problems. I had to change from lamicil because of problems and this the third medicine I am trying and I want to try something new. The lamictil did wonders at one time. | F | 79 | 14 days 500 2X day | 5/24/2021 | 1 | Bipolar | Sheer poison, tremors, disturbed sleep, nauseated,hair loss, no improvement. Would like to sure the bastard that prescribed it. | Off medicine now, just take klonapin and receive therapy. Feeling relatively good. | F | 75 | 3 months 30 3X day | 3/21/2014 | 2 | Chronic Migraines | Moderate drowsiness, diarrhea type incontinence | I have had chronic migraines for most of my life and have taken just about everything imagineable. Mostly the meds I have had were for stopping the ache after it started. I was first put on increasing doses of topamax which did not work. So far, I have been on 1000mg depkote for 2 months and still have a migraine each day and need to take imitrex to stop it. Seems that the headaches are weather related, but are definitely not sinus related. I have had three sinusectomies for sinusitis in the past and no longer suffer from that problem. Do not notice any inhibitive effect for the headaches yet from the depkote. About to stop it due to mentioned diarrhea side effects which are progressively getting worse. At my age that is more than an inconvenience. | M | 73 | 2 months | 3/11/2007 | 2 | bipolar 1 | Tremor, excessive and long sleep/stupor, muscle aches, weakness, short-term memory decrease; hypersomnia worsened with additional Latuda Rx; had to stop both, and/or reduce divalproex. Lithium was excellent for 40 yrs. until kidney function reached Stage 3 and allergic reaction emerged to lithium. | I am not sure muscle aches are only due to divalproex or a knee injury/fall in Aug. | F | 70 | 3 months 750mg 2X day | 3/1/2022 | 2 | post stroke seizures | extreme sleepiness, memory loss, could not focus, mood swings, weight gain | When I mentioned my extreme tirdness and always falling asleep to my doctor, she seemed surprised! I have been on 1000 mg ER for six months and have been steadily getting more sluggish. i am so glad I found this site, now I understand my condition. I have an appointment tomorrow with my doctor to get off Depakote. | M | 70 | 6 months | 12/31/2008 | 5 | Cough/exertional headache | TERRIBLE leg cramps at night, lethargy, nightmares and very strange dreams, weight gain, tremor. | Started with 1000mgm/day, went up to 2500mgm/day with but minimal relief, then increased to 3000mgm/day about two months ago. Still only minimal relief from really devastating headaches every time I coughed, sneezed, cleared my throat, bent over or exerted myself. About 3 weeks doc added Diamox (acetazolamide) to the mix and, voila!, it's as if a miracle has occurred. The cough headache syndrome is caused in part by increase cerebro-spinal fluid in the brain and the Diamox (a diuretic) reduces it just enough to, in essense, eliminate the headache. It, too, has some side effects - frequent urination, including at night, lethargy, depressed appetite, but a small price to pay. | M | 68 | 6 months | 6/13/2007 | 4 | Cough/exertional headache | Major weight gain (>20 lbs) and constant hunger, tremor in hands, vivid dreams, libidinal depression and orgasmic difficulty. TERRIBLE leg cramps that wake me up at night. Sleep difficulties. Lethargy and need for frequent afternoon naps. | I developed a rather strange syndrome known as "cough headache" and Depakote ER was prescribed. I've only been on it about 2 months; started at 1000 mgm/day - no help. Dosage gradually increased to current 2500 mgm/day (3 a.m., 2 p.m.). It has proven to be quite helpful with the headaches, which were EXTREMELY painful and debilitating and I'd not trade them for the side effects. That said, Depakote is obviously not a drug one would consider to be without consequence, especially at higher doses. My doc and I are considering reducing the dosage to 2000 mgm/day to see if that helps with the leg cramps. | M | 68 | 2 months | 1/16/2007 | 4 | Bi-polar | After taking this drug for Years my teeth are falling out one every other week; so I am having them all Removed 2-07-18 | I Had Taken Litium& It Made Me Very Sick So My Doctor Put Me On Depokote!! It Has Helped Me Tremendouly!! I Thank God For The Drug Except It Rotted All My Teeth & Now I'm Having Too Have Dentures Put In Starting February 7,2018 | F | 68 | 100 days 1500 mg | 1/30/2018 | 1 | Seizures | I have severe hand tremors from this drug. I am. Always writing and it is almost impossible. I can't hold a glass or anything still. Picking up a fork to eat is impossible. I also have weight gain and have been dieting. Doctor lowered dosage from 2,000'to 1500, still terrible. I MUST get off this drug. Don't take it if at all possible. | M | 68 | 1500 1X day | 12/12/2014 | 1 | bipolar | Sleep all day long no energy. Hands trembling and balance issues. Weight Gain. Many falls since on this medication. Do not recommend. | F | 66 | 6 months 750mg 1X day | 7/20/2021 | 1 | bipolar 1 hypomania | 30 lb weight gain, extreme hand shaking & finger tremors. Caused social anxiety. Two-thirds of thick long hair fell out, & was developing drug-induced parkinsonism. The tardive dyskinesia was far worse than from taking Seroquel. Shrink finally started to reduce dose to 750 mg then 500 mg, after I said the drug isn't even FDA or Health Canada approved for bipolar "maintenance." There are no controlled studies to prove that this drug can actually prevent more manic episodes. It is approved for acute mania & it did get the hypomania under control quickly. Now my shrink wants me to stay on the 500 mg/day, saying that it'll help prevent manic episodes. I was also taking 200 mg/day Seroquel, & my shrink says that most likely caused the 30 lb weight increase, so she is switching it to Latuda. I know it was the Depakote causing the rapid weight gain, because I had been on just Seroquel for years. It also caused weight gain at first, but my weight was steady | F | 66 | 11 months 1000 mg 1X day | 2/26/2018 | 2 | DEPRESSION | SLEEPY, HAIR LOSS, ONLY MODERATE RELIEF FROM DEPRESSION. | M | 65 | 150 days | 10/14/2005 | 1 | seizures | high ammonia levels over 300, confusion, sleepiness, slurring of words, mental changes | It seemed to be working ---then I started acting strangely and my wife was told to bring me to the ER; I wouldn't go; the police had to remove me and take me to the ER | M | 65 | 7 months | 3/24/2009 | 5 | bipolar | Possible issues with memory. | Could be age related. Problem is not severe at this time and primarily involves short term memory and ability to access long term memory. | M | 64 | 12 years 250 er 2X day | 10/23/2017 | 1 | Taking it for depression | My brain is scrambled. My sort term memory is terrible. I cannot always remember the easiest words,making it hard to put together sentences. I have no ambition to do anything and I used to run my own business. I am forgetful,make excuses for not attending social events, fall asleep easily. In addition, I have a hard time writing because my hands shake. This is not a constant but it does happen. My family tells me I am just "not with it" and my son is so upset. If I have a good day, he will tell me, "Mom you sound so good today"! I am trying to convince everyone that I can still think. Iknow my husband thinks I am entirely unable to do much of anything. I am making his life so boring. | When I first began taking depakote, I did not notice these effects. I guess they were gradual. It must have started when I was operating my business because I had to hire an assistant to help keep my mind organized. Now, years later after retiring, I am noticing everything. I just had a liver test and my dermatologist told me to stop taking another medication he had prescribed for psoriasis. I believe my liver problems are cause by the depakote, not the other med I was taking. I am also on Cymbalta and I have not researched effects caused by this drug. But Cymbalta keeps me straight. Without it, I would probably start having suicidal ideation again. My psychiatrist said that Depakota was a mood medication??? It is more like a brain death medication. I am going to stop it. I would like to enjoy the rest of my life feeling, thinking, participating and enjoying the company of others. This is a dangerous medication and I think controlled testing should be done on hundreds of people. | F | 64 | 15 years 500mg 1X day | 7/15/2010 | 4 | migraine | Side effects I experienced:clumsiness,e.g. dropping things, edema in leg that had bad circulation from surgery for cancer(I am a 20 year survivor),that got worse the longer I was on the rx, weight gain, | This was the second time I had tried the Depakote ER: 500mg.taken at bedtime.It really did help control the migraines.I had two migraine episodes( one episode can last from 1-3 days of migraines) while on this rx, this time. The second episode, I went 3 weeks before getting one and that was something I had not done for I don't know how long ago. I have had menstrual migraines since around 1984.I had a partial hysterectomy,but that did not help the migraines. I took Indomethacin(that really controlled the migraines so I got one about every 14 to 21 days) before getting malignant fibrous histiocytoma in 1986, and again in 1987. I am a 20 year survivor now. I could no longer take Indomethacin because it affected my red blood cells in the bone marrow. I tried going back on it this year but it did not work as a preventative now. I wish I could stay on the Depakote ER but the edema made my foot and ankle on my "survivor foot" swell to twice the size. I do not have normal lymph sys | F | 63 | 41 days | 3/25/2008 | 3 | Simple, partial seizures | Osteoporosis, low free testosterone (from high SHBG levels), mild tremor, mild weight gain (10 lbs.), elevated red blood cell indicies ((e.g. MCV), reduced platelets (although still in normal range) | Total seizure control, i.e., zero seizures in 20 years, but significant side-effects from long term use. | M | 63 | 20 years 250 MG 4X day | 7/24/2013 | 2 | panic disorder | Lethargic, overweight by 100 lbs for past 10 years. Last year, I lost 20 lbs due to gall bladder surgery and another 20 due to South Beach Diet. All 40 lbs are back on. I walk daily but am too tired to walk more, or have little incentive | I don't bring anything into my house that is high in sugar, salt or fats. However, a neighbor stores ice cream for me. I know it is loaded with fat and yet I can't resist. My internist and psychiatrist tell me that is no connection with weight and this drug. | F | 63 | 10 years | 6/9/2005 |
DEPAKOTE (DIVALPROEX SODIUM): This medication is used to treat seizure disorders, certain psychiatric conditions (manic phase of bipolar disorder), and to prevent migraine headaches. It works by restoring the balance of certain natural substances (neurotransmitters) in the brain. FDA Approval Date: 1983-03-10 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)