Posted by Minnie-Haha on March 22, 2005, at 14:51:35
In reply to Depakote Effects?, posted by PM80 on March 22, 2005, at 14:14:21
> Hi all. I have been on Depakote about a week. What effects (good, bad, supposed to happen, not supposed to happen, etc.) has anyone experienced?
The good (my experience, anyway) was that, along with an antidepressant, IT WORKED. (My DX is Bipolar Type 2.)
The bad includes having to get your blood tested periodically (every month or two at first, every 4-6 months later) as the valproic acid can damage your liver.
For me, it also included weight gain -- about 30 pounds in 2 years -- and hair loss. The hair loss you can counter with zinc, but if I had it to do over again, I would take copper with the zinc. A good multivitamin might do the job, but if you want to supplement further, keep your total daily zinc intake at or under 30mg/day (this is NOT a case where more is better) and take about 1mg copper for each 10mg/zinc. Too much zinc can interfere with copper absorption and cause anemia.
poster:Minnie-Haha
thread:474045
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050322/msgs/474078.html