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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by n@oise on February 19, 2005, at 15:13:04
damn depakote.
apparently the incidence of hair loss, thinning hair is quite rare. lucky me woohoo. now, i have long wavy THICK hair so i've still a while before the situation goes to defcon 1 (even tho i'm losing troops at an alarming rate).
anyway. been on 1250 depakote pdoc just brought me down to 1000 to see if there'd be any change. just wondering if anyone's ever experienced this and if so, did a lower dose help or did you hafta get off it altogether????
if lower dose doesn't work for me it'll mean going over to tegritol which would be just SUPER. more weight gain and god knows what else. i honestly believe my doc is trying to turn me into an oompa loompa...every week gives me scrpts for zyprexa 'in case i change my mind' when i so don't need it.
however, pls pls pls pls pls if anyone has any info on my hair sitch pass it on!
thx!
ps...suppose if i just saved up all the hairs i could make a wig in the end!
Posted by Nixon on February 19, 2005, at 15:24:15
In reply to Shedding More Hair Than My Dog...Bad Depakote!, posted by n@oise on February 19, 2005, at 15:13:04
> damn depakote.
>
> apparently the incidence of hair loss, thinning hair is quite rare. lucky me woohoo. now, i have long wavy THICK hair so i've still a while before the situation goes to defcon 1 (even tho i'm losing troops at an alarming rate).
>
> anyway. been on 1250 depakote pdoc just brought me down to 1000 to see if there'd be any change. just wondering if anyone's ever experienced this and if so, did a lower dose help or did you hafta get off it altogether????
>
> if lower dose doesn't work for me it'll mean going over to tegritol which would be just SUPER. more weight gain and god knows what else. i honestly believe my doc is trying to turn me into an oompa loompa...every week gives me scrpts for zyprexa 'in case i change my mind' when i so don't need it.
>
> however, pls pls pls pls pls if anyone has any info on my hair sitch pass it on!
>
> thx!
>
>
> ps...suppose if i just saved up all the hairs i could make a wig in the end!
>Hi,
It may or may not work but try the selenium and zinc supplements. Reports are strictly anecdotal regarding supplements but I take 30mg zinc and selenium and thankfully have not lost any hair it has actually gotten thicker. The flip side is I take 500mg and the "tipping point" for side effects that I have read about seems to be around 1000-1500. Good Luck. JN
Posted by Tabitha on February 19, 2005, at 15:25:42
In reply to Shedding More Hair Than My Dog...Bad Depakote!, posted by n@oise on February 19, 2005, at 15:13:04
I've seen many reports of depakote hair loss on message boards. The usual tip passed around is to take zinc and selenium for it, but I've never actually seen anyone say that they did this and the hair loss stopped. Here's a reference that says to take biotin plus zinc. It might be worth a try.
http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/meds/hairbiotin.htm
Posted by Minnie-Haha on February 19, 2005, at 17:39:29
In reply to Shedding More Hair Than My Dog...Bad Depakote!, posted by n@oise on February 19, 2005, at 15:13:04
> apparently the incidence of hair loss, thinning hair is quite rare. lucky me woohoo. now, i have long wavy THICK hair so i've still a while before the situation goes to defcon 1 (even tho i'm losing troops at an alarming rate).
>
> anyway. been on 1250 depakote pdoc just brought me down to 1000 to see if there'd be any change. just wondering if anyone's ever experienced this and if so, did a lower dose help or did you hafta get off it altogether????
>
> if lower dose doesn't work for me it'll mean going over to tegritol which would be just SUPER. more weight gain and god knows what else. i honestly believe my doc is trying to turn me into an oompa loompa...every week gives me scrpts for zyprexa 'in case i change my mind' when i so don't need it.I was on Depakote for a couple of years and did experience siginificant hair loss at first, but adding zinc and selenium did help. (Like you, I started with thick hair, so it never got too bad.) Eventually, I stopped because of the weight gain (in my case, 30 pounds - which caused me to get depressed) and I started having menstrual problems, too. Here is an interesting link about Depakote-related depletions.
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsDepletions/AnticonvulsantMedicationsValproicAcidDerivativescl.html
BTW: I now take Trileptal instead of Depakote and I find it pretty weight neutral... I just have to watch my serum sodium levels on it at higher doses.
Posted by n@oise on February 21, 2005, at 2:01:38
In reply to Re: Shedding More Hair Than My Dog...Bad Depakote!, posted by Minnie-Haha on February 19, 2005, at 17:39:29
>
> I was on Depakote for a couple of years and did experience siginificant hair loss at first, but adding zinc and selenium did help. (Like you, I started with thick hair, so it never got too bad.) Eventually, I stopped because of the weight gain (in my case, 30 pounds - which caused me to get depressed) and I started having menstrual problems, too. Here is an interesting link about Depakote-related depletions.
>
> http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsDepletions/AnticonvulsantMedicationsValproicAcidDerivativescl.html
>
> BTW: I now take Trileptal instead of Depakote and I find it pretty weight neutral... I just have to watch my serum sodium levels on it at higher doses.
>thanks a mill for that link...i'll look into trileptal as well. i'm trying to get my pdoc to put me on topamax cos its good for cyclers and mixers like me! it's also well reputed to lower one's body weight, which i wouldn't object to.
thx again
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