death from depakote

Still doing great since coming off depakote. My paxil had been increased prior to coming off depakote (to help with the withdrawal). I have been able to decrease to my original dose and still feel great.

I also suffered this pain. It gradually stopped after I was off drug for about a year, it was gone.

Happy to report that still doing well after coming off depakote and was able to lower my paxil by another 20 mg!!! Not one suicidal thought since coming off of it in Feb. 2012. All the doctors want to do is drug you and then those chemicals mess you up more. Yes, there are people that have to take medication, I have a seizure disorder that requires daily medication but it caused no bad side effects. If you need to take a drug and it is the correct one then you shouldn't suffer from side effects like suicidal thinking. Depakote was used as a depression drug in me.

I started depakote back in 2008, when i went in for help. I found out that im bipolar,ptsd,have anxiety and have suicidal thoughts all the time...even right now. Its now 2012 and i was taken off of it in 2011 and im just so depressed. Depakote didnt help me. I kept seeing my dead mother and brother. I was so paranoid that i kept my family awake to all hours of the night. Im now on zoloft,ambienm,seroquel and another med that i cant remember right now. Even taking these new meds all i wish for is to die. Im so depressed and i feel like no one cares.

This is not really too related to this post or the comments, but I have been on Depakote before. I am currently not on any medication, but I feel like I have tried almost every medication that's out there and I can't handle any of them.
I was abused as a child and sought out help when I went to college. I started seeing an LCSW therapist at my college's health center. I also joined a DBSA (depression, bi-polar support alliance) group in college in the city where my university is, and I met a lot of people who are bipolar. At first I didn't think much of it, because I have only had extreme periods of deep depression during my life, and have had no upswings or manic/hypo manic periods.
After meeting bipolar people, I researched it and I wanted to provide some sort of justification as to why I am the way I am - why I am so depressed, why I have no friends, etc. So, I made up hypomanic periods and let my therapist know. I then saw a doctor and was diagnosed with Bipolar 2 when I was 20 years old.
Throughout being on meds for both anti-depression and mood stabilization, I have tried so many, I could name about 15 or so I have been on for 1-2 months each.
After 1st taking meds when I was 19, I gained 90 - Yes, 9-0-ninety!- Pounds throughout college.
I am now 22 and have so far lost 40 lbs of it, starting dieting in December of 2011, but I still want to lose more, to get back to my starting weight when I graduated high school.
The side effects of anti-depressants caused that much weight gain for me because I lost interest in my normal activities, and I changed my lifestyle so dramatically that the pounds kept adding!
A lot of these comments talk about doctors...... I can no longer trust any LCSW or doctor, because on Feb 2, 2012, I was involuntarily held at the hospital here (still in college at the same one) in the behavioral health unit crisis floor. It was horrible, traumatic and the worst experience of my life. I had called my then-doctor and told her I had had suicidal thoughts and they were bothering me. I told her I was at work, on the clock, and was fine, but they did not listen. They lied to have me admitted, and told the hospital doc I was Bipolar 1 and was suicidal, when I was actually not. In the hospital, the 1st doc who saw me was really rude and I asked him to make eye contact during our conversation. He immediately stormed out of the room. There are no cameras in the rooms. He fabricated on his observation of me that I was highly unstable and I was in the hospital for a total of 3 days on a 72 hour hold. It was supposed to be longer than that because they don't count the weekends as the 72 hours, but thankfully, I got out because the 2nd doctor was not corrupt. I can no longer trust any docs or LCSWs. My former LCSW also was part of sending me to the hospital. I am alone, no one to talk to, no one to help me, no trust left in any one. I know I do not have Bipolar disorder but I realize others still think I do, including any of the Dr's I saw. I had convinced myself I was Bipolar because I wanted to be able to accept who I am, and why I have been so depressed my entire life; I wanted a legit reason, and being Bipolar was my answer.
I guess I am just thankful I stopped taking the Depakote because I stopped playing the part of saying I have upswings/mania.
I am so depressed about everything but I can't bring myself to get help because I don't want to go back to the hospital again.

I've been reading all the posts here about people losing loved ones. I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm 37 years old Asian male. I was diagnosed with Bipolar in my early twenties. My psychiatrist prescribed Celexa (20 mg) and Depakote (1000 mg)- now generic forms of Citalopram and Valproic Acid. I've been taking that combination for over 10 years now. It definitely helped with the mood swings and depression. With Depakote, your doctor should definitely monitor the health of your liver as people have been known to die from this. I've reached a point in my life where the combination isn't as effective anymore. The psychiatrist's reaction of course is to prescribe higher doses which only makes me sleeper and unable to function on a daily basis. I've decided to ween off of Depakote / Valproic Acid, but it is not recommended to only take Celexa / Citalopram by itself. Man I feel stuck! Take the combination and prevent mood swings, etc...but feel like a zombie or stop taking some meds and go crazy. Does anybody know of some natural alternatives?

barbara wrote:

iwould like to know if any relative or friend or anyone you know has died from complications from the drug depakote? this is very important to me because my son i feel did,

My son died at 30 in his sleep and had just had his depakote scrip
increased for the third time.Autopsy said pnuemonia but he didn't
appear sick and had not been to a doctor..I always felt it was due to depakote but no proof available??

My daughter passed away in Oct. 1990 due to depakote suppressed her bone marrow. She was 8yrs.old. She had been talking it sense she was 2yrs.old.

I have been taking Brand Depakote for 16 years and had no side effects what-so-ever. Recently I tried to switch to generic and I started having terrible side effects from the drug. Most notably, extreme lethargy and exercise intolerance. I have been light headed as well. Anyone experience these side effects with the generic Depakote? Needless to say I have gone back on Brand... Still having residual effects though.

I am worried since I know a man who is on this and is showing many symptoms described above. I am hoping that he finds another alternative since I care about him. He is a really nice person and doesn''t deserve this.

Hello every one, my name is Chris Riggs and I am seventeen. After a failed suicide attempt I have now been on the generic version of depakote and it seems like this drug has only made things worse for me personally. I sleep constantly, have no desire to get up every morning and I have multiple thoughts everyday about ways to kill myself and these thoughts are only progressing. And everytime I bring this up to my psychiatrist about these feelings and about my anger all he does is up my dosage. And now I only feel lost and empty. If a doctor tried to put anyone on this drug, i would say absolutely not. This drug is dangerous.

Well recently fond a Dr. who understands the negative affects of Depakote. ifteen years after being off the drug my body still suffers from the damage done. It has been nicknamed the "old-age" drug, as one of the affects is instant aging. It suppreses the Adrenal glands, one way that the body gets thrown into old age. All these drugs that are being thrown at us have unknown side affects. Your body is a wonderful mechanism forr self-correcting if supplied with the correct vitamins. Find a Dr who is not handing out samples and going off to Pharmectical supplied seminars, and has learned a thing or two about nutrition.

My husband committed suicide while taken depokote he was only 42.

Depakote killed my boyfriend now he leaves behind four sad kids nice medication

I an so terribly sorry to hear about all of your horrible experiences with Depakote. When it was first prescribed to me, I had a strange feeling about this drug, even though I didnt know too much about it. But after doing some research on it I decided, for my own health and safety, to take only 500 mg at night instead of twice a day as directed. At that level it helps me sleep so well at night, being that I have suffered from the worst chronic insomnia you can imagine for over 25 years (aside from bipolar disorder, OCD, & severe Social Anxiety Disorder w Agoraphobia). I have never slept so well in so long!! Luckily I have never had any suicidal thoughts since Ive been on Depakote, but I do feel like a total zombie now, and have gained over 15 lbs in the past 2 months. I sleep most of the day and when I do manage to get up its almost night time again! The only thing I am able to do is make my Dr. appts., and buy groceries and dog food for my two dogs, but that's with alot of effort. I want to be taken off of it, but Im terrified of the insomnia coming back. My other meds take care of the other stuff, but do very little to help me sleep. But this zombification has been so detrimental. I'm a guitarist, but I haven't even picked up my guitar in months. I've lost all interest in my love of photography and pretty much everything else...havent mowed the lawn in weeks, or cleaned my house in months. My clothes hamper is spilled over with dirty clothes and I really have to make an effort to wash the dishes ( I think having a pile of dirty dishes in your sink is pretty gross). I dont know what to do...does anybody out there know of a good med for sleep?(Ive tried Seroquel and Risperdol but had bad experiences with those two). Ambien and other Benzodiazepines are useless to me and I would have to take such a high dose that it would probably be dangerous from an addictive standpoint. Any help would be greatly appreciated! May God bless you all!!

My son just started having seizure in the last few months and they can't get them under control. I am worried by these comments because he is a teenager and they are prone to suicide. The doctor now wants to use depekote. I work with people with disabilities and I know this is not a good drug! Any suggestions?

My suggestion is find another Dr. if he insists on putting him on Depakote. Also push to find the cause of seizures, as without that knowledge you aren'at truely helping your son. A good Dr, will know that.

After much research, I believe Depakote ultimately caused heart failure in my dad. He already had COPD for years, and although his doctor gave him an EKG and liver panels (all of which were normal), in a matter of weeks after stable EKG results could only be caused by the new drug he was taking. This drug is known to cause heart failure, and the doctors never told him or us what symptoms to watch out for. I don't care so much about the money, but I'd really like to sue the negligent doctor and the pharmaceutical company. This is outrageous to me.

I buy depakote from http://allsecurepills.com/...

Debbie wrote:

Suicide is what this drug caused. Billy was 16 when he took his life, and I have always felt the Deperkote ER was what caused him to take his life.I hope this will open the door for other parents who has kids that take this dangerous drug to watch for signs. Billy complain of stomach pains, and we had notice he was aggresive at times, and would have tremors in his hands.

Depakote can cause ammonia in the blood and brain and make poeple do things they wouldn,t do before in life.