Depakote how does it work

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This rebate form is not available to individuals who are paying cash for their prescription or who are receiving prescription reimbursement under a state or federally funded insurance program. Important Safety Information Prescribing Information. Home Depakote FAQs. Depakote frequently asked questions.

Q: What are the most common side effects experienced with Depakote? Q: Does Depakote have serious side effects? A: The following serious side effects are associated with Depakote: Serious liver damage that can cause death , especially in children younger than 2 years old. Call your doctor right away if you experience any of the following symptoms: Nausea or vomiting that does not go away Loss of appetite Pain on the right side of your stomach abdomen Dark urine Swelling of your face Yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes Inflammation of your pancreas that can cause death.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: Severe stomach pain that you may also feel in your back Nausea or vomiting that does not go away Taking Depakote during pregnancy can harm your unborn baby; increasing the risk of serious birth defects [e. Call a healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms, especially if they are new, worse, or worry you: Thoughts about suicide or dying Attempts to commit suicide New or worse depression New or worse anxiety Feeling agitated or restless Panic attacks Trouble sleeping insomnia New or worse irritability Acting aggressive, being angry, or violent Acting on dangerous impulses An extreme increase in activity and talking mania Other unusual changes in behavior or mood Overall, pay attention to any symptom changes, especially sudden changes in mood, behaviors, thoughts, or feelings.

Q: Should I be concerned about weight gain? Q: What about women who are planning a pregnancy or become pregnant while taking Depakote? If you take Depakote during pregnancy for any medical condition, your baby is at risk for serious birth defects. The most common birth defects with Depakote affect the brain and spinal cord and are called spina bifida or neural tube defects.

These defects occur in 1 to 2 out of every babies born to mothers who use this medicine during pregnancy. These defects can begin in the first month, even before you know you are pregnant. Other birth defects can happen. Birth defects may occur even in children born to women who are not taking any medicines and do not have other risk factors.

Your doctor can best discuss the duration of treatment you need based on your symptoms and illness. Serious and fatal liver damage has been associated with valproate, particularly during the first six months of treatment.

Patients with mitochondrial disease caused by a certain DNA mutation are at an increased risk of acute liver failure and resultant death. Life threatening pancreatitis has been reported in children and adults who take valproate. Signs of pancreatitis include severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and inability to keep food down.

Last Updated: January This information is being provided as a community outreach effort of the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists. This information is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice. This information contains a summary of important points and is not an exhaustive review of information about the medication. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified medical professional with any questions you may have regarding medications or medical conditions.

Never delay seeking professional medical advice or disregard medical professional advice as a result of any information provided herein. The College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists disclaims any and all liability alleged as a result of the information provided herein.

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AbbVie is not responsible for the contents of any such site or any further links from such site. AbbVie is providing these links to you only as a convenience and the inclusion of any link does not imply the endorsement of the linked site by AbbVie. You should also be aware that the linked site may be governed by its own set of terms and conditions and privacy policy for which AbbVie has no responsibility.

You are about to enter a site that is for U. Healthcare Professionals only. By selecting "Yes" below, you certify that you are a Healthcare Professional and that you wish to proceed to the Healthcare Professionals Only section of this site. Products or treatments described on this site are available in the U. I am a licensed Healthcare Professional and wish to proceed to the Healthcare Professionals Only section of this site. You are leaving the AbbVie website and connecting to the Track It!

This application is not a substitute for seizure safety. Please talk to your doctor for more information on seizure first aid. The Track It! AbbVie is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply the endorsement of the linked site by AbbVie. Health insurance that you or a family member obtained through an employer or purchased privately.

The DEPAKOTE Savings Card is not available to individuals who are paying cash for their prescription or who are receiving prescription reimbursement under a state or federally funded insurance program.

This rebate form is not available to individuals who are paying cash for their prescription or who are receiving prescription reimbursement under a state or federally funded insurance program. Important Safety Information Prescribing Information. Home About Depakote. About Depakote. Tablets and capsule shown are not actual size.

USES Depakote Delayed-Release Tablets, Depakote ER, and Depakote Sprinkle Capsules are used alone or with other medicines to treat: complex partial seizures in adults and children 10 years of age and older simple and complex absence seizures, with or without other seizure types Depakote Delayed-Release Tablets and Depakote ER are used to treat manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder. It is more common in adult women but can affect anyone.

The average gain for adults is 15 pounds. Exercise and a reduced-calorie diet can be very helpful. It's uncertain whether weight gain is greater when higher doses of Depakote are taken.

The hair almost always grows back after the Depakote is stopped, but it often has a different texture. For example, it may grow in curly instead of straight. People who have just started taking Depakote or who have just started taking a larger amount should be careful during activities that might be dangerous, until they know whether they are having any side effects. Allergic reactions such as rashes are less common with Depakote than with most other seizure medicines.

Even so, you should report any rash to the doctor or nurse right away, especially if Depakote treatment has just begun. It's rare for the rash to be serious, but don't ignore it. It's often necessary to switch to a different seizure medicine. A very small number of people who take Depakote develop life-threatening disorders. Children younger than 2 years of age and other people who are taking more than one seizure medicine have the greatest risk.

See Serious side effects. Some people who have taken Depakote for many years have experienced bone loss and a few other disorders. Taking both calcium and vitamin D may help to prevent this kind of problem.

Doctors sometimes recommend a bone density test to identify which people need treatment for bone loss. A few people have serious reactions to Depakote. These problems are very rare but everyone who takes this medicine should at least be aware of them because a very small number of people have died because of them. Here's a list of warning signs that may be the start of one of these problems.

If you notice any of these things, call the doctor immediately:. Tell the doctor right away if you notice any of these problems, but don't stop using the Depakote unless the doctor says so. The best-known and most-feared serious reaction is liver failure. This disorder usually occurs within the first 6 months of treatment. The risk of liver failure is much higher in children under 2 years of age, especially if they also take other seizure medicine or already have other serious disorders.

The risk of liver failure is much lower in children between 2 and The risk is very low in older children and adults, perhaps 1 in 50, There is no evidence that long-term use of Depakote will cause gradual damage to the liver.

Another rare reaction to Depakote is a disorder of the pancreas. Occasionally it is so severe that bleeding and death can occur. Both children and adults can be affected, even after several years of taking Depakote. Report pain in the abdomen, upset stomach, vomiting, or loss of appetite to the doctor right away.

Problems with blood clotting are more likely in people who take large amounts of Depakote. Sometimes the blood returns to normal without stopping the Depakote. The doctor probably will order some blood tests before prescribing Depakote, and will repeat them some time later and before any elective surgery. A complete list of all reactions to Depakote can be found in the package insert, but it is important to remember that only a tiny number of people have any of these serious problems.

On July 10, , an advisory panel was convened by the Food and Drug Administration FDA to review data that the FDA had previously collected from drug studies showing an association between many of the antiepileptic drugs AEDs and suicidal ideation and behavior, which together are called suicidality.

We again urge patients and families to contact their doctor before stopping an epilepsy medication because this may possibly lead to seizures and worsening of mood.

People with epilepsy taking certain seizure medications are at higher risk than other people for developing osteoporosis and fractures. Many studies have shown an association between antiseizure medications and osteoporosis, particularly with older medications such as phenytoin Dilantin , carbamazepine Tegretol, Carbatrol , primidone Mysoline , and valproic acid Depakote.

Depakote has been used successfully for many years to treat epilepsy, but it also has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration FDA for two other uses:. People with liver disease should not take Depakote. Neither should anyone who has shown an allergy to Depakote in the past. Make sure the doctor knows about any liver problems, so a different medicine can be prescribed instead. Sometimes one kind of medicine changes the way another kind of medicine works in the body.

This is true not only for prescription medicines, but also for medicines you just pick up off the shelf at the store. For instance, aspirin ASA may increase the side effects from taking Depakote. If someone who is taking Depakote-especially a child-also starts to take the seizure medicine called Lamictal, the chances of a very dangerous rash will be increased.

Adding the Lamictal slowly reduces this danger. Taking both Depakote and another seizure medicine, Klonopin, sometimes causes absence seizures to be much longer. Any time a doctor suggests a new prescription, be sure to talk about what other medicines you are already using.

If two kinds of medicine affect each other, the doctor may want to prescribe something else or change the amount to be taken. If a person taking one of these medicines starts taking Depakote, the first medicine will stay in the body longer.

If the person keeps taking the same amount as before, soon there will be too much of it. This may cause side effects like extreme tiredness and slurred speech. The person might seem to be drunk. A similar thing could happen with several other seizure medicines, but the effects for people taking these would probably not be too noticeable:.

All of these effects mean that if a person taking another seizure medicine starts taking Depakote too, the amount of the first medicine may need to be changed. Or if a person has been taking Depakote along with another seizure medicine, stopping either one of them means that the amount of the other one probably will have to be changed.

Some other medicines do affect the way Depakote works in the body. Make sure that the doctor is aware of all the medicines being used.