DEPAKOTE ER VS LAMICTAL

hello - my child is 17 and has been on depakote since she was 6 months old-  ( Epilepsy) has been a literal lifesaver yes tiredness, and upset stomach and impacted her memory - but nothing like if he was having Grand mals.  and really a blessing - I have often thought of all the people without access to meds - it would have been a nightmare. When you read online- about meds you will here 99% negative as that is when people tend to write. What I know for sure - is that EVERY is different- how we react is complex. If you read studies - it might say 5% of people had a symptom- and then you see that 3% of people on placebo had that same symptom,   All the meds are powerful and have negatives -  its the constant being in touch and aware of your child-  and yes LOBBY for what you and your family feel is right. The main issue is finding a doc. you trust.   Blessings 

My daughter- takes Depakote ER - drives and will be going to college. so yes many many positives. She was not able to do competitive sports due to the tiredness...so its finding a balance. ( Keppra did not work for her at all ( aggression- depression- mania) But we have a friend who does well on Keppra) .again- everyone is unique 

Hi, Wow, I can really relate to your worries. I started taking Depakote at 15(my mom's beautiful daughter) ... gained some weight as a side effect and was a little shakey but it can have some more side effects ... major weight gain, fertily problems, can cause women to have children with birth defects, liver issues, anyways kept taking it until I was 16, the doc wanted to see if I could go without meds b/c I had a clear EEG..unfortunately i had another seizure so I went back on the same meds for 11 years---no grand mal seizures, but my mom regrets putting me on the Depakote for one reason ....the doctor told her that when I wanted to have children one day I could not take the Depakote or it would cause SERIOUS birth defects on a child...I know this is not something you want to consider now, but as a daughter and now a mother to a healthy beautiful 9 week old, please consider this. At 27, I went off the Depakote to get pregnant, could not drive for nine months and I terrified that I going to have grand mal seizure, I was one of the lucky ones to be able to go through my pregnancy seizure free so I needed no meds....but that may be your daughter's situation. Anyway after my pregnancy my neuro wanted me to try going off meds again even though I had an abnormal EEG three weeks after giving birth I had another grand mal, and ER docs put me on depakote, I found new neuro at the university of PA who suggested Lamictol and did not want me on Depakote because of the side effects it can have, especially on pregnancy, however it is extremely tricking to switch from depakote to Lamictol -- I had a severe skin reaction when switching from depakote to Lamictol----but if my doc had to do it again he said that he would have weened me off the depakote and put my Keppra for a while and then switched me completely to Lamictol. Depakote and Lamictol cause this type of reaction, please read what I wrote 12/9 about what happened to me....there is currently no data showing that Lamictol causes any birth defects and your baby may want her own beautiful baby one day . . . Lamictol does seem to be the drug of choice...just be alert to side effects, so in case a rash develops you can identify and treat it immediately. i hope you and your beautiful daughter can find a medicine that works for her and suites her needs. kelly