14 yo old daughter on depakote???
 

Daughter is 14 psych Dr dx'd her with cyclothymic bipolar 2... he wants to put her on 1000 Mg of depokote. I'm nervous over kids being on meds anyhow & ive heard both good & bad things on this med.

Anyone been on it or had any experience with it?

Ive heard it can seriously dmg liver. & such.. and with my anxiety. I just.. idk.. :(

I don't *think* depakote should be prescribed to under 18 females due to the risk of PCOS, but I guess her psych has already done the risk/benefits analysis. I'd bring it up with them though - you also need to consider whether she is likely to become sexually active at any stage soon, because that needs to be factored in too.

I'm currently on 750mg depakote but I've been on 1000mg before. I do find it a very good med for me and I've been lucky to have few side effects - the liver thing won't really be an issue I don't think unless she starts trying to drink while on it as well (which again considering her age I guess you have to kinda consider what with peer pressure etc - even if she's sensible and knows she can't drink on it, there's still that pressure.)

Have you tried other self management strategies with her to see ifyou can control it? Sleep/wake cycles, diet, omega three, vitamin B etc have all been shown to have positive effects. But I also guess it depends on whether she has mainly depressive or hypomanic symptoms.

I guess the other thing to ask, is how does your daughter feel about it? I mean it's going to be her taking it, and if it is prescribed she'll need to make sure she's taking it and she's less likely to do that if she doesn't agree with the treatment to start with.

I'm on 1000mg of Depakote. I used to get incredibly agitated with the depressive side of my unwellness (I have schizoaffective disorder) and the Depakote, along with a couple of other drugs, has really helped that.


I had some weight gain, but lost that with exercise and a sensible diet. Other than that, I've had no side effects.


I hope it helps your daughter.

We haven't tried any other strategies. Yet.. but ive heard good things about vitamin b complex... she mainly has depressive. Episodes .. I try to get her to calm down & try to identify her feelings & possible triggers but she rarely knows.. ive also had her start journalling about it all hoping that will help too.

Ty for the input will keep it in mind
L

Thank you aubergine :)