Has anyone been prescribed this medication?? I can’t seem to find much information at all. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Wanda
Hi Wanda Sounds like you had a rough day of it yesterday. I hope you are getting some rest and feeling better today.
I started taking Depakote last January. Prior to that (11 years) i had only taken tegretol and it, for the most part worked fine with the exception of two or 3 times a year when I would have spells of TN. Normally I would just increase my dosage and after 2 or 3 weeks I was back to normal, however last December(07) that was not the case. I had a very bad lasting episode that sent me to the ER and I remained hospitalized for a week. This was just over a year ago.After morphine and a host of other drugs they started me on a valproic acid(Depakote) IV.I took about 3-4 days to get me comfortable and I’ve been on the oral form since then.
You can look on webmd.com for a full description but in a nutshell…it is a drug used for seizure disorder, bi-polar and migranes(none of which I have) it also balances certain neurotransmitters in the brain. Yes there are side effects. The usual fatique, forgetfulness, and I have experienced hair loss. Good thing I had a lot to start off with and no I am not bald! but my hair has thinned quite a bit.I did adjust to taking the drug after a month or so and am able to function normally…work, drive etc… There are also some serious side effects that you need to know about so please read about the drug and contact your Dr is you show any signs of these. Fortunatly I did not.
I started out taking 1500/mg a day along with 800mg/day tegretol. I was having no pain this early summer so I cut down to 1000/mg day along with 500/mg tegretol. I remained pain free till late fall and now I get zaps on occasion but they are fleeting. I have classic TN right side only with the 2nd branch affected. Hope this is helpful to you Wanda. I see my neuro mid february and will ask him why he chose this drug for me as it seems like no one i come across with TN is taking it. but hey…my feeling right now is that if it’s not broke…don’t fix it.
take care lady…Judy
Hey Judy thank you very much, I have been in constant pain for a few days and my neuroligist told me to go to the ER where he is a Doctor at the Cleveland Clinic. This is 2.5 hrs from my home. I did they tried much dope before they found one that even touched me. ( pain meds) Of course they had I.v’s in both arms and they also gave me some other meds. They were going to keep me until one of the several doctors that saw me said there is no sense in keeping her cuz we can’t help people with T.N.!!! My family was furious to say the least. But thanks for the info and I am going to get these meds now and talk to mt pharacist.
Wanda One thing to keep in mind is that Depakote works the same way as tegretol or neurontin meaning that it needs to build up in your system to a level that will control your pain. This usually does not happen immediatly. That is why when I was hospitalized i was IV’d and given a “loading dose” thus getting it to where it need to be more quickly. If your pain becomes again intolerable, you may need to insist on this.
Good Luck, Judy
Thanks ya all, I spoke to my phamacist about this drug and he said it is used more for siezures ( which they say I am having) than an other disorder. I told him I am a lot of things but not quite yet am I bibolar. HAHA He said with what he has saw of me and knows of me to try it and keep an eye on it. It could very well help me. I will say that I was in a lot of pain until I took one today and it seemed to calm it down. However it is very expensive, even with my drug plan. Thanks for all of ya all’s help.
There is a generic version availiable which I take. when I started taking it it was a whopping $300+change a month. 2 months ago the generic was introduced and I pay $15.00. I have health insurance but minimal prescription coverage.Ask your pharmisist about the generic. I hope that you can tolerate this as I can. I have very few and no serious side affects and very little pain!
have a good night Wanda… Judy
Good morning Judy, Hey mine is actually a genric brand it is DIVALPROEX DR, pretty scary to think what the real stuff cost and I am on a prescription program. My husband says if it helps we will do whatever it takes to pay for all my meds. Again thank you for all of your input, it makes me feel that I really am not alone. My family in Georgia is at hospitals all the time ( literally ) and they do not understand why they or no one els they know has ever heard of this. I told them they are worrying about the wrong thing. I know they just want to help.