What I read about Depakote is scary. Anyone have experience with it?

Depakote is an anti-seizure medication used to treat seizures, but is also used to treat bipolar disorder, and other disorders. A doctor once asked me to try it, I did, it was horrible and I stopped taking it. Ask your mother's doctor to recommend a good psychiatrist to prescribe Lithium Carbonate, the gold standard for mood disorders. Trust me, she will not have the side effects that Depakote has and she will calm down. Depakote has been linked to serious side effects including death, so if you have her POA, I would get another opinion. With dementia, behaviors are affected because the left side of the brain controls thinking and she is not thinking like a normal person. Since she already is in hospice, do you really think any medication is going to make a significant difference? My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family as you deal with this impending loss.

Carlos and 2tsnana, thank you for your replies. I am so tired of hearing people bash antidepressant & psychotropic drugs. These are obviously people who have not grappled with mental illness themselves, or had to cope with loved ones on a day to day basis who were afflicted by it, in one form or another. It is hell on Earth and while no drug alone is the "magic panacea", these drugs, in the correct circumstances, can help enormously. I am so sorry so many people still are carrying antiquated ideas of what mental illness is, how it affects people, and how, given the correct medication and therapy, can unlock misery and allow a person to escape their personal demons.

Hey Kathy, I was just thinking about you the other day. Boy, I sure don't understand the way this website works. You and I have communicated AFTER June 15th (questions, answers and hugs) and yet here is this question I never seen before that just popped into my email questions this morning ? ! And no one but Missy has answered it until now, indicating "3 hours ago" ...

So, has your mom been on depakote for over three weeks now or did you order her to be on something else? The stuff looks like it has a particularly nasty array of side effects. As you already felt, not one to casually prescribe unless there's absolutely nothing else.

As missy writes, now that she's on hospice, there should be many other choices available, such as narcotics or tranquilizers without the fear of addiction

I only have a aunt with advanced dementia and I started to read deeply about dementias and started to find some "solutions" by tryings some drugs , supplements in the last 5 years .
Only to correct what I wrote : the dose is of 0.1 miligram to each drop of risperidone.

. When my aunt was having that behaviors of high agressiviness , delusions, agitation, saying that someone steal, one neurologist gave depakote associated to xanax and it do not worked as is not working to my aunt too.She took seroquel too and it not worked again.


Then we changed of doctor and he told to us to starts with only ONE DROP ONCE A DAY of risperidone at morning during ten days, and then , each ten days we should increase to twwo drops at morning.
Then if with two drops of only 0.1 miligram did not works well , he told to gives too one drop of 0.1 miligram at night , up to two drops of 0.1 miligram at morning and two drops of 0.1 miligrams at night , but always monitoring blood pressure 4 times a day , and advising that if blood pressure falls , we should stops for one day and starts in the next day with half dose of the day before.

And it worked very well to lowers the episodes of delusions, agitation, agressivinesss,, inmsonia,etc., with only two drops of 0.1 miligrams at morning.

But things really starts to works , when together with that 2 drops of 0.1 miligram of risperidone once a day at morning, we started to gives some natural supplements that we can find dozens of scientific articles in the scientific site Pubmed :
L-carnosine : We started to gives the small dose of 60 (sixty) miligrams at breakfast at lunch and at dinner, and we observed that she started to be with a "relaxed face" and much more calm.
L-carnosine is safe and works in that small dose , and is a peroxybitrite scavenger, a heavy metal chelator ,an antioxidant and a antiglycating substance, that are some important propierties to treat dementias.

Acetyl L carnitine - We started giving the small dose of thirty miligams four times a day by 20 days and then increased to another small dose of 60 miligrams 4 times a day (but not at night) , and we observed that she ioroived her speech ,gait, attention, strehgh,etc.
Acetyl L carnitine (it is NOT carnitine , but acetyl L carnitine) is a peroxynitrite scavenger and heavy metal chelator too,r enhances mirtochondrial and energy function of the brain, and there are too dozens of articles about acetyl L carnitine (the so called ALCAR) in the medical site PubMed , about research with ALCAR in Alzheimer and other neurodegenerative diseases.


Extra Virgin Coconut Oil - as dr. Mary Newport says, this extra virgin oil works very well as an alternative fuel and mitochon drial enhancer to the brain , and we observed that it oil improve the attention, mood and speech of my aunt.We gives very small doses of only ONE TEA SPOON at meals , two to three times a day.

Glucuronolactone : it is a natural substance found in apples and broccoli as glucaric acid , and is a liver detoxyfier, a mitochondrial improver,a peroxynitrite scavenger,an alternative fuel to the brain too. Glucuronolactone in small doses of 200 miligrams to 300 miligrams 3 to 4 times a day realyy changed the world to my aunt , and gives great improvings in cognition , mood and mainly in the control of delusions, hallucinations, agressiviness, agitation.

Glucosamin sulphate : Yes , that joint supplement works too as a peroxynitrite scavenger and as an alternative fuel to the neurons , glucosamin sulphate during a week that we did not find to purchase the glucuronolactone and glucosamin sulphate was not amazing as glucuronolactone, but helped a lot in the control of her "mad" behavior (and after a coulpe months can improve the joint condition too), We use doses of 200 miligrams 3 to 4 times a day .

After I started to use the "combo " of small doses of risperidone and of the supplements above, we started to have our aunt "back to life" again , once she stopped or lowered the episodes of odd behaviors, she started to eat all the meals, to sleep all the night, she stoped with cryings , yels, agression, she is calm , started to smile again, to look in the eyes of persons that talk to her, to take and asks for baths,, she started to be very easy to cope.

Then I started to tell to my friends that have relatives with different types and different stages of dementias, and they , under the permission and supervision of the physicians of the dementia patients,started to gives the same supplements and the same doses to their relatives and they got the same amazing results that we are having with my aunt.

Icnluding friends of mine that are physicians and that have releatives with dementia ,started to gives that "combo" of supplements and observed the same very good results.

And they gives risperidone only if the patient is very agressive, agitated with strong delusions and hallucinations.

To the other patients that have different stages of demen tia , but do NOT have a psychotic behavior, they gives only that supplements and they as we , are seeing a partial reverse , delay and control of dementia symptons.

But this is only an anedoctal report without NONE scientific foundation , about the absolute empirical use of that supplements.
The responsability for the use of that supplements descrbed above , is in the hands of who takes or gives it to the patients.
Please talk to the doctor of the patient before, and only use it under prescription, supervision and advises of the physician of the patient.

Only a note: patients that takes warfarin (coumarin) and/or aspirin (acetyl salycilic acid-A.S.A.) : that supplements can have a synergistic effects with anticoagulants and blood thinners, and for example , we had to lowers significativly the use of aspirin by my aunt. But only the doctor of the patient can do it. Please , consult the physician of the patient and do NOT stopds none medicine drug prescribed by the physician and do not starts the supplements above without his permission.

I'm so saddened by what you are going through with your Mother. I took Depakote for approximately ten years and didn't have side effects. Finding the right drug combinations is a torture at times and seems like it never ends - don't lose hope and I'm sending prayers for you. I took care of a few Alzheimer's and they were both very trying to say the least. Had to try to look for the smallest comforts for them on any given day to keep my spirits a little relief. Hope you have time you can set aside for just you to relax with whatever activity you enjoy or time alone to meditate. It helps when the time is taken to do it, when my mind and body are not in a "squirrel cage" - busy busy so much on top of the worries & anxietys of being a caretaker to someone I love can be very exhausting. Please do take care.

I think it all depends on each person's biological makeup and like most medications has to be monitored very, very carefully for the first month the person is taking it. Of course, nursing homes can't be relied to do this well, so once again, you and your family must be your parent's advocate. My mom actually is doing very well on it. She had been combative, horribly mean and with the physical strength of 2 men before we had her committed to a behavioral health hospital and put on several different trial of psychotropic drugs. Biopolar runs in her family and the doctor seems to think that the dementia exacerbated it; I've read up every thing I can get my hands on this and I conclude with him. TRY IT. If it doesn't work there are many more meds that may agree with your parent. It is better than them suffering! I have been on antidepressants for over 15 years and have to fight with an idiot sister who is an RN to boot, who "doesn't believe in them". Yeah. Whenever I am off them I can't get out of bed and want to die. But Ms. RN with her Associate's Degree knows better. In a pig's eye. Good luck and many blessings to you

Dear Ferris
About the misuse of antipsychotic drugs , we can find a very interesting article (that I'm sure that you read it before0 searching in Google for the title :
" Why is Big Pharma getting away with paying billions in criminal fines – but avoiding criminal charges?"

But only the physician of the patient can decide in each case that the patient ,maybe have to takes very small doses of some antypsychotic drug to protect herself and others from threatening behaviors.

Best regards
caarllos

I will tell everyone the Depakote has been a godsend...it has worked wonders on my mama. She still gets cranky but NOTHING like she was ;-)

Dear Carollynn

I'm sorry but maybe i can not help to much with doctors and I will explain why:

1) As I wrote above, I started to use that supplements with my aunt , trying by my self , and I have to say , without consult any doctor (please , do not do it) , once as I read a lot about that supplements , during a long time , and as I got as much information as I could in the google and mainly in the site Pubmed , and others scientific medical sites,and as that supplements are OTC drugs or natural supplements, and as her physicians did not believe that none natural supplement could enhance or improve anything in a disease that Alzheimer's associations and Alzheimer's researchers says around the world that" there are no treatments" , and telling you the truth,none doctor support the use of that supplements.

Then , one day , that my aunt was in one very deep psychotic behavior, crying all the time , yelling , very agressive (giving punchs in the caregiver), agitated, with delusions , hallucinations, without sleep at night and nor too during the day , without eat ,etc. , we gave a beverage that contains 300 miligrams of the supplement GLUCURONOLACTONE .

Exactly one hour after that she took that 300 miligrams with the food supplement Glucuronolactone, she started to be very calm , stopped to cry and to yel , started to smile and talk friendly, gave a hug in the caregiver that she gave Then we started to gives that beverage punch two hours before to takes the glucuronolactone, and started to cope , and to have a very good mood , and improved her cognition, and stoped the hallucinations.

Unbelievable ?

Yes , I tought the same !

Then we started to gives the 300 miligrams of glucuronolactone three to
four times a day, and we observed that if we gives that 3 to 4 times a dy (some times 5 times a day) , we kept (as we keeps until now) her very good behavior, mood, improved cognition, etc.
But we observed that when she took some fat meal or some medicine drug as painkillers, it impairs the good effects of glucuronolactone to improve cognition ,mood and behavior, once glucuronolactone is used by the body to detoxification , and when the body have to detoxificate from fats and some medicine drugs , the body uses the natural substance glucuron olactone to detoxification. (our bodies made our own glucuronolactonne from the food that we eat),

Then we lowered her ingestion of fats and we observed that it enhanced the good effects of glucuronolactone.

But during almost 3 years since we started to gives the glucuronolactone, none physician could believe that the natural substance glucuronolactone could be working like that.
We started to gives the glucuronolactone in 2009 , and during this time since 2009 , I started to read about others supplements , that I tried in an absolute empiric and NON scientific way , and at last, I observed that the best combo that worked in a synergistic way with glucuronolactone , to improve cognition, mood and to control agressiviness, delusions, hallucinations, etc,was that combination of glucuronolactone (the super) , the acetyl L carnitine,the L-carnosine, the exra virgin coconut oil , and the glucosamin sulphate,

But all without NONE , medical or physician support , but only by my own decision, and careful empiric observation about what was working in the lowest doses .

Then I started to tell to friends of mine that have relatives with dementia about how that supplements was working to im prove cognition , mood and behavior of my aunt , and they started to gives the same supplements in the same doses to their relatives with different types and stages of dementias, and they started to observe significative improvements, obviously , according the deeply of the each stage of dementia.

Some of that friends of mine that have elatives with dementia are medicine doctors, physicians, and they could not believe in my reports , what I found absolutely natural , once if someone told me the same , I could not believe too.

Then I used a strategy to convince my friends that are physicians.

I sent by email ,scientific articles about glucuronolactone, acetyl L carnitine, L carnosine,and after some weeks , I gave to then , some small bottles with the powder of glucuronolactone, powder of acetyl L carnitine , etc, and I made a suggestion to that physicians friends of mine :
What about to gives that small doses of that supplements to their relatives with dementia by 15 days, and to observe what happened (using including medical scales of mood and behavior ads the NPI-Q scale,etc), and after that 15 days , they could tell me what they observed of improvements (or not ) of cognition, mood and behavior of their relatives with dementia?

In 48 hours, all the physicians that tried the supplements call me and said in the phone : Buddy , what is that? The "mad" and "odd" behavior stopped in less than 24 hours after they started the supplements !
I told they (joking ) : nothing new to me. I see it all the time.


But some things have to be clear : the good results in mood and behavior are not continuos and are not stable, once we are using very 'primitive' natural supplements and not medicine drugs.

But the relief to caregivers is tremendous!

They start to have a dementia patient very easy to cope, that is more calm, without delusions, hallucinations, without agitation,etc.

But all that I described above it is about the absolute empirical use of that supplements and that medicine doctors , do not want to gives to patients , but only to their relatives that they are more confortable to control it.

But I guesss that medicine doctors that works with orthomolecular medicine , maybe will accept to gives that supplements in that very small doses.

My suggestion is to do NOT gives during the first month of use, other supplements than the glucuronolactone, L-carnosine, acetyl L carnitine, and extra virgin coconut oil , to the relative or caregiver observe what works.

Well , the other reason that I'm sorry because I can not help you more than with this anedoctal report, is because I live so far from you, once I'm from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , but even if you could come to Brazil , I have to tell you that I do not no none doctor that use that supplements to treat dementia ,once most around the worls, still believes that "there are no treatment to AD and other dementias"..

But please: Talk to the physician of the patient, because only his physician knows what the patient can or not takes.

Best regards
Carlos

Thank you Ferris to reinforce all my advises to do not gives NONE medicine drug or none supplement without the prescription and permission of the physician of the patient .

I guess that you did NOT payed attention fo how much times I carefully advised to none persoon to gives none drug or supplement withlut the physician prescription.
Please , read what I wrote again and you see that I made exausfive and sucessive advises about that.

Pnce more yli made mistake in your comment .when you amry and malicious wrote that I made a trial test case woth my aunt.
I did not and I only gave nutritio al supplements that you can find in the market.
Only for your information, her dmilh in 2009 at yhe month that sje started to take that supplements , before the supplements works, juet kn that week , i 2009 ,they was to put her in a hospice , because none caregiver or relative could deal with her absolutely mad behavior, braking windons of her house,givong punchs in caregivers and relatives, yelling all the night.
NNow we are in 2013,and she is calm, easy to cope,smiling , undersganding what people talks to her , without yells, cryings ,hallucinations , delusions, and kn her own home.
Please read again carefully what I wrote a LOT OF TIMES that ONLY THE PHYSICIAN can prescribes and gives permission to use ANY drug or nutritional supplements.
I jneeestand your concerns , but I guess that you did NOT payed attention to my advises i my anedoctal report of the empirical use with that supplements
Kind regards

Carlos