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depakote to lamictal to depakote???
Mon, 06/05/2006 - 00:57Topic: Medication Issues
My 16 year old son had been on Depakote ER since he was 2 years old. His seizures were very well controlled unless he were to hit his head then he would have a grand mal seizure. When he reached puberty he gradually gained weight. He got up to 215 lbs. and he's only 5'10". He never exercised and he ate a lot! We decided to change his meds to lamictal (900 mg.), work with a personal trainer 3 times a week, and change his eating habits. He currently weighs 192lbs and looks great and his self esteem is so much better! BUT he's had 4 breakthrough seizures - the last seizure resulted in a horrible faceplant and I was sick to my stomach when I saw him; I felt so guilty. He also started having double vision and his mouth is dry all the time. His Dr. recommended he try Keppra or Zonegran. I want him to go back to the Depakote ER and this time we will do all we can to help him maintain his weight. Does being on Depakote mean you will gain weight inspite of diet and exercise? He obviously doesn't want to have anymore seizures, but he's afraid he'll put the pounds back on. Plus, I don't like what I've been reading on Zonegran or Keppra. I am sitting on the fence on what to do.
Re: depakote to lamictal to depakote???
Submitted by Penni3420 on Wed, 2007-10-31 - 14:35
My 9 year old daughter is on Depakote and is gaining weight. It breaks my heart. We started on Tegretol for a few weeks (and even then it seemed she was gaining weight at alarming speed) and on Tegretol she seemed like she was in a fog. The neuro switched her to Depokate and she seems more alert. She plays fastpitch softball and was a competitive cheerleader. We pulled her off cheering but she still takes tumbling. I hate the weight gain because I know it is hard to be young and chubby, plus it is hard to be all you can be on the field and have extra weight. I know I need to tell her doctor that I want to try something different but am scared any new medicine will send her to la-la land again. She has only had 1 seizure that we know of and was hospitalized but the neuro says her EEG is still showing abnormal so she must take medication. I want her off soooo bad. I feel we know what triggered the seizure (environmental lights) and can avoid it. But I don't want to risk her life either. This is sooo new to me. This happened at the end of August (2007) and we took her to the hospital where they tried to ventilate her and resusciatate her. I am rambling now. I feel for your son and hope he finds a happy medium on the meds.