Long term effects of depakote

I was misdiagnosed and was on depakote for 12 years for bipolar treatment. I have now been off of depakote for over 6 years. The last 2 years I have been diagnosed with collagenous colitis which is an inflammation of the intestines. Has anyone else experiences any long term gastrointestinal effects from the use of depakote? or has anyone developed gastrointestinal problems after discontinuing depakote?

Thanks

Ruth

This is a post I made on another web site. I thought it might be of some interest b/c there is some epilepsy mention in it. I've had Ulcerative Colitis and Epilepsy since 1979 ~ both of these conditions are believed to be stress related but that fact has yet to be proven. As you know, stress effects everybody differently and this is what it has done to me. It has been documented that ppl with EP have a greater chance of getting some sort of bowel condition (IBS)or visa/versa as there are so many nerves in the digestive tract that "could" be affected by a seizure condition.
Some of the first symptoms to watch for are: 1) first sign is mucus in the stools ~ then blood in the stools.
2) Feeling that you always have to empty your bowels ~ sometimes every 15 mins or every hour (depending on the severity)
3) When you go to the washroom, all you get is Lots of gas accompanied with blood and/or mucus.
4) bloating of the stomach.
5) Usually flares up AFTER a stressful event (same as a seizure or anaura) or if you've been eating acidy foods or caffine or dairy prods.

But I find it's very well controlled with medication.
I usually have a flare up every 2 yrs.
Very tricky to control though with my Epilepsy, like walking a tight rope.
My blood levels have to be monitored weekly so I can maintain the theraputic level for my AED's but not mess up my UC med count. IE: My UC meds paint a protective coating on the bowel and stomach walls and as a result, the AED's can't motabilize properly ~ then if you increase yor AED's, they could become toxic in your system or if you have a flare up, you have to increase your doseage of the UC meds (mine is Asasol) then it's that much harder for the AED's to penetrate the stomach and bowel so if you increase your doseage of AED's, they can become toxic and you will act like a drunk or stoner.

What I have found is that a flare up or EP seizure will happen AFTER a stressful event like I said above b/c during a relaxed time, your body's natural defenses are down.

Since I have EP and UC, my neurologist says it's very difficult to control.
I'm currently seeing Dr. A. Upton, proffessor of Neurology, McMaster Univerity Medical Centre, He's lectured on my case and it has been documented in the 1986 Medical Journal.

Randy
diagnosed with epilepsy and Ulcerative Colitis in 1979

Took Depakote for about 2 months when I began having constipation to an extreme degree. Went off it, constipation went away. Back on the next week and it came back. Saw another psych doc and he said I was misdiagnosed. Put me on depression meds vs. bipolar and my mental state improved dramatically. Unfortunately I began having diarrhea dominant IBS. Have had it for 5 years now. Never had bowel issues before Depakote and have had 3 colonoscopies since trying to determine why I have lots of dark and bright blood in stool with mucus and now have iron deficient anemia (hemoglobin count went from 17 to 9 in 3 months). Passed out once a few months ago and have not been able to climb more than one flight of stairs without becoming winded due to oxygen levels (associated with iron deficiency).

I can't say 100% that Depakote caused these issues, but the facts seem to point that way. Knowing it wreaks havoc on your liver makes me even more suspicious. May be fine for some but I fear some of us will never be the same after taking it for even a short while, much less several years!

misdiagnosed and have been diagnose for three years with GAD; OCD; and ADD. I am doing better after my memories returned three weeks ago. Even though I begged to be put on a different med like Lithium; and kept saying "something wasn't right", it took me at least ten episodes of psychosis until I got another doctor and now am looking into malpractice. My short term side effects included: psychosis, hallucinations, photsensitivity, abnormal dreams, induced mania,

long term to permanent: developed Avoidant Disorder and Dependent Personality Disorder; frequent UTI infections, perm. damage to CNS including extreme muscle spasms in back and tremors, problems with short term memory and just recovered memories of that year from amnesia. I will never remember the psychosis. I lost my first husband and my current one is almost final. I had behavioral detereioration up until this year when I started to find out who I really am. I can no longer deal with change at all as I used to have problems with it but wasn't debilitating; mistake or instability. Ataxia, parasthesia, lability, tremors, CNS damage, Aggression, Mental Hyperactivity; hositility and behavioral deterioration.

My son took Depakote for 5 years to control seizures...immediately had heavy weight gain.  6 years down the road and he is still fighting the weight issue. We also noticed that he was "dull" when he was on it.  We took him off as soon as we could.  It did control his seizures and I am thankful for that small miracle but the lasting effects are rough.