Posted by Krazy Kat on March 24, 2002, at 14:39:23
This is one of those "could go on social or babble" posts.
IsoM, we haven't directly corresponded for awhile. I was just reading through old posts about Depakote and came upon your very kind note re: pregnancy and Depakote:
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"Krazy Kat ...are you around? Don't know if you read this before but I'm reposting it for your opinion. Please don't think me pushy. I don't mean to be..................................................
I know nothing personally about Depakote, but I can look up stuff & read it. Here's something I found on another forum - one woman's experience:"Depakote is not as dangerous as some believe. I am holding a one year old in my arms at this moment who was conceived and born while I was taking 250 mg 3 times per day.
The side effects are an opening at the spine and/or a cleft lip or pallet. The chances of these side effects are very low. Depakote decreases the amount of B-6 in your body which is a leading cause of these problems. It is IMPERATIVE that you take B-6 before getting pregnant and during pregnancy. My neur. recommend twice the normal dosage since it is a water soluable vitamin and your body will sluf off what it doesn't need. My o.b. was not concerned about the meds. at all. My neur. was a basket case - "what if he can't walk" he was a real worrier. It is important that you take good care of yourself and watch your body closely. BTW - these problems occur usually during the first 6 weeks so........if you are pregnant it is too late to switch meds.
My baby was born - fat, healthy and is developing at a very fast rate."
(my comment - low folic acid, another B vitamin, has also been implicated in spinal bifada & cleft lip/palate so it would be good to take that too, plus all B vitamin complex vitamins.)
So many doctors & gynecologists recommend women not to get pregnant while taking Depakote but while there certainly have been babies born with birth defects while the mother took the med, there are other cases of healthy babies born to other mothers who took it.
I don't want to encourage you to get pregnant just because, BUT there are ways of minimising potenetial problems. It's a decision you need to make but having information to make a properly informed decision is also important. I can't tell you what to do, but I can help direct you to info for you to read & it may help you.
This site I'm giving discusses Depakote (valproic acid) & its effect on nutrient levels. It makes some suggestions for supplemention, especially for pregnancy. At the end of all the information is a list of 55 references just to let you know this isn't some health gimmick. The site doesn't sell anything.
http://www.thedacare.org/healthinfo/Drug/Valproic_Acid.htmThe information about the above site comes with this comment about Safetychecker:
"The Safetychecker writing team is composed of experts from the fields of medicine, pharmacy, naturopathy, and public health. This team uses its expertise to write about ways in which common drugs (prescription and over-the-counter) interact with herbs, vitamins, and foods. These interactions include potential nutrient depletions, interference with drug actions, reduction of drug side effects, and interference with drug absorption (bioavailability) when taking herbs, nutritional supplements, or food with certain medications. Crucial to the integrity, currency, and balance of Healthnotes’ information is the regular review of over 500 scientific and medical journals."I hope this holds some encouragement for you, dear one. I know how much I enjoyed my sons (still do)."
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I have had to restart Depakote after trying to stop it twice. My Dr. does not want me to consider a family for at least a year.This has been a tough time, but posts like yours have helped so very much.
Thank you.
- KK
poster:Krazy Kat
thread:20785
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020320/msgs/20785.html