I have experience with this. Depakote will slow your mind down to a snail's pace and end mania fast but if you stop taking it your mind will go back to fast thinking and creativity in a few months after stopping it. If there are permanent effects why does one still have to keep taking Depakote pills? Depakote is a salt, sodium valproate derived from fatty acids somehow and yeah, you need blood tests once a month on it. Don't test and risk brain damage and liver failure. It is a "big gun" drug. Your Depakote lab levels should be somewhere between 50 and 100 to be safe. Mine was 89. PCOS is a risk run for young women under age 20 taking Depakote. That is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome as Depakote raises androgen and testosterone levels which can cause you not to ovulate. Not ovulating can affect fertility. Get an ultra sound if you're a woman on Depakote, I plan to do so. Creativity should resume weeks to months after stopping Depakote. There are other options for mood stabilization. Ask questions.