I have been on depakote for years and not to scare you because this might not happen to you, I have gained a lot of weight, I am not talking a little, I mean over 100 lbs and I am a small framed, petite woman, It is kind of my fault also though, I should have been watching what I was eating and working out, It came on every year more and more, I have seen people on depakote that are thin so dont just go by what happened to me, Just watch your weight with this drug and eat healthy, It also helped with my headaches, I am going into partial today to switch to some thing else because of the huge weight gain, But I am scared at the same time because I have been on it for so many years and nothing else worked, I have tried them all, Good luck to you and remember watch your weight