[bioChE]

Depakote is wreaking havoc on my liver, and my doc and I got pretty concerned after my latest blood work.

As such, I am tapering off Depakote. Does anyone here have any experience with complete cessation of using it? At present I've slowly tapered down over the course of a month from 1500 mg/day to 500 mg/day. I've been on the 500 for about a week. The only thing I've noticed is a clearing of my head from what was really fuzzy thinking. I also had vivid dreams for about a week.

Today I met with my psychiatrist, and he suggested I stop taking the Depakote altogether. It has me on edge (concerned, not an episode) about final withdrawal symptoms, and it would be great to hear any personal experiences if you care to share. Thanks.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I came off a high dose of Depakote (3500 mg I think) without any problems at all, although I did taper for 6 months or so. All that happened was that I lost weight and had a much clearer head and wasn't nearly as tired in the mornings.

Good luck to you!

[bioChE]

Originally Posted by BeyondtheRainbow

I came off a high dose of Depakote (3500 mg I think) without any problems at all, although I did taper for 6 months or so. All that happened was that I lost weight and had a much clearer head and wasn't nearly as tired in the mornings.

Good luck to you!

Thanks for your experience, Beyond! I've already had much clearer thinking and weight loss due to the decrease during tapering; glad to hear it happened with you as well.

Today is Day 3 of zero Depakote, and I've not gone manic. That in and of itself is a victory, so I'll take it. Hopefully that will continue as it exits my system entirely. No side effects yet, so hopefully that will continue.

[Unrigged64072835]

Was taken off 1000mg in IP and put on 60mg Latuda. No side effects.