My 9yr son is on it cus he is bipolar 250mg 2 times a day

Want to know what you thought about it .. if it helped any .. how long before it takes effect ..ect ect ect

Depakote peak effectiveness occurs in 3 - 4 hours, and stays in the body anywhere from 6 - 16 hours.

A slight delay in absorption occurs when the drug is administered with meals but this does not affect the total absorption.

Depakote is indicated in the treatment of the manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder (DSM-III-R).

The effectiveness of depakote in long-term use, that is for more than 3 weeks, has not been systematically evaluated in controlled trials.

Depakote is not indicated for use as a mood stabilizer in patients under 18 years of age.

The incidence of adverse events has been ascertained based on data from 2 short-term (21 day) placebo-controlled clinical trials of depakote in the treatment of acute mania, and from 2 long-term (up to 3 years) retrospective open trials.

Most Commonly Observed:
During the short-term placebo-controlled trials, the 6 most commonly reported adverse events in patients (N=89) exposed to depakote were nausea (22%), headache (21%), somnolence (19%), pain (15%), vomiting (12%), and dizziness (12%).

In the long-term retrospective trials (634 patients exposed to depakote), the 6 most commonly reported adverse events were somnolence (31%), tremor (29%), headache (24%), asthenia (23%), diarrhea (22%) and nausea (20%).

For Acute Mania:
The recommended initial dose is 250 mg 3 times a day. The dose should be increased as rapidly as possible to achieve the lowest therapeutic dose which produces the desired clinical effect or the desired range of plasma concentrations.

In placebo-controlled trials, 84% of patients received and tolerated maximum daily doses of between 1000 mg/day to 2500 mg/day. The maximum recommended dosage is 60 mg/kg/day.

The relationship of plasma concentration to clinical response has not been established for depakote. In controlled clinical studies, 79% of patients achieved and tolerated serum valproate concentrations between 50 and 125 mcg/mL.

Depakote is available in 125mg, 250mg and 500mg tablets.

i was on depakote when i was 20 i do not remember the exact dosage. All it did for me was made me a complete zombie with no personality. It did not help my racing thoughts or quiet my brain at all but everyone is different it works great for alot of people.

oh and if i remember correctly it made me gain a ton of weight.