Depakote mood stabilizer

Does Depakote affect the brain? What are the side effects of Depakote medication? What is the difference between Depakote and lithium? Only a few other mood stabilizer options have this many years of observation, and each of them has recognized long-term problems.

Valproate is a mood stabilizer medication that works in the brain.

It is approved for the treatment of mania associated with bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression), seizures (epilepsy), and migraine headaches. Clinical research indicates that benefits usually outweigh any potential harms. Some young people have thoughts about suicide when first taking Depakote.

Your doctor should check your progress at regular visits. Your family or other caregivers should also be alert to changes in your mood or symptoms. Do not use Depakote to prevent migraine headaches if you are pregnant.

This list of mood stabilizer drugs is organized by mineral, anticonvulsants, and antipsychotics.

Depakote (divalproex sodium, sodium valproate, and valproic acid) is an anticonvulsant (anti-seizure) medication that is also used as a mood stabilizer in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Depakene contains the same medication—the difference is that Depakote is coate which is thought to decrease some of the gastrointestinal side effects. The term mood stabilizer does not describe a mechanism, but rather an effect.

More precise terminology is used to classify these agents. Lithium – Lithium is the classic mood stabilizer, the first to be approved by the US FDA, and still popular in treatment. Anticonvulsants are sometimes taken to treat the manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder. Depakote is sometimes prescribed when patients experience rapid cycling of mood episodes and works by calming the hyperactivity of the brain during mania. In the last years we have found that it also affects mood.

These medications can be very effective. Extended-release divalproex. Keep in mind that the term mood stabilizer can be misleading. If you take one, your mood can still change during the day.

Medications for bipolar disorder are powerful drugs, and you must. It comes in different strengths and formulations. Learn more about the types of Depakote.

The Complete Mood Stabilizers List. Three types of medications fall into the category of mood stabilizers: minerals, anticonvulsants and antipsychotics. There is a long list of mood stabilizers, and what is right for one person may not be right for another. Lithium is commonly used to treat depression and mania in. Mineral Mood Stabilizers.

How is valproate ( Depakote ) used to treat bipolar I disorder? Staff Writer Lithium , Carbamazepine ( Tegretol ), and Valproic Acid ( Depakote ) have been used when mood disorders co-exist with ADHD. Possible side effects, warnings, and cautions associated with this medication are listed below.

This is not an all-inclusive list but is representative of items of potential clinical significance to you. Mood stabilizers are medications designed to even out emotions that are highly variable. For example, a person with extreme highs (mania) and lows (depression) may be diagnosed with bipolar disorder and then be prescribed a mood -stabilizing medication to try to calm the fluctuations of their moods and emotions.