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4 Year Old coming off Depakote for seizures

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gigglesjcg@... said:

<<I have a four year old daughter who has been taking depakote for

seizures for the past four years. She was diagnosed with epilepsy at

4 mos and has been on depakote since then. She was originally on

depakote and topamax and when she was two we started weaning her off

topamax. She started having breakthrough seizures coming off topamax

and her doctor started her on keppra. She has been seizure free

since then and we started weaning her off depakote in May. She was

originally taking the 125mg sprinkles (2 in am, 3 in pm) and we are

now down to 0 in am and 1 in pm. Her keppra dose is 250mg tablets 1

1/2 tablets twice a day along with 100 mg of B6 twice a day. I

notice that a few days to a week after weaning that her moods are

brutal. She screams, cries, hits, throws herself on the floor and is

very clingy. She'll be fine one minute and the next start

screaming. She has a speech delay so she really can't tell me what

she is feeling but it seems like she doesn't have control of her

emotions. She has her moments but lately they have been more and

more frequent and more volatile. The nurse at her doctors office

said that the depakote is a mood stabilizer and the keppra can cause

behavior issues and they were probably counter acting each other.

She does seem to go back to her normal self again right before we

start to taper again but I wasn't sure if there was anything we could

do to help her right now and for when we wean her completely off in

another month? The doctors office didn't give any suggestions other

than if her mood continues after she's completely off that we would

have to contact them and they would have to adjust something.>>

** Your daughter is in withdrawal. This is much too fast of a drop in

Depakote. Chances are that those " breakthrough seizures " with the Topamax was

actually too fast of a withdrawal, too. You can tell it is withdrawal by asking

yourself the following question:

Did I see any of the things you I seeing with her now prior to dropping the

Depakote? If not, then this is entirely due to withdrawal.

The nurse is brainwashed by the pharmaceutical and medical industry. A " mood

stabilizer " exerts its action by sedating a person so the person no longer cares

or is able to respond to that which is causing the upset. As far a Keppra

causing some of the symptoms you are seeing in your daughter, I do see where

Keppra causes increased " hostility " in children.

You have to see these " side effects " for what they really are - adverse

effects. This is an ndicator that this drug is doing other things to the brain

that are not therapeutic. It concerns me that there is a category called

" behavioral abnormalities " under the pediatric clinical trial data for this

drug. What you are facing is the question -- what kind of trade-off is the best

for the child? Certainly getting off Depakote is a very good move but

considering the drug itself and how long she has been on it, this will have to

be a much slower process than it has been. As far a Keppra and " behavioral

abnormalities " , whenever you find a vague statement like this you can be sure

the drug company is trying to hide something. The last thing you really want to

do is give your child a drug that is doing bad things to her and cover it p with

another drug. Medicine has no problem doing this but I hope you can see the

insanity of it. Another drug will not stop Keppra from doing the things it does

to the brain that cause the " behavioral abnormalities " . All another drug will

do is sedate your child so she is too drugged to respond to what she is feeling

internally. Keppra is also reported as " frequently " causing " behavioral

abnormalities in adults. " Hematological abnormalities " are also common.

I did some searching. Here are the " behavioral abnormalities found in

37.6% of pediatric patients (this screams to me that it is an inappropriate drug

for children):

" agitation, anxiety, apathy, depersonalization, depression, emotional

lability, hostility, hyperkinesia, nervousness, neurosis, and personality

disorder),psychosis "

Comparisons of percentages of adverse effects are supposedly made with

placebos. This is another area where drug companies manipulate data. They

ALWAYS make the symptom almost as high or evn higher with placebo. This is so

ridiculously transparent. When have you ever seen a placebo cause 4.1% of

people taking it to have a psychotic episode? This is what is reported. This

is supposed to make you not be concerned about the 3.4% who experince psychosis

on this drug.

Keppra was approved by the FDA in 2005 for pediatric use as adjunctive

therapy. The approval was based on one, yes, ONE trial at multiple sites for a

total of 198 patients. The study consisted of an 8-week baseline period and a

4-week titration period, followed by a 10-week evaluation period. Ages 4-16

participated. Some were on other drugs, some weren't. This already is a poorly

designed trial because of this.

Was she taking the full dose of Keppra that she now takes while on the full

dose of Depakote or was Keppra adjusted up as Depakote was adjusted down? Do you

think you can get the doctor to cooperate in slowing down this withdrawal? If

so, you want to look at returning to a dose where she no longer is showing any

of the symptoms she currently shows. In most cases, you can see within a day

whether the increase is enough. If not, then more will have to be added.

Once she is stable, the reduction should be about 10% of the dose. If she

reacts to that in a way that is very disruptive or you can see she is suffering

a lot, then this decrease is too much and 5% should be tried. Stay at a dose

until she seems completely stable. Then, do the next decrease. The percentage

is always figured on the last dose, not the original dose.

If she shows no signs as she is now, wait 2 weeks for her to really adjust,

and then do the next decrease.

You need to do this with a doctor, though, because of the other drug and her

condition. Did the doctor say why Keppra is being used as the primary drug? It

is generally seen as adjunctive therapy though this may only be that in order to

break into the market it needed to be presented this way.

BTW, most physicians have no clue how slowly one needs to go off these drugs

to prevent what your daughter is experiencing. You can help her right now by

keeping the environment quiet and don't push her to do things you might normally

push (picking up toys). Soft music, Lavender essential oil, and warm baths (or

cold if she wants to " swim " in the bathtub) with Epsom salts will all help take

the edge off.

Most drugs used to treat epilepsy deplete a number of nutrients. Some we

know, while others we don't. The best thing to do is to get a multivitamin

formula. Forget about the Flintstones and other commercial brands and go for a

whole foods based multivitamin for children. Here is a link to a good one:

http://www.newchapter.com/products/everykid

I would also recommend fish oil for her (and anyone else who isn't taking

it). I prefer Carlson's Very Finest Fish Oil Liquid.

http://www.vitacost.com/Carlson-The-Very-Finest-Fish-Oil

While I am aware that all drugs currently used to treat epilepsy have

horrendous adverse effects on the brain and body, I can't help but think that if

I had to deal with this issue I would choose a drug that has been around for a

long time (20+ years) over a newer, unproven drug, especially with the issues

that come with Keppra. Most doctors are quick to jump on the bandwagon for new

drugs but history has shown us that this has some negative consequences. These

risks are being taken with a small child and the drug is being used in a way

that is not approved by the FDA (as primary therapy). This strikes me as the

doctor being too enthusiastic about this drug when it is called for her/him to

be cautious because the patient is a child.

Good luck.

Regards,

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