Hi Joanne and welcome! You might want to change your user name (up top where it says "user CP") for privacy's sake.
I'm copying your post here - usually best to start a new thread with your questions, especially if you're new to the forum.
My daughter age 10 has been on depakote for for years now. She is currently taking 250 mg ER in the morning and 500 mg ER at night.Her levels are at 105- great for her but she is still having seizures. Today the Dr. added a small amount of lamictal , 2.5 mg per day for the first two weeks and then 2.5 mg twice a day after that, so a total of 5mg per day. I am just so nervous to give her all this medicine. The alternative, I know, is for her to seize. Please someone out there who's child is on both of these medications. respond. I am starting it tomorrow. So nervous! I have read all the bad stuff- just hoping to hear something good. If the lamictal helps, we will lower the depakote.
I don't have any experience with either Depakote or Lamictal for seizures, but my oldest has been on triple therapy for several years now. We started out with Carbatrol (Tegretol) which did nothing, then after I fired a couple of neurologists who weren't the least bit concerned about continued grand mal seizures I found a genius doctor who added Topamax. We got better control but not perfect and after about a year of the double therapy, we added Keppra in 2/2003. After that, he was seizure free for a little over a year, then had 2 pretty close together (for him), and then one final seizure in 9/2004 that I think was more related to the fact that he had come off of postop Valium (which would have messed with his seizure threshold) rather than a "real" unprovoked seizure.
Seizures scare the stuffing out of me - Boo tends to have prolonged ones and I worry about them causing more brain injury, so for me there was never any question about doing whatever it took to try to stop them. Unfortunately, for some kids getting control is a real art and it takes trial and error with medications. But again... knowing that the alternative is continued seizing, I would try whatever our (very trusted) neuro suggested to get them to stop.
Wish I had firsthand experience with Depakote and Lamictal to reassure you more. I sincerely hope the Lamictal will do the trick for your girl - seizures are just not a whole lot of fun!!
Again, welcome to the board!
I'm copying your post here - usually best to start a new thread with your questions, especially if you're new to the forum.
My daughter age 10 has been on depakote for for years now. She is currently taking 250 mg ER in the morning and 500 mg ER at night.Her levels are at 105- great for her but she is still having seizures. Today the Dr. added a small amount of lamictal , 2.5 mg per day for the first two weeks and then 2.5 mg twice a day after that, so a total of 5mg per day. I am just so nervous to give her all this medicine. The alternative, I know, is for her to seize. Please someone out there who's child is on both of these medications. respond. I am starting it tomorrow. So nervous! I have read all the bad stuff- just hoping to hear something good. If the lamictal helps, we will lower the depakote.
I don't have any experience with either Depakote or Lamictal for seizures, but my oldest has been on triple therapy for several years now. We started out with Carbatrol (Tegretol) which did nothing, then after I fired a couple of neurologists who weren't the least bit concerned about continued grand mal seizures I found a genius doctor who added Topamax. We got better control but not perfect and after about a year of the double therapy, we added Keppra in 2/2003. After that, he was seizure free for a little over a year, then had 2 pretty close together (for him), and then one final seizure in 9/2004 that I think was more related to the fact that he had come off of postop Valium (which would have messed with his seizure threshold) rather than a "real" unprovoked seizure.
Seizures scare the stuffing out of me - Boo tends to have prolonged ones and I worry about them causing more brain injury, so for me there was never any question about doing whatever it took to try to stop them. Unfortunately, for some kids getting control is a real art and it takes trial and error with medications. But again... knowing that the alternative is continued seizing, I would try whatever our (very trusted) neuro suggested to get them to stop.
Wish I had firsthand experience with Depakote and Lamictal to reassure you more. I sincerely hope the Lamictal will do the trick for your girl - seizures are just not a whole lot of fun!!
Again, welcome to the board!
