Depakote??!! | ADHD Information

My son has gone from a diagnosis of ADHD, to one of Cyclothymia.  I know many on this board have children with several issues.  I just took my son off Depakote as it was causing severe moodiness, I asked him to brush his teeth in a normal tone of voice, and repeated myself in the same tone when he did not do it, and he burst into tears and screamed do not yell at me, and ran off. 

Then the other day he attacked another boy at soccer practice. 

This is very abnormal.  He had his last dose of Depakote yesterday a.m. and is already better.  any thoughts as to what this was all about?  Yes, we had a level drawn, but I do not know what it is yet.  Pdoc has been on vacation.

 

 

Wow.  What's Depakote?  Also, how old is your son?Depakote is a mood stabilizer.  Cyclothymia is a mild form of bipolar.  My son is 8.He can be violent, but is not that way often.  The Depakote made everything worse.  He attacked a boy at soccer, and cried anytime we asked him to do anything.  Crying to the point that his shirt was soaked with snot and tears.  He is so much betternow.  We see the pdoc on Wed.hey crazymama, please tell me you slowly took your son off depakote?  if i remember correctly your son has violent behavior like my son... did that behavior stop while he was on depakote? there are so many other medications that can and will help your son... don't give up... you are a good mom...Let me clarify.  They were practicing, and they were in line to do drills.Occassionally mood stabilizers can make the mood worse. Sounds pretty bad, but it's true.

I would suggest you take a look at www.bpkids.org This is a great site for pediatric bipolar, and you can likely learn a lot there to help you understand how to handle this.

If depakote didn't work, and the doctor hasn't tried atypical antipsychotics yet, Risperidone may be a good option.

Is he on any ADHD meds as well?
He is on no ADHD meds.  We see the doc Wed, and will discuss where we are now.  He e-mailed me, and suggested doing a med wash, so I do not know how long that takes to make sure his system is clean.

DEPAKOTE WAS MADE FOR TREATING PETIMAL EPILEPSY AT FIRST THEN USED FOR BP LATER ON. IT WORKED WITH OUR SON. SINCE HIS  NEW VITAMINS NOT NEEDED ANYMORE. HE WAS ON THE ER THOUGH.

COACHES TEACH TO ATTACK IN SPORTS.The person doing this usually has the ball more. This happens in mostly older age groups.