Does anyone have comments or experience with the use of Depakote for aggressive behavior? Started out woth 125mg x1 and gradually increased to 125 x2/twice per day. Seems behavior has gotten much worse but not sure if its him or the Depakote increase. Currently, DH is on 5 mg Nemanda x2 and was taken off Lexapro about 2 months ago. We tried Seroquel but turned him into a zombie so quit that before moving onto Depakote. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
My dh is on 500 mg Depakote ER, 2 x daily for aggression and inappropriate behavior. This is, thank goodness, under control now. He is also on 1 mg Risperdal ,2 x daily (I give half am, half pm). He is on 10 mg Namenda and is being slowly taken off Aricept. Seems to be taking this well and I see slight improvement in cognition. He also takes 20 mg Paxel at bedtime.
Looks like you have room on the Depakote, but increase should be discussed with your doctor. I did suggest Seroquel with my dh's neuro when problems started and was advised that we should try Depakote first. Don't know why exactly.
thanks mmarshall - did take awhile to take a effect when first started the Depakote? Its only been 6 days for us but seems like a lifetime. Will definitely talk to Dr about increase and maybe adding Risperdal - he did mention that was an option.
By the way, the short acting Depakote is available in a generic version, but the Extended release is not. My DH is taking five of the 500 mg. tablets a day. PatB
Does any one know if there is a difference in effectiveness between the Depakote sprinkles vs reg tablet (non-extended release)? Could not give DH ER version because his meds need to be crushed.
And PatB, do you remember what does your DH was started out and how long it took to get him to 5 x 500mg?? Thanks!
koolinagrl you snick in on us. Welcome. My husband with FTD was put on depakote and did poorly on it. Made him more aggressive. Now on large doses of Seroquel and doing better. Aricept increased his agitation.
I don't remember what dose we started at, but as we increased it, blood work was done to see when we reached a theraputic dose. We had already done the antipsychotics like Seroquel and Geodon and had limited success and/or problems. Don't have any experience with the sprinkles.
Welcome koolingrl. Lots of friendly people here who know what you are dealing with.
Yes, hello everyone! I've been an avid follower of this website for awhile and finally got the courage to sign in. DH was diagnosed 6 yrs ago and is now 58 (i am 49). Struggling so hard like so many here, with final stage particularly aggressive/combative behavior. Hard to find caregiver that can stick it out and I have to continue working fulltime financially. This is such a great website - cant tell you guys how much info I've learn!
Hi & Welcome Koolinagrl, Even though I am sorry for you need to join us, I am sure you will find this site a godsend. My husband is 58 years old with Frontal Temporal Dementia (FTD) Please feel free to post at anytime.
Hi koolinagrl, My husband had a violent episode in January and was started on depakote. After a few days (with increasing titrations), it worked and now takes the liquid form-2 tea. am amd 11/2 tsp evenings. He also takes seroquel and tons of other drugs (lexapro,atavan,namenda,razadyne, etc.) but removing any of them causes such agitation. He is a red head and someone told me red heads take stronger doses of meds to make them work. Anyone else ever heard of this? He is in a severe stage of dementia.
I just realized that my name changed back to my husbands!! I had to resign in and it wouldn't take my info so I reregistered and now I'm back to eugene0401. Did changing my name to Kathryn change my sign in info? I'd like to use Kathryn. Help. Thanks.
Everyone has had some "sign in" glitches lately, but hang in there, girl! YOU ARE A KATHRYN, - so stand firm with your computer grmelins. Do you talk to your computer. I do all the time. (Who's got the brain disease around here??) Just tell your computer your name is Kathryn and they're going to just have to get used to it. (giggle)
My husband was put on Depakote in large doses (750 3x a day) along with zyprexa, ativan and seroquel for his aggression. He ended up a zombie in a wheel chair for a while. The depakote was lowered and he "woke" up a while and didn't need the wheel chair. I got almost a year with him being able to talk to me (sort of) and enjoy his company before he began the latest downward slide. That combination did seem to keep him relatively calm. It took a while for the doctors in the psych ward where he ended up to get to the right mix of drugs.
Good luck on this one - it may take a while for you to get the right dosages.