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New CH.com Forum › Cluster Headache Help and Support › Medications, Treatments, Therapies › Depakote or Valproate

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Depakote or Valproate (Read 671 times)

Sophia

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Depakote or Valproate
Jul 9^th, 2009 at 4:28am

Has anyone here tried Depakote or Valproate? I had sucess with Depakote in America and was taken off it because it worked and put on Topamax because it was supposed to work better and didnt. GRRR!!! Now I live in Denmark and am taking Valproat 500mgs a day and beginning to have sucess with that. I sleep alot and am a bit grouchy but that is all. Except for the past 2 days I have had a migraine that has not responded to any of my medications. Lovely not!!! Anyway I am wondering if anyone else has had sucess with this medication and how long it took to get over the side effects.

Thanks to all! Sophia

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DrBB

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Re: Depakote or Valproate
Reply #1 - Aug 9^th, 2009 at 2:07am

Hi Sophia,

Depakote was added to my cocktail (propranolol/verapamil/lisinopril taken for other medical reasons) at the end of my last cycle and seemed to work. Problem was that it was too close to the end of an already waning cycle to know for sure if it helped. When I sensed that a new cycle was beginning, I immediately added Depakote and contacted my neurologist. For over two months now, I have needed no O2 or triptans, and had only an occasional shadow headache.

So far, pending the results of a liver function test next week, the only down side of 750 mgs/day was drowsiness for the first three weeks. That was really bad, which meant I took most of my daily dose at bedtime. The result, however, has been the most pain-free cycle I have ever had. I am probably mid-cycle right now, but I almost don't think about getting a headache at all. Since I have always centered my daily preparations around the next CH when I was in a cycle, the Depakote has been a real blessing, especially once the drowsiness subsided.

My biggest hope is that Depakote would work for more CHers. Perhaps without the rest of my "cocktail" it wouldn't be effective, but the cocktail never worked anywhere near as well before the Depakote was added.

Good luck!

Bruce

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. Make a Difference&&Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to

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Bob Johnson

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Re: Depakote or Valproate
Reply #2 - Aug 9^th, 2009 at 10:01am

I've just finished an article looking at the evidence for these two meds. Authors conclude that there are not good studies to give a clear answer re. effectiveness of either of them.

The authors were looking for good, controlled studies and they could not locate enough material to make a call.

This is not to say that one or both is not effective, only that the evaluative science has not produced good outcome studies. That is the normal pattern when new applications for a med come into play: just takes times for research to be done for it takes time to have a good many people use the meds so that a good evaluation can be made.

My suggestion is that you use the well established treatments/meds. There is evidence both for effectiveness and side effects. Then, if they don't work for you, the option of trying the new, untested products is still on the table.
==========================
HERE ARE TWO MAJOR DOCUMENTS WITH RECOMMENDED TREATMENTS FOR CLUSTER HEADACHE, ONE FROM A U.S. PHYSICIAN, THE SECOND FROM EUROPE.
_________________________________________
Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to

Here is a link to read and print and take to your doctor. It describes preventive, transitional, abortive and surgical treatments for CH. Written by one of the better headache docs in the U.S. (2002. Rozen)
================
Treatment guidelines from Europe

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A. May, M. Leone, J. Áfra, M. Linde, P. S. Sándor, S. Evers, P. J. Goadsby:
EFNS guidelines on the treatment of cluster headache and other
trigeminalautonomic cephalalgias.
European Journal of Neurology. 2006; 13: 1066–1077.

Download free full text:
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(Thanks to "cluster" for link.)

Bob Johnson

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