Depakote "for sleep"?

[Mrs. Luther073082]

My brother is in the hospital right now and his nurses told my parents they gave him depakote "for sleep". I don't trust that since my brother told me they have been giving Ambien for sleep. I don't think the nurses are being honest with my parents -- I think my brother is being given depakote as treatment for mania, which at this point we believe would be a misdiagnosis.

Do any of you take depakote for sleep?

 

[suzybeezy]

I'm not a healthcare professional but can only speak from my experience with my daughter on that medication. That medication is usually given for bipolar disorder and does often have a groggy effect with it - usually why its given at night. I do know that the doctors warned us that this was a rather harsh medication and that it could be tough on the liver.

I'd recommend asking the doctors who are attending to your brother for a sit down so you (or your parents) can get all of your questions addressed. If you can't be there in person, they should be able to arrange a phone conference.

 

[Alive again]

So obviously ambien is a sleeping med. I have taken it. depakote is an anti-seizure med that is used for things like bp (as a mood stabilizer) and pain.

It is know for having a sedative side effect (like the antisiezure med I am on which I use to also help me sleep) So it can be given at bedtime when used for other reasons and in that way may also help with sleep. It is far more common to see things like trazadone used for sleep or a traditional sleep med.

Hope this helps. Praying your brother gets out of the hospital soon.

 

[Mrs. Luther073082]

I'm not a healthcare professional but can only speak from my experience with my daughter on that medication. That medication is usually given for bipolar disorder and does often have a groggy effect with it - usually why its given at night. I do know that the doctors warned us that this was a rather harsh medication and that it could be tough on the liver.

I'd recommend asking the doctors who are attending to your brother for a sit down so you (or your parents) can get all of your questions addressed. If you can't be there in person, they should be able to arrange a phone conference.

That's the problem -- no one will tell my parents anything and my brother has been there over a week. His doctor would not return calls even though my mother called multiple times every day and left messages. Long story short they are getting a lawyer -- there's a lot of other issues going on besides just that. (For example, nobody noted in his charts that he has been throwing up EVERY DAY.)