Re: Hello! Starting diet on July 19th--depakote interaction

[Guest guest]

-

Thanks for the info regarding the interaction of depakote and the

diet. does not have an " official " diagnosis of MAE--we'll be

persuing this with her ped neuro on the next visit--it sure seems

like a possibility to me, thus joining the Doose group. I'll try

searching the archives again--is there a way to search all the posts

easily? Thanks for your help.

ne

> Hi ne,

> I was just about to ask if had a MAE diagnosis after

reading your

> message and seeing her seizure types, when I recognised your email

address

> and realised you joined the Doose group a few days ago

> Starting the diet when on high dose depakote can def cause

problems,

> toxicity being one, and also there is a theory that depakote and

the diet

> work along similar channels, to do with fatty acid mechanisms,

meaning that

> in some kiddies they can 'compete' with each other, and there are

quite few

> who don't therefore attain full seizure control until the depakote

is

> weaned.

> However - there are just as many who have been fine on the

combination, it

> is basically not a one size fits all thing, but something to keep

in mind if

> you have to go down the fnetuning road to get the seizures under

control.

> So basically, be on the alert mainly for toxicity, ie - increased

> seizures, esp as med doses peak, sleepiness, vomiting, unsteadiness

etc. And

> perhaps forewarn your keto team that you have read of other

children whose

> med levels go too high when their metabolism switches into the

state of

> ketosis.

> Problem achieving satisfactory ketone levels may be another

symptom that

> some depakote needs weaning.

> If you do an archive search at the files section here, you will

probably

> come across quite a few older posts by using the search word

depakote. Let

> me know if you have any problems searching and I will see if I can

help you

> dig them out.

>

> Hill ('s Mum in NZ)

> PS - very glad the tegretol was ditched, as if she does have MAE,

you will

> know by now that it is a big no no for this syndronme - her

paradoxical

> seizure response to this med is one that many of us have witnessed

in our

> kiddies too

>

>

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: " ne & Clague "

>

> > Hi Everyone,

> >

> > We're so glad to discover this group! We are starting our 4

year old

> daughter, , on the ketogenic diet on Monday, July 19th, and

would

> appreciate any information to help us along the way.

> >

> > Our beautiful and healthy daughter, , had her first

seizures in

> Dec. 2003 with 2 T/Cs within 1 week of each other. She was started

on

> Tegretal but switched to Depakote in March 2004 due to onset of

> myoclonic;atonic seizures (up to a dozen/day). 24 hour VEEG

confirmed dx of

> mixed generalized seizure disorder (intractable)--capturing multiple

> clinical seizures and 40-50 subclinical seizures daily over a 3 day

period.

> Since that time she has experienced more T/Cs and most recently

eyelid

> myoclonic seizures--with the time between seizure activity

diminishing in a

> rather rapid pattern (longest seizure free period 20 days; now only

6 days).

> And I suspect daily subclinical seizures (due to changes in her

behavior and

> bluish coloration of her eyelids and a recent EEG confirmed

continuing spike

> wave patterns). While you'd never notice with a casual glance,

has

> also been diagnosed with mild hypotonia, oral motor dyspraxia, a

language

> disorder, and sensory integration dysfunction and is currently in

weekly OT

> and SLT and is showing improvement.

> >

> > is on Depakote (1125mg/day), Keppra (125mg) and carnitine

> supplements. She has moved beyond the therapeutic range with

Depakote and

> is beginning to experience more side affects--upset stomach, slight

tremor

> (more like a " jerkiness " ) when tired, and tends to sleep more (not

> necessarily a bad thing-ha).

> >

> > Because she is on such a high dose of Depakote a day, I have

been

> closely reading any posts regarding the interaction of Depakote and

the

> diet. Any suggestions with things to watch for while initiating

the diet

> would be greatly appreciated.

> >

> > ne