Depakote. How can I mask the taste?

Question

My mother is decompensating from bipolar disorder by not taking her full dosage of medicine. How can I place the medicine in her food or drink while masking the taste since the medicine is very strong?

Yes I know, she shouldnt be doing this but she does, and she isnt going to her outpatient doctor. My only option is to but the drug in her food, so bac to my original question...how to mask the taste/disguise it in food. I've already gotten rid of the pink shell, but i can smell it in plain water, it almost burned my nose hairs!

True she could be suffering from side effects, Im with her daily though, and so far none eveident, even so she still has to take the meds and get regulated, b4 trying to switch to any other drugs...i will try something strong...

Answer 1

Either have strong curries, or chilli dishes, or switch to a less strong tasting medication. Adverse Reactions

Mania
The incidence of treatment-emergent events has been ascertained based on combined data from two placebo-controlled clinical trials of Depakote in the treatment of manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder. The adverse events were usually mild or moderate in intensity, but sometimes were serious enough to interrupt treatment. In clinical trials, the rates of premature termination due to intolerance were not statistically different between placebo, Depakote, and lithium carbonate. A total of 4%, 8% and 11% of patients discontinued therapy due to intolerance in the placebo, Depakote, and lithium carbonate groups, respectively.

Table 1 summarizes those adverse events reported for patients in these trials where the incidence rate in the Depakote-treated group was greater than 5% and greater than the placebo incidence, or where the incidence in the Depakote-treated group was statistically significantly greater than the placebo group. Vomiting was the only event that was reported by significantly (p ≤ 0.05) more patients receiving Depakote compared to placebo.

Table 1. Adverse Events Reported by > 5% of Depakote-Treated Patients During Placebo-Controlled Trials of Acute Mania1 Adverse Event Depakote
(n = 89) Placebo
(n = 97)
1. The following adverse events occurred at an equal or greater incidence for placebo than for Depakote: back pain, headache, constipation, diarrhea, tremor, and pharyngitis.

Nausea 22% 15%
Somnolence 19% 12%
Dizziness 12% 4%
Vomiting 12% 3%
Asthenia 10% 7%
Abdominal pain 9% 8%
Dyspepsia 9% 8%
Rash 6% 3%

The following additional adverse events were reported by greater than 1% but not more than 5% of the 89 divalproex sodium-treated patients in controlled clinical trials:


Body as a Whole
Chest pain, chills, chills and fever, fever, neck pain, neck rigidity.


Cardiovascular System
Hypertension, hypotension, palpitations, postural hypotension, tachycardia, vasodilation.


Digestive System
Anorexia, fecal incontinence, flatulence, gastroenteritis, glossitis, periodontal abscess.


Hemic and Lymphatic System
Ecchymosis.


Metabolic and Nutritional Disorders
Edema, peripheral edema.


Musculoskeletal System
Arthralgia, arthrosis, leg cramps, twitching.


Nervous System
Abnormal dreams, abnormal gait, agitation, ataxia, catatonic reaction, confusion, depression, diplopia, dysarthria, hallucinations, hypertonia, hypokinesia, insomnia, paresthesia, reflexes increased, tardive dyskinesia, thinking abnormalities, vertigo.


Respiratory System
Dyspnea, rhinitis.


Skin and Appendages
Alopecia, discoid lupus erythematosis, dry skin, furunculosis, maculopapular rash, seborrhea.


Special Senses
Amblyopia, conjunctivitis, deafness, dry eyes, ear pain, eye pain, tinnitus.


Urogenital System
Dysmenorrhea, dysuria, urinary incontinence.
Have you considered that she may be suffering some of the above side effects, which may be why she doesn't want to take it?: perhaps a switch to something like Lithium Orotate (no prescription required) is a better option: see page 10, at http://www.ezy-build.net. (.net.nz/~shaneris) and read the section. Lithium Carbonate is on the $4 generic list at WalMart, but I am unaware of its taste, only that it needs regular toxicity tests.

Answer 2

Well I would have to agree with that the doctors don't know what's wrong with peiple more than half the time. Like they spent 10 yrs in school with their head up their a@@ but if u went to different emergency rooms on different occasions then the percentage of them finding what's wrong becomes like 99 percent.well if u are bi polar then it can bring on anxeity and depression. U sound depressed. Even if u aren't bi polar u could be having a anxeity disorder. That's what I got. My chest always hurts. Its tight constantly. My head hurts. I get dizzy and I feel disoreintated. I feel like I'm in a dream a lot. My body goes numb. There's lots of real physical signs. But anxeity is created in your head. But the brain is powerful and can cause physical ailments. Look at the women who can't get pregnant. Then they take some hormone pills and think it will work. Then not long after they get morning sickness and the whole nine yards. Only to find out they still aren't pregnant. So I'm not sure what kind of pains u r feeling but the more u dwell on things are wrong and u r dying it can create more pain. When I first got anxeity 7 yrs ago I thought something was wrong. They couldn't find anything. I felt like u. I'm like when I die will they realize I had a brain tumor are something? Well I reccomend trying a specialist. Is it your head that hurts? Find a nuerologist. Is it your chest? Find a pulmanry specialist.u get my point. That way u can rule this pain in or out. Also don't kill urself. Suicide is a permant solution to a temporary problem. That's what u got. A problem. Every problem has a solition. U r stronger than most. U been thru all this and u r still here. Don't throw it all away and let this problem win. God might have gave u this problem to make u stronger and prepare u for something bigger in the future. God has a plan for all of us. I would sure hate to face him right after I messed his will up for me. It would be much worse than what u r going thru now. Well email me if u need someone to talk to. I'm always on. Also here's a number 1 800-suicide. God Bless

Answer 3

Depakote can be tolerated very well because it has a hard pink coating on the outside. Your mother shouldn't decrease the prescribed limits of ingestion because her regular blood level test will prove she's not taking the prescribed dosage. The dose level should be discussed between she and her psychiatrist. If she is feeling better with a smaller dose smaller sized tablets may be perscribed.
She shoulden't self medicate downward just because she's feeling better because she'll me right back to square one. It's too bad she's doing this because Depakote has so few side effects.