Valproate: new safety and educational materials to support regulatory measures in men and women under 55 years of age

[helvella]

I don't think there is any reason to expect many members to be taking any form of Valproate, but this is such an important issue, with such significant consequences, I've decided to post it anyway. Even if you are not taking it, someone you know might be.

Valproate (Belvo, Convulex, Depakote, Dyzantil, Epilim, Epilim Chrono or Chronosphere, Episenta, Epival, and Syonell▼): new safety and educational materials to support regulatory measures in men and women under 55 years of age

New safety and educational materials have been introduced for men and women and healthcare professionals to reduce the harms from valproate, including the significant risk of serious harm to the baby if taken during pregnancy and the risk of impaired fertility in males.

gov.uk/drug-safety-update/v...

[Sparklingsunshine]

Actually this is sometimes prescribed for migraines , which are common especially in women. I heard this drug mentioned several times on my migraine forum so thank you for bringing it to our attention.

[Sparklingsunshine]

As a vestibular migraine sufferer I wondered what you found that helps? I was offered Topirimate but I belong to a very good migraine forum and the consensus on it was very mixed, plus the side effects didnt look appealing.

[Sparklingsunshine]

I've found Venlafaxine has helped quite a bit, its not commonly prescribed in the UK as yet for migraine but is becoming the gold standard in the US, one of the worldwide VM experts, Professor Timothy Hain in Chicago is a big fan.

I tried 6 or 7 different VM drugs and had side effects on all of them. Or they were ineffective. Ven was really the last resort as I'd already exhausted the usual suspects. I got the go ahead from my Neuro and have been on it for about a year. I titrated up really slowly, in tiny increments.

Since October I've been reducing. I wanted to see if I could manage without. I took about 3 months to very slowly reduce. I was on 112.5mg a day.

I did find that my balance and unsteadiness did get worse and I felt so tired, but its hard to know if it was the VM or drug withdrawal. So I've compromised and gone back on 37.5mg a day, which is the entry dose. I'd like to stop it altogether in time.

My Vestibular Physio thinks I might also have a neck issue which is contributing to the balance problems.

I had some nausea to begin with which took a while to settle and in the summer I sweat a bit more but was plesantly surprised that I had no other noticeable effects. Sertraline, Amytriptyline and Nortriptyline were awful for me. So I was understandably reluctant to try yet another Anti D.