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What Causes Excessive Sleepiness While On Depakote?
My father was just put on Depakote and at first he slept all the time because the pharmacy gave him ER BID instead of regular release. We got that straight and they have checked his levels and say they aren t as high as they need to be. He has dementia and we believe Alzheimer s (his mom had it). his memory has been bad but he is making up stories of things he has done and he didn t. This is all new since put on the Depakote. Couldn t this med be working against him ? We can t get the doctors to respond other than give it time They are giving this to him for moods but it s not helping at all, in fact it is worse Any advice or knowledge with this ? rw
Fri, 22 Feb 2019
Hello,
In my opinion, there is no reason to be worried and usually, this is just temporary and self-limiting. Excessive daytime sleepiness is common issues and should be considered in this case.
Excessive daytime sleepiness may be caused by conditions such as sleep deprivation, metabolic disturbances, sleep apnoea, medications, neurological disorders such as seizures and psychiatric disorders such as depression.
If emotional causes are ruled out then some tests can be done to confirm the diagnosis.
In my opinion, polysomnography (sleep study), is one of the necessary examinations in order to achieve a correct diagnosis. Please discuss with primary care Doctor about these issues.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Ivan R. Rommstein, General Surgeon
In my opinion, there is no reason to be worried and usually, this is just temporary and self-limiting. Excessive daytime sleepiness is common issues and should be considered in this case.
Excessive daytime sleepiness may be caused by conditions such as sleep deprivation, metabolic disturbances, sleep apnoea, medications, neurological disorders such as seizures and psychiatric disorders such as depression.
If emotional causes are ruled out then some tests can be done to confirm the diagnosis.
In my opinion, polysomnography (sleep study), is one of the necessary examinations in order to achieve a correct diagnosis. Please discuss with primary care Doctor about these issues.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Ivan R. Rommstein, General Surgeon
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