New doc says no to botox and yes to depakote

Really tired of dealing with docs.............after seeing a neuro who seemed more like a snake oil salesman I decided to go to a new neuro who came with a good recommendation to get his opinion on botox. He felt that the botox would treat the pain but not the aura symptoms which is my major issue. He was very patient with all my questions and we talked quite a bit about what he thinks is going on in my migraine brain. He also reviewed all my meds and was curious about why I have never tried depakote.....so now he wants me to give it a try along with inderol. I am not sure I am ready to try another med which he did respect - so have the prescription - just not sure I am going to fill it. If anyone has had any experiences with depakote please let me know! Thanks

I have not tried that one. But at least he is listening and trying. Who knows? Maybe this will be the one that works for you.

Yes, I have tried it. The side effect, for me, was EXTREME hair loss. Bucketfulls. Unbelievable.

It did nothing for the headaches.

Agreed if you got hair loss or other serious symptoms on Neurontin, Topamax, etc, you may experience the same on Depakote. Worth a try though as its on the medium list of preventatives. Good idea to combo it with a beta blocker too. Different doctors have their own preferences on treatments. I would agree to try a variety of meds before Botox of similar...insurance will likely require this too in addition to certain pain frequency, intensity, and untreatability. Its a good sign to have a doctor have ideas for you. Hopefully this keeps up. I would try the combo unless you are just emotionally not ready to be doing it. I know you set yourself up for Botox which probably in your mind (and in reality) is less side effects and maybe a better chance of working on the pain, but I agree on the preventative & aura thing as preventatives can treat the whole migraine syndrome more.

For everyone-If you did get the hair loss before and want to try a med like this anyways, you may want to proactively take supplements like Biotin (B vitamin) or use a good hair loss shampoo like Nioxin. Starting this before you see loss or before it gets bad is good because the hair cycle is several months. Side effects like that can also get better if you give them time, and hair loss usually feels/looks worse than it really is (not actually apparent). I stopped the meds more to them not working and getting other side effects like memory loss than the hair loss alone. Best wishes.