Depakote Side Effects Huge Concern for Teen Mother
By Andrea Gressman
For 15-year-old Justice and her mother, the side effects of Depakote are a huge concern. Justice’s mother, Angela Lee, gave a detailed interview about her daughter’s prescription use of Depakote for three years, including the first 28 weeks of her pregnancy, and complications that resulted.
Justice was originally prescribed Depakote in order to treat her bipolar disorder as well as her ADHD. It is typically prescribed to both children and adults as a mood stabilizer. However, most patients and parents of the patients, as in the case of Justice and her mother, are not informed of the significant side effects associated with the drug. Sadly, in Justice’s situation, her mother did not find out about her pregnancy early on in order to address whether or not the drug was suitable for her to take during her pregnancy.
Ms. Lee explains that as soon as she and her husband learned of their young daughter’s pregnancy that they took her to the doctor. When the doctor learned that Justice was taking Depakote, he advised her to immediately stop using the medication as it “could cause problems with the baby.”
“The alarm bell rang right away,” Ms. Lee said in the interview. “No one gave us any kind of warning information; we got the pamphlet when Justice started taking Depakote but it doesn’t say what will happen if your daughter gets pregnant. Our biggest concern is that Depakote can cause birth defects.”
Justice’s doctor began to monitor the baby for birth defects and saw a potential problem in the first ultrasound: the tube that goes to the baby’s kidneys to pass urine was smaller than normal. Doctors also discovered that they baby’s skull was forming abnormally.
Baby Christian was born on May 27, 2010 and he continues to undergo careful monitoring for Depakote side effects.
Like many Depakote side effect victims the family does not want this situation to occur to anyone else. Ms. Lee stated, “I want to tell the makers of Depakote that their warning label wording needs to be more in depth: they should warn people and children about potential birth defects.” She went on to say, “The manufacturer needs to make it absolutely clear that this med cannot be taken while pregnant, especially for teenagers.”
If you or someone you know took Depakote at the age of 14 or younger you could be eligible to file a lawsuit or join a Depakote class action lawsuit. Visit the Depakote Class Action Lawsuit Investigation page right away in order to learn more about your legal options and receive a free legal review from a qualified Depakote lawsuit attorney.
Updated February 19th, 2013
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