I was recently placed on Depakote for treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder (which i now know was the wrong medicine for the disorder). I gained weight and told the doctor to take me off of it. Instead, he upped the dose to 2000mg per day. I began having symptoms of vomiting, shakiness, sweating, and discomfort (pain) in my kidneys. After three days of this dose I decided to see a medical doctor . I was told that my liver enzymes were very high, and that I needed to stop taking the Depakote. How long will it take to get my liver back to normal ? Also, can I sue the doctor who put me on Depakote for malpractice ? The medical doctor didn t agree with me being on that medication for my disorder.
Dear Friend, I am sorry to hear about the unfortunate situation you were in because of Separate related liver problems. Separate is licensed to be used as a mood stabilizer (mostly for patients suffering with mood disorders such as Bipolar affective disorder). However, a lot of practitioners do use this medicine in other disorders where there are mood swings or alterations. One such disorder is Borderline Personality disorder.  Your first doctor was not wrong in prescribing this medicine as there are ample of research evidence to support its use BUT he was wrong in not discussing this with you beforehand - esp. because some insurance companies or medicare may not agree to pay for the prescription for off-license use - thus putting you at a risk of financial hardship. The elevated liver enzymes are a known side-effect of Separate as it is metabolized by liver. Most prescribers do (& should) warn the patient about it and also do regular tests to look for same. They should also warn the patient against use of alcohol & other hepato-toxic medications - which again can put stress on pts liver. If your doctor continued to prescribe and increase the dose of separate when you were clearly having side effects plus had lab reports to show evidence of raised liver enzymes - he/she was clearly wrong. I must say that case however against the doctor (if you plan to sue him/her) will be weak unless until you can show that there was evidence of raised liver enzymes but the prescription of separate was kept same or dose increased. With regard to Borderline personality disorder - I will recommend that you engage with a psychotherapist or psychiatrist with experience in DBT (Dialectical behavior therapy). Good luck Chat Doctor. 