lol that's great MrsD... i can't afford a smartphone though.

i don't take carnitine because the body makes it - and i believe i get enough of the essential amino acids. Vit C is needed for synthesis and i made sure that is in my supplements, as i might not get enough of that.

on Depakote (VPA) i seem to recall Selenium as a depletee also, and possibly a couple other things? again haplessly lost the reference. this one is NOT in the garage either it was a on the net... sigh. i bought supps that included those things so, i'm ok but argh, now i wish i could remember or at least find the article again. i am a mess. my supps will not tell us because they include complementary nutrients also. i'm thinking Zinc may also be depleted? but i wouldn't swear by it.

i take a little Mg but that's coz i found early in my life that it helped with occasional bouts of tics and lessens my startle reflex to a passable level. I really can't remember if that's also involved with VPA because that's an a priori requirement for me... i pilot the amount i take based on my startle reflex.

well now i'm thinking..............

if there is an app for smartphones, there is a database. and if there is a database, there is probably a website for depletions somewhere. we have to find it. if there isn't... WE CAN MAKE ONE. but most of all, if this collection of info exists in form of an app, why don't the doctors KNOW this stuff or look it up when prescribing!!! this is so infuriating!!!

~ waves ~

There is one website I have found:

http://www.chiro.org/nutrition/ABSTR...orticosteroids

I am not sure how complete that one is either.

The reference I use only gives two things for Depakote.
The carnitine and folate. (however it was written in 2001)

The Side Effects Bible...a newer book lists:
B12
VitD
Melatonin
Sodium
Selenium

in addition to carnitine and folate.

I don't know where that list comes from...however. Some anticonvulsants are thrown together based on the other drugs in that family.
The reference I use only is based on Medline papers published.

So I did a PubMed search on valproic acid B12 depletion and got no hits.

However, Depakote does block methylation of epigenetic DNA and that is a theory on how it helps bipolar.

Both B12 and folic acid have to be methylated to be useful in the body, so maybe this methylation issue is why those show up on the second list.

Vit D loss is listed for almost all anticonvulsants, because some have shown this interaction, so it is extrapolated to all.

The zinc may be the same. Zinc has always be recommended for hair loss, and Depakote does cause this in women. So shrinks have recommended this intervention. But I think in women the Depakote is really changing hormonal status and that is known to cause hair loss in women. Depakote is very hard on the sex hormones for both sexes! That IS documented.

Hi,

My first guess to that is that pdocs are a little bit lazy.

Perhaps also they don't trust the supplements as they are not regulated as to dose, quality, . .

M