# Whats the difference between Depakote and Depakene?



## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Whats the difference between Depakote and Depakene?


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## Rannyleaf (Mar 12, 2008)

"Depakene first became available in the United States in 1978. Some people found that it caused stomach upset, so a slower-dissolving product called Depakote was introduced to lessen this problem. There is little difference between Depakote and Depakene other than the way they are taken and how quickly they are absorbed, but Depakote is now used much more often than Depakene."
http://www.epilepsy.com/medications/b_depakote_intro
Hope this helps.


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## korey (Apr 25, 2006)

Depakene is the common brand name for simple valproic acid. It is said to be really hard on the stomach (and body in general), so it was formulated into a more tolerable salt called sodium valproate and mixed in a 1:1 ratio with pure Depakene and marketed as Depakote. So Depakote is half valproic acid (Depakene) and half sodium valproate. That's Wikipedia's understanding of it, at least :b


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