While it is supposed to last 24 hours, my neurologist has me
on it at 12 hour intervals --> WITH SOME PRECISION
for those times, illogical as that seems! He claims better
control with exact dose timing. With no other AED, my
dose was 1250mg/twice-daily, but adding Lamictal appears
to depress Depakote's activity (and the level of valproic
acid in the blood - has anyone heard of this [I hadn't]?).
The resultant "trough" (lowest) blood levels of valproic acid
are targeted somewhere between "50" and "100" units.
BTW, it is not officially recommended, but you can split
500mg tablets of ER (I rotate the cut ends in a moist paper
towel to smooth the sharp edges for easier swallowing)
if you need 250s. As with other AEDs, you must build up
or down gradually with Depakote...
--DR

Hello,

There are a couple of things that you may want to know here.

Dose to start with:
Adults and childs: 10-20 mg/kg body health to be taken daily during meals.
This can be increased with 5-10 mg/kg body health per day until therapeutic
level has been achieved.

Regular dose:
Usually 20-30 mg/kg body health per day (adults 9-35 mg/kg per day / childs
15-60 mg/kg per day).

Let me recap a couple of other things that are important as well (but don't
forget: I am not a doctor or pharmacist!):

Each drug has a half-life (the time required for the concentration of the
drug in the blood to decline to half of its original value). Medications
with a short half-life, such as carbamazepine (the regular form, not
extended release) and valproate, pose a slightly greater problem than those
with a longer half-life, such as phenytoin or phenobarbital (brand names
differ per country). For drugs with a short half-life, it is important to
keep the interval between doses as close to the usual routine as possible.
Otherwise, the person risks adverse effects from high drug levels in the
blood or seizures from low drug levels.

For drugs with a short half-time, it is better to take a couple of pills
during the day to keep the levels steady then taking them all at once in the
morning or one in the morning / one in the afternoon, etc.

Note that an extended release exists for Depakine which is called Depakine
Chrono (don't know in what countries this drug is available, but I am able
to take it in the Netherlands). It increases the half-live time a bit.

Cheers,
Marco