"i would give depakote a lower rating based on my personal experience with it, but i don&#039;t want to skew the overall rating.  for whatever reason, i did not respond to depakote as a mood stabilizer.  this is surely not the case for everyone.  the problem is that while taking this medicine, i gained 30 pounds, as i constantly felt hungry.  i was warned ahead of time that this tends to keep the brain from perceiving fullness (or something to that effect).  i noticed this within a few days of starting depakote but continued taking it because i didn&#039;t have many other options at the time.  the weight gain created an entirely new aspect of depression.  just something to keep in mind if you&#039;re just starting it and weight gain is an issue."