[nandm]

Welcome to our mental health forum. I am not sure how much help my input will be but here it is.

I was switched to Lithium because of the weight gain I experienced while on Topamax. Weight gain is not a normal side effect of Lithium but some people have untoward effects from medications. I have never used depakote but I believe there are several people here who have experience with that medication.

There could be several factors involved in the weight gain besides the medications. It would be a good idea to have her family practice/primary care doctor take a look at her. Thyroid issues, liver problems, overeating, lack of exercise, and many other things can cause weight gain as well as medications. Both my primary care physician and phys doc work pretty closely together to to make sure that medical and mental health issues are all being addressed.