Sodium valproate causes the degradation of proteins, including destroying collagen which causes bone loss among other potential problems. It disturbs the endocrine system, again with a whole host of potential problems arising from that, also inhibits steroid secretion. I doubt any doctor will tell you any of this. Basically these are the changes that are being made by the drug once you start taking it that you would never feel as immediate side effects and so will go on thinking everything is fine. You might not notice any symptoms until years after you've stopped taking the drug, at which point it would be difficult if not impossible to prove the drug is to blame. By which point it would be too late anyway. Proteins and in particular the collagens are the stuff which keeps our body tissues held together, providing the support for the entire body. We lose them as we age anyway. People with hypermobility or any sort of connective tissue problem to start with should NEVER take this drug, though I doubt any doctor would mention that either. As a victim of this drug it is up to me to tell people the facts that I didn't know when I was taking it, and then let them make up their own minds. If you still want to take it or give it to your child, it's up to you.
