Ouchies!
Stacy has been diligent in taking her meds and supplements. She is also eating well. She does not always get to bed on time for regular sleep though.
For the last three days in a row now, she has had a single, strong jerk in the morning. Yesterday and today, they were strong enough to bring her from a standing position to the ground (they were not atonic seizures/drop attacks). Unfortunately, today, she was holding a glass cup which shattered on the tile floor and she cut her hand up in addition to smacking her knee smartly on the floor. The cuts were not deep/serious enough to require a trip to the ER/hospital (thank goodness!).
May 4th, 2006 at 10:33 pm
This is in response to your last two notes:
1. Dilantin CAN become toxic: you have to have it tested regularly. I haven’t taken it in a number of years because: 1. it didn’t provide complete control (What? No miracles????) and 2. to get “better” control, I needed at least 450 mg per day. Toxic and it still didn’t provide absolute control. If your doc still likes Dilantin, stick with it, but
2. NO CAFFEINE PERIOD. CUT OUT SUGAR. (In fact, if you can cut out all stimulants after 3 - 4 PM, it will help you sleep better.)
3. GO TO BED AT A REGULAR HOUR EVERY NIGHT AND DO IT EARLY.
4. FORGET ALL THE GARBAGE IN LIFE THAT MANY OF US WORRY ABOUT AT 2:00 am. (Worrying got to me so much and so often that lack of sleep was causing seizures: I had to take Ambien to help with that one - on top of 3 central nervous system depressants. I like the Ambien: 15 minutes and I’m asleep; 4 hours sleep; no hangover. N.B.: I am not selling Ambien. I find that the fewer drugs one takes the better, but I personally feel that if it takes twice as many drugs as I currently take to control my seizures, then I take twice as many drugs.
a. DO REMEMBER: There is nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow to finish.
b. There is nothing you can do about “it” at 2 AM: forget it until tomorrow;
c. Most of the things we worry about don’t happen or, if they do, the consequences won’t be too serious;
d. Trying to cope with Life’s problems is harder after a seizure.
5. I regularly take a total of 9 tablets per day in 3 different amounts. To help get them straight, I use a plastic compartmentalized plastic box. This may seem unnecessary, but I have found that it helps.
6. There are lots of people who care about you.
Good luck. God bless.
5.