Can someone advise please!

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy Forums

Welcome to the Coping With Epilepsy forums - a peer support community for folks dealing (directly or indirectly) with seizure disorders. You can visit the forum page to see the list of forum nodes (categories/rooms) for topics.

Please have a look around and if you like what you see, please consider registering an account and joining the discussions. When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no ads, access to members only (ie. private) forum nodes and more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
0
My daughter is 18 years old and diagnosed about eight to ten months ago. She has grand mal seizure about once a month at present and she has smaller seizures which effect her mouth and one side of her body a few times a day. These smaller seizures used to last no more than 60 seconds but lately have been lasting 5 - 10 minutes. We see a neurologist who is not particularly helpful and has prescribed 100mg of lamotrogine to be taken twice a day. The lamotrogine has not helped, and my daughter, of her own accord , has increased her dosage herself as she feels this is the only way she can control the seizures and lead a normal life. Her neurologist had not increased them as she wants her go into hospital for a week and observe her, which she doesnt want to do, but the waiting list for this is so long we dont know when this will be. I found out last week that she has increased her dosage to 800mg a day at present. I am extremely worried, I have informed her neurologist who said she must cut this back to 200mg by slowly decreasing the dosage by 100mg a week. The problem is I dont think my daughter is doing it. I cant control her medication as she is an adult and keeps her own medication. I am extremely worried and frightened and dont know what to do. Please help
 
Increasing the dosage without the guidance of the Neurologist is dangerous. All AEP medications are very strong, and have various side effects. Even though your daughter is 18yrs you still have authority over her health concerns. If she isn't going to follow the Neurologists instructions, you most help her to do it. She needs to understand that it will get better, it just takes time.

The video EEG monitoring session is a most. This will provide the Neurologist with more information about where the seizures are starting from, and how far they spread. It can also determine which AEP medications your daughter could try. Or even determine if your daughter
could possibly be a candidate for surgery.
 
easier said than done, have tried to tell her, but she has only been home one day in two weeks and when she does stay at home she is just in and out.
 
Hi Melanie, welcome to the forum. :hello:

I think perhaps the best solution is to educate her so she can make better decisions. Find out everything you can about Lamictal/Lamotrigine and how it works. Then explain it to her:
Overdosage
A massive overdose of Lamictal can be fatal. If you suspect an overdose, seek medical treatment immediately.

Symptoms of Lamictal overdose may include:
Coma, decreased level of consciousness, delayed heartbeat, increased seizures, lack of coordination, rolling eyeballs

Lamictal/Lamotrigine - detailed info

800mg is 300mg more than the upper limit usually prescribed for adults.
 
My daughter is 18 years old and diagnosed about eight to ten months ago. She has grand mal seizure about once a month at present and she has smaller seizures which effect her mouth and one side of her body a few times a day. These smaller seizures used to last no more than 60 seconds but lately have been lasting 5 - 10 minutes. We see a neurologist who is not particularly helpful and has prescribed 100mg of lamotrogine to be taken twice a day. The lamotrogine has not helped, and my daughter, of her own accord , has increased her dosage herself as she feels this is the only way she can control the seizures and lead a normal life. Her neurologist had not increased them as she wants her go into hospital for a week and observe her, which she doesnt want to do, but the waiting list for this is so long we dont know when this will be. I found out last week that she has increased her dosage to 800mg a day at present. I am extremely worried, I have informed her neurologist who said she must cut this back to 200mg by slowly decreasing the dosage by 100mg a week. The problem is I dont think my daughter is doing it. I cant control her medication as she is an adult and keeps her own medication. I am extremely worried and frightened and dont know what to do. Please help
Have your daughter see a SPECIALIST in EPILEPSY maybe her Neroligist isn't Specialised in her field to a degree . Give that a try , but just a reminder if she goes in for a 3 to 5 overnight stay at the hospital for a EEG testing it'll be on her own will . But you must tell her & remind her that HER HEALTH is more important & give it a try.OnlyThing I can see hapening is She won't go , then thats on her side not yours. View my profile & you'll see i'm on plenty of meds for EPILEPSY as well . DAVE
 
I have a son that does not live at home. He also had a medical issue, and I could talk until I was blue in the face....

What I have found to work is to send snips of info via email. Slowly it started sinking in. He kept the info in a file, and started asking me questions. Then he started following the nutritional changes that were necessary and his problems have been resolved. He tells me when he goes back to his old habits his issues reoccur. So he is basically teaching himself. He calls me from the grocery store to ask me advice now.

Your daughter is at an age where she wants to be in control of her own body.

People will attest here that I am not a fan of the medications given for seizures. In fact we are learning to control my daughters seizures better without meds than we ever did with the anti convulsants. However... your daughter is learning to listen to her own body. She needs to be taught this. She also needs to be shown that there are alternatives to these drugs. But she definitely needs to be in control. If she takes too much of the drug, her body most likely will tell her. The amounts that doctors prescribe, and the combinations that they suggest will make your head spin. She needs to learn what is right for her. I would suggest that she learn to do the research for herself, but if you can get the process started by sharing some of the links we have here at CWE. She will be far better supported and prepared to make the judgement calls when necessary for her own health.

I have a 23, 19, and a 16 yr old, so I know something about "making" a young adult do something. You need to make it appear as if they thought of the idea themselves.

Good luck.
 
Last edited:
Ahhh...I remember being 18 and ticked off about having E. I just wanted it to go away. Sounds like that's what your daughter wants too. So instead of being patient, and taking her meds as prescribed, she figures if she just takes more, then it will work faster. Faulty logic, but understandable. All you can really is just let her know that you're there for her. That you love her, and that you are concerned. If need be, print out the side effects for the meds she's on. When she sees that increased seizures are a symptom of overdosing, maybe she'll ease up on the meds.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom