Not a good start to the morning...

[JJandKylesMom]

Goodmorning! This place has been so very helpful...so here I am again!
I have been talking with my sons doctor about his side affects from Depakote. He didnt seem as conserned as I am. But this morning my Son could not even remember the color of his own tooth brush! Last week it was his Aunts name(which is my Sister) and about 4days ago I stopped and got him a quick sandwich at the drive threw...number 6 crispy...while eating it he mentioned how it was so good...cant belive he never had it before..will have to get it again...well we are not fast food eaters.. for the most part..but JJ has had this sandwich before! He has gained alot of weight in the past month he doesnt fit in his bigger pants I bought him 9 days ago...when I did call his doctor(going to call again this morning) he said it really was not an option to take him off this medication....he could back it off but would add another to take with it....I can not even tell you what kind of siezure had..it was never explained to us what the EEG showed...he just spent 2 days in the hospital..not even blood work! they put him on the highest dose of this stuff..after JUST ONE siezure...we took him for a follow up on friday to our family doctor..which gave us another number to a nurologist...I would like to try a more natural approuch to all of this if possible...maybe accupuncture...
any input? Thank you all again for being so helpful!
Hugs to all!
Joanna.....

 

[Rae1889]

Hi Jo
If your son has only ever had one seizure, you are within your parental right to deny medications. You can demand to know what the EEG said, and you can demand a switch from one med to another. It is best to try monotherapy first (one med only) before adding another.

Also know that depakote has a lot of nasty side effects, including wait gain and toxic levels. I would make sure your son has his blood levels checked immediately.

Forgetfulness could be the seizures or the med side effects, either way you are at liberty to switch. As far as alternatives go, have yoy thought of diets?

 

[JJandKylesMom]

Thank you!

Thanks for your quick reply! I feel that only being a month into this and seeing such a crazy difference in him..now is the time to do something about it! I never was told he couldnt stop his meds or a siezure could happen..we were only told he had to be on it for the rest of his life. No one ever explained anything about his EEG other then it showed he had activity in the brain. Im just angry..that Im being told this is the way it has to be...tell me why this is happening...they never tested him for anything other then the EEG...I just want answers...As with alot of people on here our lives were changed that day...but Im not satisfied that this is it....is it normal to be put on such a strong med after one siezure? Thank you again for listening! everyone has been so helpful!
Joanna

 

[Nakamova]

Hi JJandKylesMom --

Certainly there is the possibility that after one seizure your son may not need meds. The EEG may have been strongly indicative of a seizure disorder however, so before doing anything rash, you should see if you can get a record of his EEG, and set up a consult with another neurologist. If you decide to stop the Depakote, it must be done very slowly -- stopping cold turkey, or tapering too fast can cause seizures.

If he does need to stay medicated, he could try backing off the Depakote dose to see if the side effects lessen. And as Rae says there are quite a few other meds out there to try. In addition, depending on the kind of seizures he has, a nutritional approach may be helpful. (There isn't a compelling track record for acupuncture as an epilepsy treatment at this point). This link has info about alternative or adjunct treatment approaches: http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/index.php?p=alternative-treatments

 

[Rae1889]

All epilepsy meds are strong meds. They have to be in order to cross the brain/blood barrier and have any effect of controlling the brain.

What I would suggest is getting a second opinion. Meds can cause abnormal eegs, and eegs can have false positives or false negatives. It is your right to ask all this information and they must give you answers. I would tell them you want to wean from this medication onto a new one or try nothing at all for a while. Then if he has another seizure, try a diet etc.

I would also ask about finding a cause. Has he had a CT scan or MRI to rule out brain damage or a tumor? Has he been checked for diabetes or allergies to food that could trigger a seizure? It could be something simple like an allergy to eggs that caused his seizure.

For the most part I believe seizures are a symptom of something else. Whether its brain damage, hormones, blood sugar levels etc. So its your doctors job to try and find a cause, and if none is found then treatment options should be looked at differently

 

[epileric]

Actually Rae, regardless of the cause of the seizures the doctors treat them the same way.

I've had epilepsy all my life & it was only recently that they'd found the cause. It made no difference in how I was treated or what treatment was used.

 

[JJandKylesMom]

See thats why I had to post today! You guys have given me more information then I have gotten from his doctors! When he was taken by ambulance to the hospital they took blood and did an Cat scan...nothing was ever said if or what they were checking in blood work..and the Scan showed nothing. My thoughts all along were something in the brain..but as a Mom you think of everything! And the EEG was never explained to us,,I cant even tell you what side of the brain..partial, generalized or anything...Im just aggervated and want answers. I know I need to make the phone call to his school, if he cant even remember the color of his tooth brush he has to be slippin in school...thank you!
Joanna

 

[epileric]

Meds can cause abnormal eegs, and eegs can have false positives or false negatives.

Actually AED's do not cause false postive or negatives on EEGs. If you disagree please show me a medical site that states as much.

AED's slow the firing of neurons. I don't see how that can cause a false reading since the neurons still behave the same, just move slower