Blood work results, etc.

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sjconner

sjconner

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The neurologist's office called and said that my lamotrigine level was in the low end of the therapeutic range. They are going to titrate me from 100mg twice a day up to 150mg twice a day. I am supposed to be retested in four weeks.

They sent me a copy of the lab order to remind me to go and get blood drawn. The lab paperwork has my diagnosis codes as "Localization-related (focal) (partial) epilepsy and epileptic syndromes with complex partial seizures, without mention of intractable epilepsy (345.40)". This is a bit different than what was on my last lab order from the end of May. My last lab order had 345.41 which is the same but "with intractable epilepsy". Weird.

Sorry if this doesn't make a lot of sense ... I have a huge migraine and my stomach is upset. I also feel dizzy (Sumatriptan I took?). I am going to bed.

Susan
 
Has your neuro actually said that your seizures are intractable? If not, then it was probably a coding error on the first lab test.

Are your seizures currently controlled? If so, then you may not need to increase your dose. The therapeutic range for lamotrigine is only suggested, but not set in stone; my levels are low, but work fine for me.
 
No, they are not controlled. I was on topiramate (didn't work and side effects made it hard for me to teach) and then he switched me to lamotrigine. I have had 5 complex partials so far this year. Last year I had three simple partials. Now I am having complex partials. At my last appointment, he looked concerned after I told him about my latest seizure. I like and trust him. He is the only doctor who is interested in everything and truly listens. He is always running late as he is willing to spend the necessary time with his patients. I got lucky when my PCP referred me to him.
 
That's great, he sounds like a keeper! I hope the increased lamotrigine does stops the partials and you can get some relief.
 
Thank you for your responses. It is nice having someone to talk with and bounce things off of. I have learned so much here. I think I now know more about epilepsy than my PCP.
 
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