nervous mom - and a question

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!

chop456

chop456

New
Messages
226
Reaction score
0
Points
0
This mom is now a nervous wreck! My daughter leaves for her 8th grade trip to Washington DC in the morning - and her dad and I are not going! The nurse has gone over all the medical precautions with staff and the principal has assured me they are well prepared. Her music teacher is also going and is a dear friend of ours. I know she is in good hands but I am still so nervous. Paige has only been diagnosed for 3 months but she is at her therapeutic level of Lamictal. Actually our neurologist was helpful in assuring us that Paige can handle this and in fact, she needs to be able to handle this. At 14, she needs to listen to her body, head the warnings and take care of herself.

My question - we were given the ok to give her .5mg of lorazapam to help her sleep. We have the script as an "emergency med" if myoclonics increase but can also use it to make sure she gets enough sleep. So - would you give her the lorazapam or hope that she gets to bed early enough?
 
Did you mean just for tonight, or to have her take the Lorazepam with her on the trip?
 
We sent the lorazepam with her per doctor recommendation. She is going to take one on the bus ride home Friday night. The ride home is on the bus overnight. Dr felt it will help her sleep. We were wondering if she should take 1/2 pill the other nights to help her get to sleep. 4 giddy 14 year olds can lead to all night laughter.
 
Has she taken the Lorazepam before? If she hasn't, it might be worth holding off taking it every night until she gets a sense of how it affects her. For some folks, it can affect their sleep negatively or make them feel weak. Lorazepam is a benzodiazepine, so it's important not to take it too often over a long period of time. As with any brain med, you want to weigh the risk of side effects against the potential benefit. If she has one night of less-than-perfect sleep, how likely is it that her seizures will increase? Can you check in with her by phone while she's away and see how she's doing? Maybe ask the music teacher to enforce curfew?
 
I know that feeling! The summer after my son was diagnosed, he had a chance to go to a really good YMCA camp for free. I was really nervous. His seizures happen right after going to sleep after he's been up late (until recently....now it is happening as early as 8:30pm). Lights out at this camp were 10:30pm. Mommy was torn....treat him like a regular kid and let him have fun or keep him home. His neuro was all about letting him go. They are always saying that they are kids first, epileptics second.

So, he went and had a great time. I was nervous every night, but knew he was in good hands after I met the counselors and the nurse.

I think it's always going to be hard for us to let them go. I have to remind myself to trust those in charge. I can't control this and I can't keep my son from doing things because of the fear of seizures.

As for the med question, I wouldn't have a clue. I get nervous giving medicine to my child and not being there to see how they react to it. She's already left by the time I have responded to this anyway, so you have already made your decision. ;-)

Hope she has fun and that it's an uneventful (as far as seizures go) trip! It will be easier next time, but you'll still get a little nervous about it. :)
 
Thanks for the replies. Paige has been and will continue to text me so I am going to just ask (not too much, though) how she is feeling. I did tell the staff that she can take .5mg of the lorazapam at night - if she feels like she needs it. My friend has already told me if there is too much commotion she will lay down the law ;) The kids will listen to her :) I am just glad I was able to watch her leave today without any tears.
 
I hope she has a terrific trip, and that you can relax for at least some of the time that she is away. :)
 
Yes, Nakamova. I am actually really looking forward to the time with my son. He has been so patient with everything and has really let her dad and I focus on his older sister so we could get things in check. Never complains. He has stepped up to the plate since my husband is a 3rd shifter - what a boy.
 
Lorazepam 2 mg how many pills can be taken in a day.......(its a question about my wife"s sister) and are there any side affects
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom