Sunday, July 17, 2011

Topamax

The most recent addition to our son's med cocktail is a drug called Topamax (Topiramate).

The improvements to our son's health have been amazing!! He has gone from having 2-8 tonic clonic seizures per day along with many absence seizures, to only 2-4 per week!

Now I don't want to get my hopes too high regarding this drug, seeing as we need to get past the honeymoon phase.  However, I can't help but feel grateful for any improvement to our son's health.  He is able to communicate better, wants to play with friends more often, and is regaining a desire to pursue his interests.  He is even picking on his little brother with renewed enthusiasm.

The recognition of any side effects from Topamax is still up in the air.  It is particularly difficult to tell what drug is causing "what" because he is on 3 different medications, but I'm keeping a watchful eye and hoping we don't see anything too severe.

Another possible treatment we are looking into, and has been received by others with success is the Ketogenic Diet.  We have several friends who have found the diet to work miracles in their children's seizure control and their overall well being. They are a wealth of knowledge and support if we do decide to go down that route.  For now, we are in discussions to with our Neurologist and Dietician to possibly start the diet after we've had time to monitor Topamax.

Oh there's more...we've added 2 more pieces to our puzzle:
A Naturopath who specializes in epilepsy and
An upcoming Ictal SPECT.

1 comment:

  1. Yay! A breakthrough. Here's hoping it passes the "honeymoon" stage.

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