Now that the final curtain calls for La Boheme have been taken, I've resumed Dilantin reduction as of today. I am now only taking 75mgs 2x daily, which means I'm down another 25 mgs per day. Keppra has not been increased, and the good news is that I haven't experienced a simple partial since about the 16th. (I've gotta check those dates....)
If we continue to make 25mg reductions every two weeks, then I face only another 6 reductions over the next three months. It's sometimes difficult to believe that I'm down to this low a dose after 40 years of 400mgs Dilantin per day. I'm eternally grateful to my patient and caring epileptologist. What I appreciate so much about him is that not only does he take the time to share his knowledge in order to answer my questions and dispel my concerns, he also asks my opinion on matters that I would have, in past, simply assumed were the doctors' call to make. It was he, who listened to me babble outloud about possibly not taking part in a live stage production while dealing with the unknowns of medication adjustment, who said, "You SHOULD do it. There's no reason for you not to."

He echoed what I knew to begin with. It was my concern for the efforts of the opera company that concerned me at the time, not any fear of embarassment or such. It can be so strange...an odd tightrope to walk. In the end, I made the right decision. I worked with some wonderfully talented people. Some of us will be teaming up again in December for Amahl and the Night Visitors.

There is still that little place in my being that expects the grand mal beast to make an appearance after nearly 7 years of staying out of sight. I don't think of it as sceptism; but rather a coping mechanism that's part of what I accept about life with epilepsy. We simply never know. I've no reason to believe that the transition won't continue to go smoothly. And if it doesn't, I've got so many of you to look to. I reamain in awe of so many of you here.

A presto,
Anna

The following photos are from production. Before makeup at the mirror. Waiting to be called for ActII, Reviewing the score.