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Over-Medicated or Not Enough?? PLS HELP!

Thu, 09/07/2006 - 11:18
My 10 yr old son has intractable epilepsy of the right frontal lobe - he has complex partial seizures - he currently takes 1650mg. of trileptal (total) per day; 175mg topamax (total) per day and 7.5mg of valium per day. He weighs 110 lbs. and is 58" tall. Can someone please help me determine if he is being over-medicated? Walking next to him is like being with a drunk, he is "lethargic" at school, cannot do hardly any school work at school or at home, I am constantly repeating directions to him, YET he has no trouble playing video games, reading his favorite books, riding a bike/scooter, or talking about his dreams/day,etc. Thanks for any input!!

Comments

Re: Over-Medicated or Not Enough?? PLS HELP!

Submitted by My3Kids on Thu, 2006-09-07 - 15:17
My son is 14, weighs 100 pounds, has complex partial seizures, and he takes Trileptal 1800 mgs daily. That is the only medication he is on. (4 years) We just increased the dose by 300mgs over the last two weeks because he had gained about 7 pounds over the summer and when school started, he had some breakthrough seizures. He is drowsy now as he adjusts to the new level of meds, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he will 'snap out of it' like he usually does. I get nervous as he gets to higher doses that the meds will affect him more 'permanently'. I couldn't imagine him taking 2 more meds on top of this - although I know everyone is different. What is the valium for if you don't mind me asking? Just wanted to share my son's situation as he seems similar to yours. Take Care!

Re: Re: Over-Medicated or Not Enough?? PLS HELP!

Submitted by shannon1220 on Thu, 2006-09-07 - 19:38
We recently switched drs - the valium was prescribed by his previous dr for anxiety & to see if it had any effect on decreasing the amount of abnormal discharges he experiences constantly. His new dr, just like his last one, is now ignoring us completely - my son is getting worse - theyve talked about surgery in october but thats all - they keep increasing the topamax & talk about decreasing the trileptal but never do it - bottom line is we are feeling very neglected by this new dr - he is suffering severly at school and they would just rather throw him into a special ed room and be done with him than put forth the effort it takes to keep him "on task". He also had a pet scan in august that showed possible cortical dysplasia - not sure though. Anyway, as you know, this is not an easy cross to bear and we are just hoping and praying that things will turn around soon - in 3rd grade he did wonderfully - 4th grade no progress at all & now hes in 5th and no progress again so far...how is your son at school and is he in a regular classroom? thanks for your reply & take care too!

Re: Over-Medicated or Not Enough?? PLS HELP!

Submitted by spiz on Thu, 2006-09-07 - 16:51
Hi shannon! I'm not a parent of a child with epilepsy but I was a teeneger when mine showed up. This will be part experience and opinion :). AED's (Anti-Epileptic Drugs) all can cause drowsiness, add the valium and it is definitely hard to keep with it. I had to smile, I know it's not funny, but reading this reminded me of what my parents went through trying to understand me after I started taking AED's. I went from straight A's to having to struggle to concentrate and comprehend a single sentence I had just read. The pressure I put on myself was great as well as the peer pressure all around. It was so much easier and a great relief to escape...bike riding, reading, tennis, sketching, writing...whatever took me out of the world of what had become stressful to me into the world where I had control and didn't have to deal with the stress or feel I was letting myself and others down. I wasn't letting them down, of course, but that was my thought process at the time. With what he chooses to do, he doesn't feel the pressure of a time frame, getting it right, if he loses the ability to concentrate or think and misses what went on in that 2 or 3 or 4 minutes...it's ok,etc. I'm not a doctor, but 7.5mg sounds high to me for a child, especially one on AED's. That may have something to do with his not being able to function with the schoolwork. If it's not something that can keep his interest, I can see where he would nod off, even if he was trying not to. My heart goes out to you and other parents who are doing all they can in the interest of their children. Each and everyone of you rock!!! -Spiz

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