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OMega 3's
Sun, 03/30/2008 - 16:56Hello,
My 16 year old son has epilepsy due to a brain malformation. He did not have seizures until he was 10 and he started having Complex Partial seizures. In the last two years, he started having tonic clonic seizures. HIs activity was controlled well the first 5 years on Trileptal - he was up to the max dose for his weight when he started having more break through seizures and the 'honeymoon' was over. We started him on Topamax last June and he went 5 months with no seizures, and very few side effects. In the fall he started having a bad day here and there, and we have been slowly increasing the Topamax. He now takes 125mgs in the morning, and 125mgs at night. Over the last two weeks since the latest increase, he is showing signs of the 'Stupamax' - he is groggy, tired, half drunk - to the point we can't tell if he is actually 'post ictal' ! The plan is to get him up to 150mgs twice a day and I can't imagine what he'll be like then! We miss our happy go lucky Chris! He also seems to have a 'bad day' after we increase his dose - which we do very slowy in 25mg increments per week, per dose.
He is having a bad day today...he seems to cycle every other weekend, and he does not just have one seizure, he'll have 4-5 in a day. In my reading online today about Topamax I came across old discussions about OMega 3's...which I have been reading about for it's other health benefits and have started taking myself.
I would like to add this supplement to Chris' medication regime. He is also still on Trileptal although we are currently tapering that one down.
ARe Omega 3's available in a straight liquid that I could put in pudding or yogurt for him - he can not swallow pills. Or can I slice a capsule and empty it onto food? I'm not sure what to buy or how much to give him for his age. He weighs 100 pounds. If this is not appropriate for the forum, please feel free to email me offline to discuss.
Thanks so much,
Comments
Re:
Submitted by ckolonick on Tue, 2008-04-01 - 13:12
Hi, thanks for the reply! As it turns out, Chris was having a 'bad day' (exactly 24 hours) of most likely sub-clinical seizures. He snapped out of it literally after 24 hours of being 'down' and by yesterday he was a new kid! He is still tired though from the Topamax so I appreciate your post and encouragement. I notice that you give the larger dose to your son at night, which we were doing but now that we are increasing again, I alternate the increase between night and morning. I think perhaps maintaining the larger dose at night may be best and will talk to the neuro about that.
I have decided to give the Omega 3 supplements to Chris (once neuro ok's it) - I found something at GNC which is like an orange pudding (I forgot the name at the moment), but that is how we give Chris is topamax sprinkles, so that might work. My 8 year old was just dianosed with migraines (abdominal at the moment) and I thought I might give it to her too.
Anyway, thanks again for your input!
Cyndi K.
Hi, thanks for the reply! As it turns out, Chris was having a 'bad day' (exactly 24 hours) of most likely sub-clinical seizures. He snapped out of it literally after 24 hours of being 'down' and by yesterday he was a new kid! He is still tired though from the Topamax so I appreciate your post and encouragement. I notice that you give the larger dose to your son at night, which we were doing but now that we are increasing again, I alternate the increase between night and morning. I think perhaps maintaining the larger dose at night may be best and will talk to the neuro about that.
I have decided to give the Omega 3 supplements to Chris (once neuro ok's it) - I found something at GNC which is like an orange pudding (I forgot the name at the moment), but that is how we give Chris is topamax sprinkles, so that might work. My 8 year old was just dianosed with migraines (abdominal at the moment) and I thought I might give it to her too.
Anyway, thanks again for your input!
Cyndi K.
Re:
Submitted by ValNewLife on Mon, 2008-03-31 - 21:00
I understand about the Topamax, but it did get much better with our son. Jake was so tired, slurring his words...it was awful, and we just thought "How in the world will he be able to handle the full dose!". Well, he did, and unbelievably has very little side effects now! He is now on 100 mg of Topamax in the am and 200 mg in the pm. Getting your son off the Trileptal should help a lot. Jake made huge improvements when he got completely off his Dilantin, and the vitamins were HUGE in helping with the tiredness and brain fog! Good Luck!
http://my.epilepsy.com/discussion/975020
I understand about the Topamax, but it did get much better with our son. Jake was so tired, slurring his words...it was awful, and we just thought "How in the world will he be able to handle the full dose!". Well, he did, and unbelievably has very little side effects now! He is now on 100 mg of Topamax in the am and 200 mg in the pm. Getting your son off the Trileptal should help a lot. Jake made huge improvements when he got completely off his Dilantin, and the vitamins were HUGE in helping with the tiredness and brain fog! Good Luck!
http://my.epilepsy.com/discussion/975020