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Med Weaning for EEG?
Mon, 08/27/2018 - 11:26My daughter just turned 6 years old and was diagnosed with Epilepsy in April. She has had 2 EEGs (one at DX, one after beginning medication) but is scheduled for an INPT video/audio monitoring for 3 days at the end of Sept. She takes Keppra & Lamictal daily and is still not fully controlled. I have been asked to med-wean beginning the Sunday before this EEG (starts Wed) but I am nervous (VERY). Her nurse suggested checking experiences here. Who has chosen to wean or not to wean and why? There isn't much local support that I can find in my city/state for epileptic children. Most groups I've found are geared toward late teen coping and adults.
Comments
Our epileptologist weaned in
Submitted by Amy Jo on Mon, 2018-08-27 - 15:03
Our epileptologist weaned in one day (drugs take varying times to leave the system) after we started the EEG but we had a longer EEG (the longer the EEG, the harder to schedule at our hospital). Does your child only see a nurse? Does the nurse work with a doctor who could be overseeing this better? Our epileptologist was in charge of the whole unit doing EEGs at the time which means our experience was slightly different. Some people don't do well with fast weans and some meds (like lamotrigine) are associated with more problems after abruptly stopping. Our child reported many strong partials about a week after only ramping back up on one medication (was on two at the start of the EEG), then things settled down to a steady state - all of which corresponds to when that med actually left her system. Keppra leaves a system quickly, it's metabolized super fast so that's the medication I'd be concerned with.Things that might matter - how often does she have seizures?How much do you know about the kinds of seizures she has?
whups, left out a NOT...
Submitted by Amy Jo on Mon, 2018-08-27 - 15:03
whups, left out a NOT... keppra is NOT the medication I'd be concerned with. Hey Epilepsy.com - let's put an edit option back like you used to have with the old foundation site!!!
Our epileptologist weaned in
Submitted by Amy Jo on Mon, 2018-08-27 - 15:01
Our epileptologist weaned in one day (drugs take varying times to leave the system) after we started the EEG but we had a longer EEG (the longer the EEG, the harder to schedule at our hospital). Does your child only see a nurse? Does the nurse work with a doctor who could be overseeing this better? Our epileptologist was in charge of the whole unit doing EEGs at the time which means our experience was slightly different. Some people don't do well with fast weans and some meds (like lamotrigine) are associated with more problems after abruptly stopping. Our child reported many strong partials about a week after only ramping back up on one medication (was on two at the start of the EEG), then things settled down to a steady state - all of which corresponds to when that med actually left her system. Keppra leaves a system quickly, it's metabolized super fast so that's the medication I'd be concerned with.Things that might matter - how often does she have seizures?How much do you know about the kinds of seizures she has?