EEG Results and More - The Walnut Acre Daily July 22, 2013

WORDS TO LIVE BY

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 91:1-2

WORKING, LEARNING AND PLAYING TOGETHER

IN THE KITCHEN

Breakfast this morning was simple -  cereal with milk, and juice. Austin fixed Pizza, fries and lima beans (his favorite vegetable) for lunch. For dinner I made chicken chow mein over rice and we had peas and fresh peaches with it. 

OTHER

Last week Michael had a 24 hour EEG. We decided to do this because I am seeing a lot of things at night while he's asleep that don't look right to me. We went to the hospital Wednesday afternoon and had it put on and then were able to come home and let it record during his normal routine. Then on Thursday afternoon we went back and had it taken off.  

This afternoon the neurologist called with the results. She said she didn't see any seizures during that 24 hour recording but that it was abnormal, showing "spike discharges coming from the right side." I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that means. From what I understand that area of his brain is "irritable" and prone to seizures and is probably where the seizures that we have seen are coming from. These spikes occur night and day although there are more of them at night. Since he is maxed out on the medication he is taking now (Zonisamide) for seizures and we are still seeing activity she wants to add a new medication (Trileptal) and see if it helps any. I am willing to try it but if it doesn't work I am not hesitant to take him back off of it. The neurologist said to give the medicine least three weeks, maybe a few more to see if it will work because we are going to start out on a low dose and slowly increase to the target dosage over three weeks. I don't really like adding another medication to the cocktail of meds he already takes, but my hope is that if we successfully treat the true underlying problem maybe some of the other medications can be taken away. Here's hoping!

ON MY MIND

I know that I wrote these Walnut Acre Daily posts before and then quit because of the time they took, but each time I quit I really, really miss writing them. There's just something special to me about the way the little details of each day weave together to create a full life. And writing this each day helps me to see all those things. So here I am again, writing the Walnut Acre Daily posts. It feels really good!

TODAY'S QUOTE

Dreams are free, so free your dreams. ~ Terri Guillemets