Medical ID’s: Part 2

FINALLY yesterday morning after much anguish & debate I ordered my medical ID.

My biggest dilemma is that I am allergic to stainless steel, sterling silver and many other metals.  So the typical medical jewelry was not going to work for me.  I did find some beautiful gold pieces, but they had rather HUGE prices!

I tried one more time yesterday morning to find something and came across a titanium dog tag necklace that came with a titanium chain.  Other websites offered the titanium dog tag, but sold them with stainless steel chains. 

Even though it’s not the prettiest thing in the world, it will serve it’s purpose and could save my life.  I ordered it.  Due to being a first time customer, I received a discount on my entire order which helps.  I bought a USB emergency pin drive to go along with it.  It comes with pre-loaded software that I can put all my medical info in.  That way if something would happen and EMT or ER person can simply plug the USB into their laptop or desktop computer and have all my info at their fingertips.  It’s compatible with both PC and MAC and can hold 1Gig of storage.

My order is supposed to be here by Friday, so I should have everything before we go out of town to see family on Saturday.  I feel much more comfortable knowing that.  It’s one less weight off my shoulders.

Cat

Vitamin B6

The tired feeling which is a side effect of Levetiracetam was rendering me almost completely non-functioning.  I’ve had to force myself to do simple daily tasks because of the extreme exhaustion I was feeling.  I also noticed that I was becoming increasingly grouchy.  This worried me.  I noticed I was growing more and more irritated and quick tempered with Emily during the day.  Not good.

At first I thought it was simply I was tired therefore grumpy.  However it was worsening which led me to believe it might be one of the dreaded known side effects of the Levetiracetam.  That’s when I began researching to find answers.

I found several neurological websites discussing Levetiracetam and adding vitamin B6 supplements.  Apparently studies have shown that adding vitamin B6 with your Levetiracetam can curtail the side effects of irritability, tiredness and the “out of it” feeling.

Three days ago I began to take B6. 

Yesterday I noticed that the overwhelming tired feeling didn’t strike until very late afternoon.  Prior to taking B6 I would get that exhaustion within 2 hours of taking my Levetiracetam.  I also noticed I wasn’t being snippy with Emily.  It felt like any normal day and I wasn’t constantly on edge. 

I think it still remains to be seen if the B6 is truly making a difference, but so far it feels like it just might be doing the trick!  I’m hopeful that today will be much like yesterday and I’ll find I have more energy and less irritability. 

I’ve also been learning about some of the many different types of seizures (there are over 20 different types) and discovered I may have been having other types of seizures for years.  This is definitely a wild ride.

Cat

Medications: Brand Name or Generic?

Well, well, well, it seems I am learning something new every day! 

When I was prescribed Keppra we immediately got the prescription filled.  The pharmacist asked me if I wanted Keppra or the generic?  I said I’d need to ask the neurologist first.  The pharmacist told me the neurologist put “generic ok” on the prescription.  Without giving it another thought I said I’d take generic, thinking it would save us money.

I’ve been taking Levetiracetam almost two weeks now.  Initially I had some side effects.  My coordination was off, dizziness, vertigo, sleepiness and generally feeling “out of it” which occurred within 2 hours of taking the medication. 

In the past few days I noticed that most of the side effects were diminishing.  I no longer have coordination problems and the dizziness/vertigo is easing up as well.  However the drowsy, heavy feeling is unrelenting! 

I decided to do some reading online about the medication to see if I could find out how long it would take my body to adjust to the medication.  I was shocked with what I’ve discovered.  Apparently the generic form, Levetiracetam, is made by several different manufacturers.  It turns out that it’s vital that I always get it from the same manufacturer as they all use different “fillers” which could cause some serious problems. 

I also learned that there have been issues with the generic form.  The instances of serious side effects are higher with the generic brands.  The drowsy/heavy feeling, coordination problems, fuzzy/foggy feelings and some really bad/serious side effects (and even an increase in seizures) are much more predominant in the generics.

Now I am giving serious thought to having my neurologist switch me to Keppra (name brand).  I also learned that taking vitamin B-6 along with the Levetiracetam (and even name brand Keppra) has been proven to lessen side effects.  Thankfully I did have some and I have begun taking it.  We’ll see if it helps lessen the side effects of the Levetiracetam.  I’m hoping it does because I’m so drained, tired and out of it and I don’t like it one bit.

So word of warning:  Always double check whether you should be taking the name brand medication, or if the doctor says generic is ok, do your research before saying yes to generic!

Keep smiling!
Cat

Medical ID’s

 

When I picked up my prescription I began reading the paper of information that accompanied it.  It said patients are “strongly urged” to wear some sort of medical ID while taking this medication.  Then next day while shopping I got a general “check my wallet card” medical ID bracelet. 

For many years I’ve known I should be wearing some sort of ID.  I used to have a necklace and a bracelet due to the fact I was allergic to penicillin.  Since then I’ve become allergic to several other medications, so I already knew I should have been wearing some sort of medical ID.  Ironically I became allergic to the nickel in the stainless steel necklace and bracelet I used to wear years ago.

The new bracelet is the same and also was way too big.  I bought a small leather bracelet then promptly took apart the medical bracelet when I got home.  I put the ID with the medical insignia on the leather bracelet.  This way I have something that fits my wrist and won’t cause hives!  However, it’s not that ideal.  It works for now, but I need to get something better.

There’s where my dilemma begins.  I’ve googled medical id’s for days and my head is spinning from it all.  Which kind should I get?  A necklace?  A bracelet?  I know I’d like to get a USB pin drive type.  I’m thinking maybe a keychain type.  That way I can put it on a chain if I want or I can simply clip it on me (or my keychain).  However I want something I can wear in the shower.  I’ve looked and looked at necklaces and can’t figure out what to get.  It’s making my brain hurt!

I did get a paper with the bracelet that folds into wallet size for my purse.  I filled it out and put it in my wallet that day.  The only problem would be what if I don’t have my purse nearby?  That’s the reason I want to get the USB that I could clip to a belt loop or wear on a necklace.  Oh well, I guess I’ll just keep looking and eventually I’ll find what I want/need.  I’m just surprised that there are so many more options out there than there were years ago.

Cat

Lesson Learned! Take your meds on time!

Today I learned a lesson in taking my medication.

This morning was an early morning.  I was singing with the worship team at church, so we had to up and out the door early.  Since beginning my medication a little over a week ago I’ve been taking it at 9am and 9pm.  Today we had to leave the house before 8am.  I decided I was going to wait until the last minute before leaving to take my meds.  It wasn’t until we were at church and had begun practice I realized I’d forgotten to take my levetiracetam (generic keppra). 

At first I thought well, I’ll only be a few hours late, how bad can that be?  Little did I know I was going to find out long before church was over!

My husband David and I sang a duet during the offering.  We’ve been wanting to do one for a long time and finally had the opportunity.  I was very excited about it as it reminded me a little of when we’d sing together at karaoke while dating.  However, just prior to the duet I began to get a wicked headache.  By the time church was over and we were heading home it felt like my head was going to explode!  I have to admit it wasn’t as bad as the migraines I’ve been getting for the last four years, but it was darn close.

As soon as I got home I took my medication.  It took a good 3 hours before my headache eased up, but I am happy to say that it finally did and I was much better.  I did notice that I became very dizzy and wobbly about 30 minutes after taking my meds.  It was almost like the first couple days I took it.

So I learned a valuable lesson today.  Always, always, ALWAYS, take my meds on time!

Keep smiling!
Cat

The Journey Begins…

Welcome to my new journey in life, living with and learning about epilepsy.  This wild ride began at 3:00a.m. on 14 June 2011 when I experienced my first nocturnal generalized tonic-clonic seizure.

More than 180,000 people are diagnosed with epilepsy every year.  Epilepsy affects nearly 3 million Americans and 50 million people worldwide.  Seven out of ten epilepsy patients never find a clear cause for their epilepsy. 

Does that shock you?  It did me.  

So join me as I learn and discover more about this new journey in my life living with epilepsy.  I’m sure it will be a wild ride! 

Oh, why the blog name My Excited Brain?  Well, I like to deal with adversities in my life using humor.  My type of seizures are caused by all the neurons firing at once in my brain making my brain sort of… over excited.  I jokingly said to my husband after researching done following my third seizure, “my brain’s just so excited!” (grin)  That became the inspiration for this new blog.

Keep smiling!
Cat