malabsorbtion of antiseizure meds???

[my65roses4me]

I am in the hospital for a tune up at my new clinic's hospital.
The hospital staff is great so far.
The hospital is beautiful with hardwood floors, dark furniture and pink walls. It looks alot like a cottage in the room. So far I am impressed with this facility.

As some of you know I was diagnosed with epilepsy in Aug 2007. They put me on Keppra and have had to up the does so much that I am at such a high dose that it makes Dr's nervous.

The neurologist here is doing some testing to see if I am absorbing all that I am taking. They have a feeling because of my cf, I may not be absorbing all the doses that I am taking which leaves me having to take such a high dose.
They are doing this by taking a blood level while I am taking the oral dose, then starting me on an IV dose to see if I absorb the same amount. Then they will take a blood test to see how much of the IV dose that I absorb.

The whole reason of doing this is because even at this high dose I am still having break through seizures.

The neurologist says that if the tests show that I am not absorbing all that I am taking she will write a report and send it to the CF foundation so other Cf Dr's will be aware of this finding and hopefully other cfers with epilepsy wont have the same prob.

They said that if the findings are that I dont absorb this med correctly then we have to change the med to another antiseizure med that can be monitored better by blood tests. I guess Keppra is harder to monitor blood levels compared to the other meds.
(It takes a week for the labs to process which is too long to wait to make adjustments for someone with active seizures)

This neurologist is also going to try to gather all the info she can to try to research how common epilepsy is in CFers. She said that it seems to be becoming a growing prob amoung CFers. Still not extremely common but its seems to be increasing in incidences.

I thought I would share this info with you all and will keep you updated to what they find out through my testing.

All in all I am doing ok. I am an emotional mess but trying to keep my chin up. I have been through so many changes in the past 6 months that I dont feel I can catch my breath.
But hopefully after this tune up I will have more answers about my health probs from my new Dr's.
Thanks for all your well wishes!!!
For those of that have pmed me I promise to get back to you soon. Thanks for all your prayers!!!!!
Love you all and couldn't do this without ya!!!!!

 

[my65roses4me]

I am in the hospital for a tune up at my new clinic's hospital.
The hospital staff is great so far.
The hospital is beautiful with hardwood floors, dark furniture and pink walls. It looks alot like a cottage in the room. So far I am impressed with this facility.

As some of you know I was diagnosed with epilepsy in Aug 2007. They put me on Keppra and have had to up the does so much that I am at such a high dose that it makes Dr's nervous.

The neurologist here is doing some testing to see if I am absorbing all that I am taking. They have a feeling because of my cf, I may not be absorbing all the doses that I am taking which leaves me having to take such a high dose.
They are doing this by taking a blood level while I am taking the oral dose, then starting me on an IV dose to see if I absorb the same amount. Then they will take a blood test to see how much of the IV dose that I absorb.

The whole reason of doing this is because even at this high dose I am still having break through seizures.

The neurologist says that if the tests show that I am not absorbing all that I am taking she will write a report and send it to the CF foundation so other Cf Dr's will be aware of this finding and hopefully other cfers with epilepsy wont have the same prob.

They said that if the findings are that I dont absorb this med correctly then we have to change the med to another antiseizure med that can be monitored better by blood tests. I guess Keppra is harder to monitor blood levels compared to the other meds.
(It takes a week for the labs to process which is too long to wait to make adjustments for someone with active seizures)

This neurologist is also going to try to gather all the info she can to try to research how common epilepsy is in CFers. She said that it seems to be becoming a growing prob amoung CFers. Still not extremely common but its seems to be increasing in incidences.

I thought I would share this info with you all and will keep you updated to what they find out through my testing.

All in all I am doing ok. I am an emotional mess but trying to keep my chin up. I have been through so many changes in the past 6 months that I dont feel I can catch my breath.
But hopefully after this tune up I will have more answers about my health probs from my new Dr's.
Thanks for all your well wishes!!!
For those of that have pmed me I promise to get back to you soon. Thanks for all your prayers!!!!!
Love you all and couldn't do this without ya!!!!!

 

[my65roses4me]

I am in the hospital for a tune up at my new clinic's hospital.
The hospital staff is great so far.
The hospital is beautiful with hardwood floors, dark furniture and pink walls. It looks alot like a cottage in the room. So far I am impressed with this facility.

As some of you know I was diagnosed with epilepsy in Aug 2007. They put me on Keppra and have had to up the does so much that I am at such a high dose that it makes Dr's nervous.

The neurologist here is doing some testing to see if I am absorbing all that I am taking. They have a feeling because of my cf, I may not be absorbing all the doses that I am taking which leaves me having to take such a high dose.
They are doing this by taking a blood level while I am taking the oral dose, then starting me on an IV dose to see if I absorb the same amount. Then they will take a blood test to see how much of the IV dose that I absorb.

The whole reason of doing this is because even at this high dose I am still having break through seizures.

The neurologist says that if the tests show that I am not absorbing all that I am taking she will write a report and send it to the CF foundation so other Cf Dr's will be aware of this finding and hopefully other cfers with epilepsy wont have the same prob.

They said that if the findings are that I dont absorb this med correctly then we have to change the med to another antiseizure med that can be monitored better by blood tests. I guess Keppra is harder to monitor blood levels compared to the other meds.
(It takes a week for the labs to process which is too long to wait to make adjustments for someone with active seizures)

This neurologist is also going to try to gather all the info she can to try to research how common epilepsy is in CFers. She said that it seems to be becoming a growing prob amoung CFers. Still not extremely common but its seems to be increasing in incidences.

I thought I would share this info with you all and will keep you updated to what they find out through my testing.

All in all I am doing ok. I am an emotional mess but trying to keep my chin up. I have been through so many changes in the past 6 months that I dont feel I can catch my breath.
But hopefully after this tune up I will have more answers about my health probs from my new Dr's.
Thanks for all your well wishes!!!
For those of that have pmed me I promise to get back to you soon. Thanks for all your prayers!!!!!
Love you all and couldn't do this without ya!!!!!

 

[my65roses4me]

I am in the hospital for a tune up at my new clinic's hospital.
The hospital staff is great so far.
The hospital is beautiful with hardwood floors, dark furniture and pink walls. It looks alot like a cottage in the room. So far I am impressed with this facility.

As some of you know I was diagnosed with epilepsy in Aug 2007. They put me on Keppra and have had to up the does so much that I am at such a high dose that it makes Dr's nervous.

The neurologist here is doing some testing to see if I am absorbing all that I am taking. They have a feeling because of my cf, I may not be absorbing all the doses that I am taking which leaves me having to take such a high dose.
They are doing this by taking a blood level while I am taking the oral dose, then starting me on an IV dose to see if I absorb the same amount. Then they will take a blood test to see how much of the IV dose that I absorb.

The whole reason of doing this is because even at this high dose I am still having break through seizures.

The neurologist says that if the tests show that I am not absorbing all that I am taking she will write a report and send it to the CF foundation so other Cf Dr's will be aware of this finding and hopefully other cfers with epilepsy wont have the same prob.

They said that if the findings are that I dont absorb this med correctly then we have to change the med to another antiseizure med that can be monitored better by blood tests. I guess Keppra is harder to monitor blood levels compared to the other meds.
(It takes a week for the labs to process which is too long to wait to make adjustments for someone with active seizures)

This neurologist is also going to try to gather all the info she can to try to research how common epilepsy is in CFers. She said that it seems to be becoming a growing prob amoung CFers. Still not extremely common but its seems to be increasing in incidences.

I thought I would share this info with you all and will keep you updated to what they find out through my testing.

All in all I am doing ok. I am an emotional mess but trying to keep my chin up. I have been through so many changes in the past 6 months that I dont feel I can catch my breath.
But hopefully after this tune up I will have more answers about my health probs from my new Dr's.
Thanks for all your well wishes!!!
For those of that have pmed me I promise to get back to you soon. Thanks for all your prayers!!!!!
Love you all and couldn't do this without ya!!!!!

 

[my65roses4me]

I am in the hospital for a tune up at my new clinic's hospital.
The hospital staff is great so far.
The hospital is beautiful with hardwood floors, dark furniture and pink walls. It looks alot like a cottage in the room. So far I am impressed with this facility.

As some of you know I was diagnosed with epilepsy in Aug 2007. They put me on Keppra and have had to up the does so much that I am at such a high dose that it makes Dr's nervous.

The neurologist here is doing some testing to see if I am absorbing all that I am taking. They have a feeling because of my cf, I may not be absorbing all the doses that I am taking which leaves me having to take such a high dose.
They are doing this by taking a blood level while I am taking the oral dose, then starting me on an IV dose to see if I absorb the same amount. Then they will take a blood test to see how much of the IV dose that I absorb.

The whole reason of doing this is because even at this high dose I am still having break through seizures.

The neurologist says that if the tests show that I am not absorbing all that I am taking she will write a report and send it to the CF foundation so other Cf Dr's will be aware of this finding and hopefully other cfers with epilepsy wont have the same prob.

They said that if the findings are that I dont absorb this med correctly then we have to change the med to another antiseizure med that can be monitored better by blood tests. I guess Keppra is harder to monitor blood levels compared to the other meds.
(It takes a week for the labs to process which is too long to wait to make adjustments for someone with active seizures)

This neurologist is also going to try to gather all the info she can to try to research how common epilepsy is in CFers. She said that it seems to be becoming a growing prob amoung CFers. Still not extremely common but its seems to be increasing in incidences.

I thought I would share this info with you all and will keep you updated to what they find out through my testing.

All in all I am doing ok. I am an emotional mess but trying to keep my chin up. I have been through so many changes in the past 6 months that I dont feel I can catch my breath.
But hopefully after this tune up I will have more answers about my health probs from my new Dr's.
Thanks for all your well wishes!!!
For those of that have pmed me I promise to get back to you soon. Thanks for all your prayers!!!!!
Love you all and couldn't do this without ya!!!!!

 

[leothelioness26]

I haven't been diagosed with that but I have had episodes where my eyes roll in the back of my head and I shake for a few seconds and then wake up. They had me on Topamax for a while. That really helped me with those episodes. Also what I liked about the medicine is that it also helped my blood sugars be lower. I don't know about malabsorbtion but I didn't have any problem when I was on that med. I saw that no one had posted anything and I hope what I was able to tell you helps. You could ask your doctor about that medicine. It is a seizure medicine. I hope they get all that figured out. You are in my prayers and best of luck. Please post how things go.

 

[leothelioness26]

I haven't been diagosed with that but I have had episodes where my eyes roll in the back of my head and I shake for a few seconds and then wake up. They had me on Topamax for a while. That really helped me with those episodes. Also what I liked about the medicine is that it also helped my blood sugars be lower. I don't know about malabsorbtion but I didn't have any problem when I was on that med. I saw that no one had posted anything and I hope what I was able to tell you helps. You could ask your doctor about that medicine. It is a seizure medicine. I hope they get all that figured out. You are in my prayers and best of luck. Please post how things go.

 

[leothelioness26]

I haven't been diagosed with that but I have had episodes where my eyes roll in the back of my head and I shake for a few seconds and then wake up. They had me on Topamax for a while. That really helped me with those episodes. Also what I liked about the medicine is that it also helped my blood sugars be lower. I don't know about malabsorbtion but I didn't have any problem when I was on that med. I saw that no one had posted anything and I hope what I was able to tell you helps. You could ask your doctor about that medicine. It is a seizure medicine. I hope they get all that figured out. You are in my prayers and best of luck. Please post how things go.

 

[leothelioness26]

I haven't been diagosed with that but I have had episodes where my eyes roll in the back of my head and I shake for a few seconds and then wake up. They had me on Topamax for a while. That really helped me with those episodes. Also what I liked about the medicine is that it also helped my blood sugars be lower. I don't know about malabsorbtion but I didn't have any problem when I was on that med. I saw that no one had posted anything and I hope what I was able to tell you helps. You could ask your doctor about that medicine. It is a seizure medicine. I hope they get all that figured out. You are in my prayers and best of luck. Please post how things go.

 

[leothelioness26]

I haven't been diagosed with that but I have had episodes where my eyes roll in the back of my head and I shake for a few seconds and then wake up. They had me on Topamax for a while. That really helped me with those episodes. Also what I liked about the medicine is that it also helped my blood sugars be lower. I don't know about malabsorbtion but I didn't have any problem when I was on that med. I saw that no one had posted anything and I hope what I was able to tell you helps. You could ask your doctor about that medicine. It is a seizure medicine. I hope they get all that figured out. You are in my prayers and best of luck. Please post how things go.

 

[CaliSally]

Well, imagine that...a doctor that is actually interested in thinking outside the box (i.e. using their head, doing research, and not just going through the motions by continuing current presribed meds....)

Interesting that this point (malabsorbtion) isn't brought up more often, given all the oral pills I (we all ) take. I had an obgyn 20 years ago not wanting to put me on "the Pill" for the very same reason. They were worried I might not absorb it all, and wind up pregnant. (this person was at Cedars Sinai - also a hospital in which all the dr's from diff depts actually got TOGETHER to discuss treatment plans for a patient - as a team of doctors, not individuals....but anyway...)

I'm glad that you have people on your side, willing to look into things and see if they can come up with better results for you!

 

[CaliSally]

Well, imagine that...a doctor that is actually interested in thinking outside the box (i.e. using their head, doing research, and not just going through the motions by continuing current presribed meds....)

Interesting that this point (malabsorbtion) isn't brought up more often, given all the oral pills I (we all ) take. I had an obgyn 20 years ago not wanting to put me on "the Pill" for the very same reason. They were worried I might not absorb it all, and wind up pregnant. (this person was at Cedars Sinai - also a hospital in which all the dr's from diff depts actually got TOGETHER to discuss treatment plans for a patient - as a team of doctors, not individuals....but anyway...)

I'm glad that you have people on your side, willing to look into things and see if they can come up with better results for you!

 

[CaliSally]

Well, imagine that...a doctor that is actually interested in thinking outside the box (i.e. using their head, doing research, and not just going through the motions by continuing current presribed meds....)

Interesting that this point (malabsorbtion) isn't brought up more often, given all the oral pills I (we all ) take. I had an obgyn 20 years ago not wanting to put me on "the Pill" for the very same reason. They were worried I might not absorb it all, and wind up pregnant. (this person was at Cedars Sinai - also a hospital in which all the dr's from diff depts actually got TOGETHER to discuss treatment plans for a patient - as a team of doctors, not individuals....but anyway...)

I'm glad that you have people on your side, willing to look into things and see if they can come up with better results for you!

 

[CaliSally]

Well, imagine that...a doctor that is actually interested in thinking outside the box (i.e. using their head, doing research, and not just going through the motions by continuing current presribed meds....)

Interesting that this point (malabsorbtion) isn't brought up more often, given all the oral pills I (we all ) take. I had an obgyn 20 years ago not wanting to put me on "the Pill" for the very same reason. They were worried I might not absorb it all, and wind up pregnant. (this person was at Cedars Sinai - also a hospital in which all the dr's from diff depts actually got TOGETHER to discuss treatment plans for a patient - as a team of doctors, not individuals....but anyway...)

I'm glad that you have people on your side, willing to look into things and see if they can come up with better results for you!

 

[CaliSally]

Well, imagine that...a doctor that is actually interested in thinking outside the box (i.e. using their head, doing research, and not just going through the motions by continuing current presribed meds....)

Interesting that this point (malabsorbtion) isn't brought up more often, given all the oral pills I (we all ) take. I had an obgyn 20 years ago not wanting to put me on "the Pill" for the very same reason. They were worried I might not absorb it all, and wind up pregnant. (this person was at Cedars Sinai - also a hospital in which all the dr's from diff depts actually got TOGETHER to discuss treatment plans for a patient - as a team of doctors, not individuals....but anyway...)

I'm glad that you have people on your side, willing to look into things and see if they can come up with better results for you!