My brother, B2, took Ed for his chemo treatment this past Wednesday, October 7, 2009. This was a Dr. Splichal appointment, and fortunately, another 'uneventful' visit.
Ed had gained one pound since his last visit two weeks ago, and is now back up to 189 pounds. His blood pressure was good...130/80. His blood work numbers were good, but his blood was a little thin so they dropped his Coumidin dosage from one and a half a day to one a day. My mom had wanted to know if Ed could take a magnesium supplement for leg weakness and pain and Dr. S said yes. Very routine.
Chemo went well and uneventful as well.
Because of the return of the seizures, Ed is taking a higher dosage of the drug Lyrica now. His dosage went from 300 mg to 375 mg about four weeks ago, and then two weeks ago went to 450 mg. Lyrica is a drug used to treat fibromyalgia and seizures. There is quite a list of possible side effects from this drug, and feel that Ed being on the high end of the maximum daily dosage allowed, he is beginning to get some of the more serious side effects; mainly muscle weakness and the loss of cognitive ability. His speech has worsened notably and he really has to struggle to maintain a single train of thought and get out anything he is trying to say.
Next week I will be going with Ed to see the neurologist, Dr. Mitchell, and I have a lot of questions to ask him about this drug, Lyrica, and the dosage Ed is taking. He had mentioned earlier in Ed's illness that there is a third drug he can prescribed to try to get Ed's seizures under control. I want to know what that drug is and if it could possibly be an alternative to Lyrica, or if a lower dose of Lyrica could be taken in conjunction with that drug. I feel that a lot of the symptoms Ed has...difficulty speaking, thinking, walking, bruising, muscle weakness and fatique could all be side effects of Lyrica. I want answers and he needs help. I put faith in Dr. M that he will work to get Ed to a better place. I have to believe this, for I feel Ed may now feel the worse he has in a very long time.
November will bring about a new MRI. We pray for God to show the doctors, us, and Ed, that the chemo cocktail he gets every other Wednesday continues to work and that the brain tumor will be even smaller than a few months ago. Maybe it will even be gone.
One can believe and have hope.
Ed had gained one pound since his last visit two weeks ago, and is now back up to 189 pounds. His blood pressure was good...130/80. His blood work numbers were good, but his blood was a little thin so they dropped his Coumidin dosage from one and a half a day to one a day. My mom had wanted to know if Ed could take a magnesium supplement for leg weakness and pain and Dr. S said yes. Very routine.
Chemo went well and uneventful as well.
Because of the return of the seizures, Ed is taking a higher dosage of the drug Lyrica now. His dosage went from 300 mg to 375 mg about four weeks ago, and then two weeks ago went to 450 mg. Lyrica is a drug used to treat fibromyalgia and seizures. There is quite a list of possible side effects from this drug, and feel that Ed being on the high end of the maximum daily dosage allowed, he is beginning to get some of the more serious side effects; mainly muscle weakness and the loss of cognitive ability. His speech has worsened notably and he really has to struggle to maintain a single train of thought and get out anything he is trying to say.
Next week I will be going with Ed to see the neurologist, Dr. Mitchell, and I have a lot of questions to ask him about this drug, Lyrica, and the dosage Ed is taking. He had mentioned earlier in Ed's illness that there is a third drug he can prescribed to try to get Ed's seizures under control. I want to know what that drug is and if it could possibly be an alternative to Lyrica, or if a lower dose of Lyrica could be taken in conjunction with that drug. I feel that a lot of the symptoms Ed has...difficulty speaking, thinking, walking, bruising, muscle weakness and fatique could all be side effects of Lyrica. I want answers and he needs help. I put faith in Dr. M that he will work to get Ed to a better place. I have to believe this, for I feel Ed may now feel the worse he has in a very long time.
November will bring about a new MRI. We pray for God to show the doctors, us, and Ed, that the chemo cocktail he gets every other Wednesday continues to work and that the brain tumor will be even smaller than a few months ago. Maybe it will even be gone.
One can believe and have hope.
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