Family Forum / Pregnancy / Pregnancy / July 2006

Thanks for all the good wishes.  Sorry that I haven't posted sooner.  Been
doing some computer stuff and trying to catch up.

Long story short (or long!), the appointment went fine.  We're keeping
Taylor off the meds and going to see what happens.  The neurologist had been
going to suggest it as an option, based on how she's been doing the past 6
months, so was happy to suggest and support us in the idea of taking her off
it for the weekend, and then beyond.  He feels like she's been doing very
well, and even though there is a *strong* family history, she's only had the
one day of episodes, and they may well have been connected to the illness
she had just previously had.  The fact that she hasn't had any more since,
even with missed doses and going off her meds on Friday was all very
positive.  Also, in the grand scheme of things, her seizures were very
quick, and therefore not damaging at all, so it may be a case of better not
to medicate unless they change in length or increase in frequency.  Let's
hope they don't come back at all...I like that length (0) and frequency (0)!

He wants us to recheck her ALP levels in two weeks, and if they are down, we
know that it is most likely directly related to the meds.  It's very strange
and he's never really heard of it, but there you have it.  He said that he'd
been doing a lot of searching on the internet and medical files, and
basically there wasn't a lot of links between valproic acid (Depakote) and
increased ALP levels.  He did say that the ALP levels that high were not
going to cause a problem, but were indicative of something being off, of
some issue, but it's not for sure that it's a bad thing.  Sometimes these
levels just spike.  These levels don't mean liver damage, which is what we
were afraid of, but rather, mean bone regeneration.  If the levels aren't
close to normal in 2 weeks he's going to have us run a few more tests,
including some sort of bone density x-ray.  I mentioned the Medscape article
I'd seen on BTH, and he said, "yeah, I saw that too, and thought that might
be it."  I have to say, inside I was saying "SEE!  I TOLD you so!" and
mentally pumping my fists in the air, as dh had been so quick to "poo poo"
the article, partly because I found it on the internet, and partly because
it had so few children in it.  So to have the doctor have not only seen it
too, but think that it could be the answer, was just lovely.  I also really
appreciated his attitude and tone with us, very cool about the idea that I'd
done the research and had some information/ideas/questions.  Not dismissive
or patronizing in any way.

So, there you have it.  Keep your fingers, toes, and anything else you have
available crossed that we don't have any more seizures and her levels are
back to normal in a few weeks.