Thursday, July 9, 2015

New neurologist

Today Logan saw a new neurologist at the request of his current neurologist. He sent us there for a second opinion regarding Logan's seizures. We started the day with an EEG (test that monitors brain activity). Of course Logan didn't have any seizures during that time. Go figure! It still showed abnormalities that have been noted previously and this neurologist basically said, he has an irritable brain. 

We spent a good amount of time with the doctor and his nurse. It cracked me up when she walked in with a thick stack of medical records for Logan. We joked about how much time it took them to read it all! I have to say though, I was so impressed when the doctor started talking with us, it felt as though he knew all about Logan before meeting him. It meant a lot to know they cared enough to do the leg work before our interaction. We didn't have to rehash all of his medical history. 

The goal of this appointment was to see what other options we may have to get Logan's seizures under control. The first plan he made is to increase one of the medications he is already on. We are still at a lower dose and we think this one gave some positive benefit when we started it. If that doesn't work there are many more options. He may recommend we bring Logan in for an overnight stay in the hospital to monitor seizures. He thinks it would help us capture seizures on an EEG and help him better understand what to treat. 

We also have many more medication options and he has a specific one in mind that he may move toward. We also discussed medical cannibus. This is now legal in the state of Minnesota and in the past week became available for people with certain conditions such as epilepsy. I have to say I was embarrassed to ask. It seems like such a controversial topic. We had a great discussion around the option and may go with it in the future. With that being said, we would continue his current regimine of meds and use the medical cannibus as an adjunct. More to come on that topic. 

I left the appointment feeling hopeful that we have a renewed chance at lessening Logan's seizures and giving him a better quality of life. After most of these appointments I feel drained, defeated, and worried. Not today! We don't have a magical fix but we have a team of people that will give us a fighting chance at doing the best for Logan and that feels great!