Starting New Treatment

So I found out today that we are starting the next treatment option sooner than we thought. This means we'll be admitted to the hospital on Monday.

The current drug (zonegran) is only making Marleigh sleepy and there has been very little change in her seizures. I'm a little surprised we are moving to the ACTH on Monday because I thought we were going to let the zonegran run for two more weeks first.

On one hand it is good because, I have heard that the longer the seizures continue the more likely there is imparment in her learning abilities. ACTH has been a drug for use in Infantile Spasms since the 50's, so it isn't some new drug that Doctors are experimenting with. While I don't know how long her course of treatment will be, it won't be longer than 12 weeks.

On the other hand, while it is generally pretty successful it does have some very serious potential side effects. Like heart failure for one. I'll post all of the ACTH info from EpilepsyFoundation.org in a different post.

So we are going to enjoy the weekend and hope for the best on Monday (9/15). I think she'll have an EEG again and be generally wired up to keep track of all of her vitals. I should be talking to the Dr. tomorrow so I expect to have more information then.