Update on Izzy and her seizures

Many have asked, and so I will answer.

We recently started Izzy on her 3rd medication. We are slowly (and I mean very slowly!) weaning her off of the d
Depakote and moving to Lamictal. This process will occur over the course of the next 20 weeks.

Here is a quick recap.

Our first medication was Zarontin, and while it seemed to work for about 2 weeks, it then stopped. Izzy continued to have seizures and those seizures began to increase in duration. Not only that, but she began wetting her pants.

We moved onto Depakote, and at one point while decreasing the Zarontin, and increasing the Depakote, we were having only 2-3 seizures a day. The goal is: seizure free and side affect free.

Once fully on the Depakote Izzy began to not only have an increase in seizures, but also to have wicked mood swings. I can't really even put into words what a different child she was at times. Everything seemed to be taken to the "n'th" degree. If she was bad, she was oh so bad! If Izzy started to cry, good lord did the girl melt down! She also became violent. It wasn't awful, but if she got mad at someone (especially Drew) she didn't hesitate to throw a punch or kick. She became more sassy, more disrespectful, and just plain mean. I hate to even put this in writing, but I remember saying to Pete one night, "I don't even like her!" It was heartbreaking. I can only compare it to what I think it would be like to deal with some sort of child with special needs and I was just thrown into it. Many an emotional outburst I have found myself kneeling down, taking both her hands in mind and explaining things like she is 2! Oh, and please don't think that I haven't gone to the other extreme of telling her to go to her room and then screaming at her from downstairs for 30 min! Trial and error baby!

BUT, it as if the good lord knew I needed to see my "sweet Izzy girl" and just a couple days after my declaration, we had an awesome day together! She was perfect as pie! It was like my Izzy was back. We read, played cards, baked, ...she unloaded the dishwasher, helped with dinner prep, was kind to her brother. Oh how I needed that!

So...currently we are switching the the new med. The good news is that with the new medication we won't need random blood draws to make sure her liver is okay (did I mention that party?) and hopefully, we will stabilize her mood.

I like to think that through this experience I have gained greater empathy for others. I don't know if I ever really judged other parents...okay, I'm sure i did...but now I look at people struggling with their kids a little bit different. I don't know what kind of special circumstances might be behind either the mood of the child or that of the parent.

Fingers crossed, and God willing, this next med works. If not, we go for med number 4. ...there is a reason there are 26 medications out there currently used to treat this type of epilepsy. We just need to find the right med cocktail for Iz.

Izzy's 4 Year Well Visit

Due to Izzy's broken leg, we have rescheduled her appointment twice. Once for a week after her cast was due to come off, and then once more because she still wasn't weight bearing on that leg at that point. Today was the day.

I like to prepare the kids prior to an appointment so I can answer any questions or alleviate any fears. In my talks with the nurses when figuring out the best time to see Izzy based on her walking ability, I learned she would not be getting any shots. I decided if she didn't need them yet, and could wait to get them prior to kindergarten then that is what we would do.

Izzy was full of smiles for the entire appointment!


She weighed in at 34.00 lbs.
She is 38.25 inches tall.
According to them her BMI is 75% and anything under 85% is normal.

Allyson is our doctor's nurse and she ROCKS! She asked Izzy if she could play some games with her. Of course Izzy was super excited to play games.

The hearing game.

She passed this one with no problem.

The vision game.

Her vision is 20/32 in both eyes. This is normal according to the doctors and the distance will probably improve next year as her she learns better how to focus.

The arm squeeze game (or blood pressure test).

I think her blood pressure was 88/55, but I can't be sure?

Finally Izzy wanted to take a picture of me and Drew


...and then Drew wanted a turn

not too bad for a 2 year old.