Oh, I am so very sorry. About the seizures, the fall and your injuries. Of course you are frightened. Anyone would be.
I had a friend with a brain injury and it seemed like her recovery came in phases -- she would get some better, then worse, then better, then worse. It really did seem sometimes like it was "two steps forward, one step back." She constantly felt like she was getting nowhere, and she was frustrated and scared like you are. Her head injury was not an anoxic injury, it was a severe concussion. She did recover, but it was a much longer and harder road than anyone might have guessed.
Let's talk about your doctor. Do you trust him implicitly, or do you think it may be time for another opinion as well? (Doctors should never mind when their patients want to seek more opinions and information from other doctors.) Is this the doctor who has helped your recovery this far?
And let's talk about the possible new meds. Does he want you to begin them all at once?
Here is what drugs.com says about these three meds:
* Remeron is a tetracyclic antidepressant. How Remeron improves depression symptoms is not fully understood. It is thought to increase the activity of certain chemicals in the brain (norepinephrine, serotonin), which help elevate mood.
*Aricept is a cholinesterase inhibitor. It works by increasing the amount of a certain substance (acetylcholine) in the brain, which may help reduce the symptoms of dementia (impairment of memory, judgment and abstract thinking, changes in personality) in patients with Alzheimer disease.
*Namenda are a NMDA-receptor antagonist. It works by blocking excess activity of a substance in the brain called glutamate, which may reduce the symptoms associated with Alzheimer disease. It may also be used for other conditions as determined by your doctor."
Rosetoes, what medicines are you on now, and are any of them intended to control seizures?
Does your doctor want you to stop medicines you are on now to try the new ones?
Here are some questions I might have if I were going with you to the doctor:
1. How does each one of these medications help my current situation?
2. What are the worst possible side effects of each one?
3. Will any of these medications interact with ones I currently am taking?
4. Do you foresee these medications as being temporary or long-term?
5. Have there been studies done on these medications with anoxic brain injury patients?
6. If these medications help, how soon should I notice a difference?
7. Will I need any extra testing (blood, liver, etc) while on these medicines?
8. Will we start them one at a time so I can tell how each one affects me?
9. Should I see this as a hopeful shot in the dark or as a real possibility for improvement?
How does your husband feel about what the doctor has said about the new medicines?
Hang in there, Rosetoes. You have to take this one step at a time, one day at a time. But you can do it.
Comment Reply
Rosetoes,
Oh, I am so very sorry. About the seizures, the fall and your injuries. Of course you are frightened. Anyone would be.
I had a friend with a brain injury and it seemed like her recovery came in phases -- she would get some better, then worse, then better, then worse. It really did seem sometimes like it was "two steps forward, one step back." She constantly felt like she was getting nowhere, and she was frustrated and scared like you are. Her head injury was not an anoxic injury, it was a severe concussion. She did recover, but it was a much longer and harder road than anyone might have guessed.
Let's talk about your doctor. Do you trust him implicitly, or do you think it may be time for another opinion as well? (Doctors should never mind when their patients want to seek more opinions and information from other doctors.) Is this the doctor who has helped your recovery this far?
And let's talk about the possible new meds. Does he want you to begin them all at once?
Here is what drugs.com says about these three meds:
* Remeron is a tetracyclic antidepressant. How Remeron improves depression symptoms is not fully understood. It is thought to increase the activity of certain chemicals in the brain (norepinephrine, serotonin), which help elevate mood.
*Aricept is a cholinesterase inhibitor. It works by increasing the amount of a certain substance (acetylcholine) in the brain, which may help reduce the symptoms of dementia (impairment of memory, judgment and abstract thinking, changes in personality) in patients with Alzheimer disease.
*Namenda are a NMDA-receptor antagonist. It works by blocking excess activity of a substance in the brain called glutamate, which may reduce the symptoms associated with Alzheimer disease. It may also be used for other conditions as determined by your doctor."
here are the pages for these three meds:
http://www.drugs.com/cdi/remeron.html
http://www.drugs.com/cdi/aricept.html
http://www.drugs.com/cdi/namenda-tablets.html
Rosetoes, what medicines are you on now, and are any of them intended to control seizures?
Does your doctor want you to stop medicines you are on now to try the new ones?
Here are some questions I might have if I were going with you to the doctor:
1. How does each one of these medications help my current situation?
2. What are the worst possible side effects of each one?
3. Will any of these medications interact with ones I currently am taking?
4. Do you foresee these medications as being temporary or long-term?
5. Have there been studies done on these medications with anoxic brain injury patients?
6. If these medications help, how soon should I notice a difference?
7. Will I need any extra testing (blood, liver, etc) while on these medicines?
8. Will we start them one at a time so I can tell how each one affects me?
9. Should I see this as a hopeful shot in the dark or as a real possibility for improvement?
How does your husband feel about what the doctor has said about the new medicines?
Hang in there, Rosetoes. You have to take this one step at a time, one day at a time. But you can do it.
April 16, 2010 - 9:58amThis Comment
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