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medicatios and levels
Tue, 02/08/2005 - 15:53Comments
RE: RE: medicatios and levels
Submitted by wendymartinez on Mon, 2005-02-07 - 10:08
Thanks Rachel,
That for your reply and help. Best of luck to you too!!
God Bless,
Wendy
Thanks Rachel,
That for your reply and help. Best of luck to you too!!
God Bless,
Wendy
RE: medicatios and levels
Submitted by blondie1 on Sun, 2005-02-06 - 07:42
Hi Wendy,
I am new here with a newly diagnosed daughter with epilepsy. Although I am not familiar with all the different anti seizure meds out there, I am a nurse and I think I can explain to you what your doctor is talking about.
Whenever you take a medicine, it is "metabolized," which means broken down or processed, by your body. Ususally the liver or kidneys are involoved in this process. The reason the doctors check the "level," which means the blood level of the drug itself, is to make sure the dosage is not too high or too low for the patient. There is a certain range that is considered "therapeutic," which means there is enough of the drug in your system to do the job it is supposed to. If the level is too low, you may need a higher dose. If it is too high, you may need a lower dose, or you may have problems metabolizing that drug and you may need to switch meds. With regards to your son, the doctor wanted to make sure his level was within the therapeutic range or maybe below it, so there is enough room to increase his doseage. For example, let's say the range for Lamictal is 5-20 (but I don't know the real range for this drug, this is just an example) and your son's level is 10. He has room to take a higher dose and stay withing the recommended range.
As for toxicity, the symptoms are different for every drug, and sometimes there are no symptoms. Toxicity means the level of drug in your body is much too high. Call your doctor or pharmacist and they can tell you what to look for with Lamictal. You may be able to search online too and find out. It is very important to know if there are any signs of toxicity, and what to do if he develops them.
I hope I made this easy to understand. I know that I am overwhelmed by my daughter's condition and meds, and I understand the medical lingo---so I cannot even imagine how hard it is for you! But listen---if you don't understand what the doctor means when he is talking to you, tell him and ask him to explain it again. Don't be afraid of looking stupid! You're not, you have just never heard all these words before! Lots of times doctors forget how to explain all this medical stuff in a way for non-medical people to understand (that's where nurses come in :-). Remember that this is your son's life and health, and you keep asking questions until you are comfortable with the explanation, ok?
Good luck
Rachel
Hi Wendy,
I am new here with a newly diagnosed daughter with epilepsy. Although I am not familiar with all the different anti seizure meds out there, I am a nurse and I think I can explain to you what your doctor is talking about.
Whenever you take a medicine, it is "metabolized," which means broken down or processed, by your body. Ususally the liver or kidneys are involoved in this process. The reason the doctors check the "level," which means the blood level of the drug itself, is to make sure the dosage is not too high or too low for the patient. There is a certain range that is considered "therapeutic," which means there is enough of the drug in your system to do the job it is supposed to. If the level is too low, you may need a higher dose. If it is too high, you may need a lower dose, or you may have problems metabolizing that drug and you may need to switch meds. With regards to your son, the doctor wanted to make sure his level was within the therapeutic range or maybe below it, so there is enough room to increase his doseage. For example, let's say the range for Lamictal is 5-20 (but I don't know the real range for this drug, this is just an example) and your son's level is 10. He has room to take a higher dose and stay withing the recommended range.
As for toxicity, the symptoms are different for every drug, and sometimes there are no symptoms. Toxicity means the level of drug in your body is much too high. Call your doctor or pharmacist and they can tell you what to look for with Lamictal. You may be able to search online too and find out. It is very important to know if there are any signs of toxicity, and what to do if he develops them.
I hope I made this easy to understand. I know that I am overwhelmed by my daughter's condition and meds, and I understand the medical lingo---so I cannot even imagine how hard it is for you! But listen---if you don't understand what the doctor means when he is talking to you, tell him and ask him to explain it again. Don't be afraid of looking stupid! You're not, you have just never heard all these words before! Lots of times doctors forget how to explain all this medical stuff in a way for non-medical people to understand (that's where nurses come in :-). Remember that this is your son's life and health, and you keep asking questions until you are comfortable with the explanation, ok?
Good luck
Rachel