No Sweat

Literally. No sweating. Apparently one of the possible side effects of the Topamax is decreased sweating. If it were only decreased, the situation wouldn't necessarily be so demanding, but no sweat is another story. Our story. Well, Lucas' story.

We don't usually go out and when we do, it's usually for longer drives with the AC blasting, so I didn't notice until a few days ago when we had a series of shorter trips in and out of a hot car which didn't have time to cool that Lucas was getting very flushed and very hot and not sweating. This is a sweaty boy we have too, a hairy, handsome, sweaty boy. I checked my drug book and sure enough, "decreased sweating" is a listed possible side effect. Once I realized this, I began thinking about how I hadn't noticed him sweating when I nursed him or while snuggling in sleep, both times that increased heat and sweating usually occur.

Sweating is a normal response to an increase in body temperature. It is the body's way of cooling down. If the body cannot release the heat and be cooled by the air on the damp skin, the heat will continue to rise to potentially very dangerous levels. We would prefer to avoid this. :)

When we saw Dr Burris yesterday, I mentioned this first thing and he said, "Well, that's the end of TopaMax." He said that such side effects, though not generally common, can occur more commonly in the "little guys". So, now we are decreasing his dose of TopaMax and trying a new medication, Keppra. For the next two weeks, we will be weaning off the one and onto the other, totalling four medications taken daily. The Keppra is also a newer drug and does not have any major organ damaging side effects nor does it have any drug-drug reactions. It is a liquid and doesn't taste bad. (Yes, I taste everything.) He doesn't seem to mind it at all.

The past two nights, he has gotten better sleep, last night better than the night before, only waking once. (Yeah! Back to normal, I hope!) He did not nap well yesterday, but hopefully today that will also be better and with the med change, the sleep improved and the good Lord who loves us more than we could ever deserve, we'll triumph over these seizures yet!

Thanks for your prayers, love and encouragement!