One of the worrying side effects of the Epiphen (Phenobarbital) drug that I've been prescribed to counter my seizures, is that the higher the dosage and duration the higher the risk of liver damage.In order to respond to this there are really only two courses we could take at this stage. As it's not an option to reduce the dosage and the duration is going to be life time we can introduce another drug, Potassium Bromide, which would allow the Epiphen dosage to be lessened.
However, at this relatively early stage in the treatment we're still trying to figure out what the dosage of Epiphen is required in order to be within the therapeutic serum range (15 - 45µg/ml) ie. to be effective in controlling my epilepsy. Hence the need for regular blood tests. So mixing the medication at this stage is not a good idea.
The other option is to look towards a "Complimentary or Alternative" medicine to try to minimise the effects on my liver.
Milk thistle is believed to have protective effects on the liver and improve its function. It is typically used to treat liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis (liver inflammation), and gallbladder disorders.
Source: nccam.nih.gov
Dad's gone back to the Internet and ordered up a supply of tablets from a previous source of supplements and we're now going to add these tablets to my medication. If we add many more I will rattle when I walk!
Hi Roxy, I have had Kira on many different seizure meds, she has been seizure free since April of 2008, I took her off of all phenobarbital, (slowly) and she is on a all natural diet and I have her on Belladonna 3X twice a day. It worked for her, look into it. I do keep her out of situations which triggered her seizures, getting over excited,dog parks etc...email me if you want more info.
ReplyDeletepamela@pamelasart.com
Hi. Nice site you have. I am a dog lover also.
ReplyDeleteI want to say how sorry I am about Roxy having Seizures. Our Sarah did too and we found out why...She is allergic to Wheat and Red Dye. So we stopped giving her those and She does not have any seizures. Sarah is 14yrs old now and very active. I also told a Feed Store in Springtown, Tx. about it and they had the same problem with their dog. They stopped giving him the Red Dog Biscuits and noticed he stopped scratching and having seizures also.
We have 2 dogs. Sarah, Terrier Mix and Chuck,he's unique. He's a Golden Retriever/Corgi mix and so smart. www.DogGoneIt.info. We are working on his own site. www.ChuckOnTheWeb.com still under construction.
I wish the best for Roxy.