Some of life's lessons are truly painful! In my case, I lost 6 lbs. in 2
1/2 days - the hard way! Janice
From: Grace M.
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 5:01 PM
To: tmic-list@eskimo.com
Subject: Re: [TMIC] Doctor Appointment
I too learned a meds lesson the hard way. A year or two ago, I became
concerned due to my daily Tegretol dose. (1200 mgs per day for paroxysmal
tonic spasms.) So......I decided to cut back my dose on my own without input
from my neuro. Well, I made it to 800 mgs, or so I thought. While at a doc
appointment (Not my neuro.) at a Pittsburgh hospital, they suddenly came back
with a vengeance.
Now, if you've never had them, you can't possibly imagine what they're
like. In my case, one leg rises to nearly hip level and locks, with the knee
bent and the calf and splayed out foot pointing to the right. (Think male dog
peeing.) Right arms bends up under the chin with claw. Head pulls to right
shoulder. Left leg goes stiff, left arm also stiff. For many NMO patients,
including myself, they don't just come once a day, or a few times a day, but
several times per hour round the clock. They can last for up to two full
minutes and are excruciating. Well, to make a long story short, they hit me in
the waiting room and the staff thought I was seizing and panicked. The next
thing I knew, my rear end was slapped in a wheelchair and they were calling for
emergency help. I ended up in bed for several days while I slowly took my
dose back up. Now I'm on 1500 mgs per day, and there is NO WAY that I will
ever pull a stunt like that again.
Gracie
