My neurology appointment ~ all is good :)

So as I said my neurology appointment was on Wednesday as I thought not much was said really.  Things are all settled which is good so we decided that we wouldn’t change anything at the moment.  Maybe after we’ve had another baby if we want one.  The problems I have with my stomach I can live with and so it seemed easiest just to stay on the Lamotrigine for the foreseeable future.  I'm going to have a chat with my GP about the long term side effects of Movicol but I think it is ok to use long term and I'm also going to have another try at coming off it, will stop the Folic Acid and vitamin D and then be good, no tea, lots of water and see what happens...

But the good thing is it would seem things are settled and in the future when Riley is a bit bigger and we have decided on whether we want another baby we can rethink.  I'm going to continue to see the specialist 6 monthly which is a relief because I am so thankful for the fantastic care I now get I don't want to go back to how things were before, where if things went wrong I had no one to turn to...

Neuro appointment on Wednesday...

On Wednesday it's my neurology appointment in London with my lovely specialist.  I feel so lucky to have such great medical care now.  I don't really know what to expect, I.  I'm still having the odd occasional small seizure but it's be over 2 years since my last seizure which happened when I was pregnant.  So I don't think changing my meds makes any sense.

The lamotrigine seems to affect my stomach but I can manage that with Movicol and it might not be the lamotrigine anyway, it could be the folic acid or vitamin D although I have tried to stop these in the past and still had the same problems... who knows.  I also get a bit dizzy sometimes which I'm pretty sure is the meds as it is always worse if I take a dose before bed at say 10pm and then one early at say 6.30am when I was working really early...

But I can live with the small seizures and the side effects aren't that bad.  Changing meds means probably having more big seizures and even though I can just go back to being on Lamotrigine if it all goes wrong, things seem settled somehow right now (touch wood).  I don't want to change anything.

Rugby! reminds me of my Grandad :)

This hasn’t got a lot to do with being a Mum but I heard this on the radio and it brought back mixed emotions… it has been 10 years since England beat Australia to win the rugby world cup.  In case you didn’t see it, with 26 seconds on the clock and the score 17-17 Johny Wilkinson kicked a drop goal taking England to a 20-17 win.

So why does it mean anything… firstly it makes me feel very old, can’t believe it was 10 years ago.  I’m not a super sports fan but that year I worked in a prep school as a gap year, basically supporting the teachers and mainly in the PE department.  They were really big on sport and I really got into rugby. That year was a turning point in my life.  At school I had been bullied, I’d been really unhappy and so shy.  That year I felt part of something; I was given real responsibility and just fitted in.  It built my self confidence and made me believe in myself.

England winning the world cup sort of framed the year and possibly more importantly brings back a lovely memory of my Grandad.  I watched the first half of the match at the school I worked at and then rushed back to my Grandad’s to watch the second half and was with him when they won.  That year I grew very close to my Grandad, I used to go up to ride my horse at a ridiculous hour in the morning and then have breakfast with him and spent a lot of time with him.  He also found the advert for the job in the first place.

So I guess the reason I mention it is that to me it was more than just a fantastic sporting achievement for this country but also reminds me of a turning point in my life, the point at which I started to believe in myself and on top of that reminds me of my grandad J

A home for a hedgehog

I haven't done a things to do post in ages and ages, so here goes.  Autumn is great, as the leaves turn they create beautiful colours and although often it is wet and stomping in wet leaves isn't very fun, it only takes a day or so of dry weather to make some fantastic crunchy leaves to stomp in.

Riley and me had great fun the other day stomping in and collecting leaves.  Riley is walking quite a long way now and although it may take a while to get anywhere it gives lots of oppertunities to explore our amazing world.

We took some bright coloured leaves home and with some PVA glue, a sprinkle of glitter and a bit of imagination we made a winter home for our hedgehog!

 So wrap up warm, get out and about in the Autumn leaves and see what you can create :)

I love being a Mummy :)

It's been a little while since I've said how much I love being a mummy :) so I wanted to put up a picture that shows just one reason why being a mum is so fantastic...

Calling all Dad's with Epilepsy

I was contacted  by a family who the father had epilepsy and wanted advice.  It was something which I had been thinking about for a while.  I have made this blog and network focus on women and while women have the added worry of the medication and seizures impacting on the baby.

But one of the biggest worries I had was actually looking after Riley and I know how much Rich is involved in Riley's life, if he had epilepsy that would be a huge worry for him and me.  I suppose it turned things around for me.  This needs to not only focus on women but also men who have epilepsy and are thinking of or already have started a family.

And also maybe more than that, maybe I didn't consider enough what an impact it has on Rich, of his worries and so this whole thing needs to look beyond just women.

So I guess the people I hope my story will help has grown, I want to reach women and men considering starting a family in the future, pregnant women and mothers and fathers with epilepsy and their partners... it has opened my mind to the fact that the issues of epilepsy and pregnancy are far bigger than I first considered!

Children in Need ~ tomorrow night

The charity I work for is going to be on Children in Need tomorrow night :)

The Children's Trust's play team are partly funded by Children in Need and tomorrow night there will be a father telling his very brave sons inspirational story to help raise money for Children in Need everywhere :)

So watch Children in Need tomorrow night from 7pm on BBC1