Increase in Lamictal

We finally got the results of John's blood test last week. His Lamictal level was 6.6. This is definately in the therapeutic range, but still well under the theoretical max level of 10 or 11. John was a little sick for a few days so we postponed doing anything. On Sunday night we increased his dose to 175mg daily. Hopefully, we'll see some improvement over the next week or two. Actually, we've already seen some changes. He has been incredibly hyper the last couple of days. He's totally happy, just absolutely full of energy. He runs around and jumps all day. It's wearing us out, but it's nice to see him so happy. I think this will calm down as his body adjusts. Also, he only had 3 seizures today! Could be coincidence, or a honeymoon. But, at least it is a step in the right direction.
His seizures now still last a few seconds and sometimes include some shaking. We can absolutely bring him out of a seizure by yelling at him or picking him up. If you ignore it, they sometimes continue on. What kind of a wierd seizure is that? He isn't falling or even losing consciousness. These are myoclonic seizures where his head gets forced down and his arms come out. It's sort of funny in that it puts him in to a stance where he looks like he is going to jump. So, often when he comes out of the seizure he immediately starts jumping.
Speech therapy is very tough, especially when he is so hyper. Yoshie is doing a good job of getting him to focus a little more. It's definately not easy for him, though. Yoshie attended another class where they taught her some new techniques for training him. She has been trying out some of those techniques this week. It's hard to say if anything is really working. Progress is definately slow, but he sometimes seems to be picking some things up so it is worthwhile to continue.
The other good news is that it looks like my insurance may have recently added OHSU to the "in-plan" hospital list, which means our new neurologist would require a lot less out of pocket expense for us. It's not a sure thing yet, but the lady I talked to at my insurance company made it sound like it was definately going to happen.