looking good

John has really had an exceptional week from a seizure standpoint. There were 3 days in the last week where we didn't see a single seizure. And, we only saw 2-3 small seizures on the other days. We do see some periods that we think are absence seizures, but something has definately changed. We can no longer consider this a fluke.
We lowered John's Lamictal 1 week ago, and I suppose this may have helped him. Or, it could really be the Chinese herbs, though I am such a skeptic that I have a hard time admitting that. The herbalist looked me straight in the eyes and told me that he will improve, and I just chuckled. But, it really happened. I still think it's probably the lowering of Lamictal that is helping, but if you look at the timing of things, his improvement coincides more with his herbal treatment than the drug reduction. In any case, I can't see stopping the herbs any time soon.

John has been incredibly hyperactive the whole week. There were a couple of days where it was simply unreal. It was like he was posessed. He would run and jump and just act crazy non-stop. His heart would be racing and he would be out of breath but he would just keep going. It was somewhat scary actually. Thankfully, he appears to be slowly getting better with each day. I assume this is withdrawal from the Lamictal, in which case we're a little scared to make another reduction so soon. It also could just be a reaction to having less seizures. I've heard of kids that go seizure free, and are over-active for up to 6 weeks after that.
His behavior has also been bad, and he's back to going limp every time he doesn't get his way. Yoshie has referred to this as "the octopus". For example, when it is time for circle time at school and John wants to play in the water, he will go limp and start screaming. Yoshie took a video of it, and it was quite surprising. We'll be working on this during his behavior therapy sessions now.
We had a meeting with his Early Intervention teachers last week, as things just aren't working out in his current setting - he cries the whole time. So, a psychologist is now going to observe John at home, at preschool, and at his EI class and make a recommendation for his services. It might end up being a 1 on 1 therapy at school or at home, or having an aide with him at his preschool, or something else. In the meantime, Yoshie is staying with John the whole time both at EI and at preschool. This isn't a long-term solution, as John needs to learn to handle the classes on his own (and Yoshie needs a break!). But, for now its better than having him sit in his stroller and cry for the entire class.
We're scheduled to take another 1/2 pill out today. We haven't decided if we will actually do it or not. When things are going well, I don't want to change anything. But, maybe the lowering of Lamictal is helping and it will be even better if we get rid of it completely. How can we know for sure?