Doctor's Appointment Updates

We travelled to Westchester today to see Dr. Akman in her new offices. Dr. Akman is Byron's epilepsy doctor who moved to NY Langone from Columbia.  

She thought he looked good and thankfully, is going to slowly wean Byron off of one of his three medicines.  So we having a weaning plan for the Depakote.  

Then we made an appointment for March 30 for inpatient testing at NYU.  This would mean that Byron would check in to the hospital, get weaned off most (if not all) of medications in order for the seizures to start again.  Then he would have a follow up SPECT test and another different kind of MRI.  Once these tests are complete, Dr. Akman will present him for surgery some time in June. 

This is all very good news.  The best news is that she does not think there is any need for the horribly invasive SEEG test (electrodes directly on the brain).  She thinks this is way too much stress for him and we agree!

I took this picture of her computer.  It shows how high resolution the MRIs are getting! The image on the right shows how little of the right brain remains. The little sliver in the back is likely what is causing all the new problems. 

We are all still a little concerned about the headaches.  Byron is still very uncomfortable most afternoons, in need of an ice pack on his head and a long nap. Dr. Akman wants us to keep her updated about these going forward.  They concern me a lot and they really limit what Byron can do during the day.