Epilin/ sodium valproate

Sorry to hear parties don't suit you well. Same here with my husband. It affects him always badly.

Take Care,

Gina

That is quite possible. I do have small particles floating around in the Prostate Gland this was detected on an Ultrasound Scan I had done just before last Christmas. I thought I had Prostate Cancer, the symptoms I had seemed to point to that. I had a word with my doctor about the various ailments I had, trouble with urinating, this could I had the feeling I needed to go but couldn't, or if I did go it was slow and took ages to end.

My doctor said well what do you assume it is, I said it all points to Prostate Cancer. She asked me what did I want checked I said an Ultrasound on the Prostate and surrounding area and possibly a blood test, but that will probably give a false/positive result.

I know you are probably thinking I have a strange relationship with my doctor, most people do...lol  It's because in the past with a previous doctor he was treating me for Testicular Infection, and I said I should be checked for Testicular Cancer, considering you have given me anti-biotics for 6 weeks and I still have pain. So, I asked a referral to see an Oncologist and Urologist, which he did straight away and I went directly to A & E, about 2 hours later I was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer, so it was removed 3 days later.

However, back to this Prostate Issue - if I sneeze I feel a sharp pain, but after seeing the Ultrasound Scans there was nothing untoward. My doctor asked the Urologist for a second opinion because she noticed a polyp on the Epidermal, but it was benign and not worth bothiering with. When I had Testicular Cancer that was a different  matter, people say cancer is painless, it was not painless at all, it was a dull ache, and I felt 4 polyps myself on it.

So, ever since then my doctor knows I look up various symptoms online, I would not recommend it personally, but when you think your own GP is in the wrong, it is better to get a second opinion. Because I have two sons and a daughter, we've always told them how to check themselves and if worried then see our doctor. Cancer runs on my side of the family, my father died from Colon Cancer that spread to his spine.

I still have the problem with urinating but not as bad as it was. As regards to bowel movement, that I cannot really comment on, I have many problems mostly with diarrhea, or constipation, it varies but a majority of the medications I take cause bowel problems and I have had major surgery on my intestine where over 50cm+ was removed because I was dying from the inside out. Basically, 50cm+ of my intestine was removed because it turned gangrene, but they think this was due to the Testicular Cancer which was done a few years previously.

If he's worried then I would recommend seeing his doctor and going through the symptoms. I am on over 30+ tablets a day, and 6 BoTox Injections every 10 weeks, because my major problems I would not wish on anyone. I am under many Consultants and even they call me the complex case, because nothing is simple with me, even just changing one tablet can have serious effects.

Anyway, I hope I haven't frightened your husband - I have never heard of Sodium Valproate causing problems with the Prostate, but it could be and age thing, I'm 52 by the way.

Hope that helps!

Regards,

Les.

Thank you very much once again for your reply. It's very thorough and detailed. I'm glad to hear you followed your own instinct and decided to get a different opinion straight away. Fantastic!

My husband is very different to you. I'm the one who is worrying and trying to get things done for him. He is very stubborn and does not like going to medical professionals at all. But according to your feedback his problems with pee and poo does not seem like due to Epilim. Thank you. I was wrong in asking earlier if Epilim thickens the blood. I meant to ask if Epilim thins the blood?

But never mind.

Look after yourself Les and have a good evening.

Thank you very much.

Gina

A quick note, I have lost many teeth due to one medication which is normal and a well known side-effect. But I will tell you this virtually on all tooth extractions I have suffered "dry socket", the pain is about 10 times worse than toothache itself. It is caused by the blood not clotting properly, hence it falls out and exposes the jaw bone.

A main reason why this happens is because sodium valproate I think even back then thinned my blood down so the chance of it clotting was very slow indeed. Most of the time I had to return to the dentist and have the hole repacked so the jaw-bone was not exposed which is what gives you the extreme pain.

I have the same problem with blood tests, (when they eventually find a vein!) the blood fires out, and it takes awhile to stop it. Most of my veins blow easily, so me and blood tests dont mix well - I end up with many bruises.

There is a saying about teeth and it refers to them coming and going. When you suffer from "dry socket" it is very painful, two of my incisors I had to have the jaw bone drilled, just to loosen the tooth enough to come out. I don't have that problem now, two main full dentures is better than all the pain I went through over the years.

I am under the top Neurologist and teams in the country. I know them all, I knew the ones before them and I was initially diagnosed by Professor David Marsden of Neurology from the USA and his team. I had to regularly meet up with them in the Queen's Hospital, London every three months. Sadly, Professor David Marsden passed away at a young age for a man, but was well known worldwide. When doctors read my records, they all knew of him but never actually met him, so I normally get asked many questions. Just knowing or being treated by such top people in Neurology attracts many doctors.

I guess I am very inquisitive about things, I cannot be stubborn about going to hospitals, I attend every week sometimes more then twice in a week, because I am under Neurophysiotherapists, Neurologists, Epilepsy Specialists, Pain Management Clinicians, etc. I seen my Physio on last Wednesday, then 4am Friday morning rushed in by Ambulance! You don't get choices it's straight in and being monitored for 6-8 hours! Then back home, and totally knackered for a few days!

Anyway, your welcome,

Regards,

Les.

Thank you for sharing. I hope you are well and coping fine with all those conditions.

You haven't heard by any chance that infected teeth can cause or trigger fits, have you? Cause my husband is going to get all his teeth pulled out soon in the hope his fits might stop. I don't really know. If his blood is not coagulating well now it will not be easy to get his teeth pulled out?

Thanks Les,

Gina

Good question, but I will give you details about many other areas of Epilepsy, which even I was unaware of either. I only know now by asking questions, to Neurologists and Epilepsy Specialists.

Teeth

An abscess is an infection, if the infection is left untreated it can cause irreparable harm or death, it is possible that he could have seizures as a result, and if he does not get this taken care of, he could become very ill and untreatable. This actually a known fact, perhaps not many people know.

Epileptic Seizures vs Functional Episodes

A few other things about Epilepsy Seizures, I'm not sure about your husband because this varies from person to person. Most people have seen other people in a seizure but what they probably do not know is the fact that you can have Epileptic Seizures, this is where the brain basically goes in to overload hence the seizure occurs, however there is also Functional Episodes these are seizures but they do not produce a reading on a EEG, because no electrical pulses are produced. The seizure differs in other ways as well, the patient is aware of the seizure but she/he cannot communicate in anyway, they can hear and see - but unable to tell anyone.

Baths

A person that suffers from any type of seizure should never be left alone in a bath, obvious a seizure could occur. Another reason is never have a stone cold bath or shower or a very hot one, both can trigger seizures - many people do not know this, and it could be fatal.

DFG (Disability Funding Grant)

If you have a bath, and you are on Benefits you can have the bath removed a shower room conversion done, via a DFG (Disability Funding Grant). To get this you need to contact your local council and ask for the Adult Care Team, you need to make an appointment to see a Occupational Therapist, whom will fill out a form for the work to be done, it comes well under the DFG Threshold of an annual grant of £25,000 which is on the Government website.

If you need anything else, just let me know.

Regards,

Les.

Kind Regards,

Gina

Just to put a bit of perspective on these two drugs. Basically, Sodium Valproate was the initial drug given to Epileptic Seizures and Functional Seizures, Phenytoin was a drug that came out after.

Scientific tests proved there was no real overall differences between the two drugs, this included number of seizures and control. Diazepam has always been used to bring a patient out of a seizure in either case.

Side effects may differ, but all drugs effect people in different ways - especially when high dosages are involved.

Regards,

Les.

I just noticed you mentioned before that epilim can cause adverse effects on stomach. Did you mean constipation by that?

Thank you Les,

Gave s lovely day.

G

A sudden increase in Sodium Valproate can cause Epileptic Attacks, instead of preventing them, which is what I meant by an adverse effect.

However, they can play havoc with heart burn or acid reflux, doctors always recommend that you make sure any type of Antacids are taken either 2 hours prior to taking Sodium Valproate or 2 hours after, this will have less side effects, than if you took them very close together. Some people feel nauseous, constipated or suffer from diarrhea.

It is also worth noting that there are many types of Sodium Valproate, I am on Sodium valproate 200mg gastro-resistant tablets, but there are 17 other types, they varying not just on the dose but also the release type. With the NHS cuts, you find some pharmacies do not offer similar types. They offer the cheapest available on the NHS.

Regards,

Les.

Thank you very much for your wonderful information. It is really informative to me. I did not know at all that Sodium V varies a lot and some pharmacies might not be able to offer the right ones. I started immediately thinking about our local pharmacy where my husband gets his Epilim prescription. My husband takes Epilim Chrono and it says Sanofi on the package. Would you know Les if this particular type is a good one or cheap one? My husband is not an assertive person at all and accordingly does not question things.

Thank you Les for letting me know that Epilim can cause constipation.

I hope you have a good day tomorrow and enjoy the sun.

G

I'll give you one example...

First & Second-generation Medication

I like many people suffer from hayfever, my doctor prescribes me antihistamines - but, as you know by law, now you cannot drive if you take antihistamines, this is not entirely true.

If you get first-generation antihistamines, then these do cause drowsiness - and unless you specifically ask for second-generation antihistamines, they give the first generation, because they are cheaper to prescribe on the NHS, even if you are paying for prescriptions.

So now, I or my wife ask if they have second-generation antihistamines in stock and will only then hand over the prescription. It is the same problem with some off the shelf antihistamines, they are first generation - because they are cheaper and you pay for them at the same price even if they were second-generation antihistamines!

Look up Sodium Valproate on the nhs.uk website and you will see all the different types listed. It can come in a soluable form as well, I think that is a slow release type, because you only take it once a day.

Regards,

Les.

I hope you are enjoying the sun!!!

Have a lovely week end,

G

Just wanted to say thank you very much again for your generous advise. I don't know if you like sun, if you do, this week is going to be very sunny. I hope you get to enjoy the sun this week. Have a lovely one.

G