Where do we go from here?

Well Stevie is now on a drug regime which should we are to maintain until after we get back from France at the end of August.

I left a message for Stevie's consultant Prof. Mike Kerr, and he wants to look at the new drug Retigabine on a stable dose over a month and see if any of the noted side effects show themselves

The side effects for this drug are noted as, and this list is not exhaustive!:-

"Very common (affect more than 1 in 10 people)

• Dizziness.
• Sleepiness.
• Fatigue.

Common (affect between 1 in 10 and 1 in 100 people)

• Increased appetite and weight gain.
• Confusion or disorientation.
• Psychotic disorders or false perceptions of things that are not really there (hallucinations) – see warning section above.
• Anxiety.
• Loss of memory.
• Spinning sensation (vertigo).
• Sensation of pins and needles.
• Tremor or twitching.
• Problems with coordination and balance.
• Abnormal gait.
• Problems with language, speech and writing.
• Problems with vision such as double vision or blurred vision.
• Disturbances of the gut such as nausea, constipation, indigestion and dry mouth.
• Difficulty or pain on passing urine (dysuria) – see warning section above.
• Blood in the urine.
• Abnormally coloured urine.
• Weakness or loss of strength.
• General feeling of being unwell (malaise).
• Swollen ankles caused by fluid retention (peripheral oedema).
• Alteration in liver function tests.

Uncommon (affect between 1 in 100 and 1 in 1000 people)

• Skin rash.
• Excessive sweating.
• Inability to pass urine (urinary retention).
• Kidney stones (nephrolithiasis).
• Difficulty or pain when swallowing (dysphagia).
• Slow muscle movements.

The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the medicine's manufacturer."

Really makes you wonder doesn't it!

We shall see how Stevie is when we get home. He has been in reasonably good form recently, and we even have been having (albeit delayed!) incidents that can only be called teenage strops.

Hurrah!!