I left off where my husband had a seizure and it was different than all of his previous ones. His theory was that it was not epileptic in nature but diabetic. A few years ago he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. He received a phone call from his doctor that he had diabetes and was told to start taking this prescritpion. They gave him no directions on what to eat no information or tools to check his blood sugar.
He felt ill-equipped and like it must not have been a big deal. So once his prescription ran out he stopped taking it. Besides a 13 day stint with the Whole30 last year we eat pretty terribly. I cook most nights but I made alot of casseroles. He is a pretty picky eater so it makes it difficult and I had just gotten lazy. Plus we eat our fair share of fast food.
His neurologist agreed that he did not thing it was epileptic. Thank goodness! But now he needs to get serious about his diet and fitness and getting his diabetes under control. All the doctors and nurses yelled at him and told him horror stories so he would know how important it is to take care of yourself. They gave him tools to check his blood sugar. We have an appointment with the diabetes clinic tomorrow where they will go over diet and all that stuff. We have dramatically changed how we are eating. Not totally clean or whole but a huge step from what we were doing before. I mean we are eating vegatables with dinner everynight and not bread. So thats a step up. We started getting vegetables from a local CSA and we ate everything in our share last week. I am the queen of throwing away produce so this felt so good not to have any waste.
What is in our future? Lots and lots of doctors appointments, finger prickings everyday, and learning what to eat to get this under control. Any tips for healthy eating for a very picky eater would be much appreciated!
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
The Big E
My husband has epilepsy. He was diagnosed when he was a little kid. He has generalized grand mal seizures.
A couple weeks after we started dating he had a seizure (I was not with him at the time). Over the course of the next few years he had some seizures. Maybe one every few months. I don't remember the details. But he had enough that it was scary. Our first year of marriage he finally found a good neurologist who didn't believe that having a seizure once every six month was considered managed. Technically in the state of Florida you cannot drive for six months if you have a seizure. Not being able to drive is not managed! For six months we did titration schedule after titration schedule. He would go a few weeks with no seizures then we'd be back to square one. It was a rough year. He couldn't drive for a whole year. We live in a small town outside of the town we work in and he works weekends and I don't. So it was rough, for both of us. Then finally they put him in depakote and we kept counting the months. First it was 6 months! Yay, he could drive now. I know I say it was rough for me. I cannot even begin to imagine how he felt. Having to be taken care of all the time and not being able to drive for a whole year. I would have gone crazy. I can't imagine how a man would feel. Then we counted the years. All the while I had in the back of my mind that he would have another seizure one day. It happens. Medicine can't stop everything. He will get sick or not get enough sleep or see one too many strobe lights. I just knew the day would come when he would have another seizure and it terrified me.
That day came a couple of weeks ago. And I immediately starting crying and shaking. My thoughts went back to how hard it was the first 6 months we were married and I did not want to go through that again. My husband was okay. I called my boss and went and picked him up from work and then started scheduling doctor appointments. Once I saw him, I wasn't as freaked out as I had been before. This one was different. It had been less than an hour since his last seizure and he was himself. He was alert and totally there. Normally after a seizure it's like he is in a fog all day, not really himself. But we both could tell this was different. That gave me hope that maybe wouldn't be back to square one. Maybe we wouldn't have to relive those first months of marriage, which would be even more difficult now as we have two year old.
Situations like this always remind me how glad I am that we go to church and have a community of people around us. Immediately we had people praying for him. We had a friend offer to drive into town to being his car home. Friends stopped by to check on him. I can't imagine what it's like to go through difficult times and not have this community.
For now, I am back to worrying about him more often than I have the past couple of years. But ultimately I know that God is in control. It sounds so cheesy, but it's true. Maybe he will never have another seizure again or maybe he will have alot more. I have to believe that there is a reason, even if I don't get it now.
A couple weeks after we started dating he had a seizure (I was not with him at the time). Over the course of the next few years he had some seizures. Maybe one every few months. I don't remember the details. But he had enough that it was scary. Our first year of marriage he finally found a good neurologist who didn't believe that having a seizure once every six month was considered managed. Technically in the state of Florida you cannot drive for six months if you have a seizure. Not being able to drive is not managed! For six months we did titration schedule after titration schedule. He would go a few weeks with no seizures then we'd be back to square one. It was a rough year. He couldn't drive for a whole year. We live in a small town outside of the town we work in and he works weekends and I don't. So it was rough, for both of us. Then finally they put him in depakote and we kept counting the months. First it was 6 months! Yay, he could drive now. I know I say it was rough for me. I cannot even begin to imagine how he felt. Having to be taken care of all the time and not being able to drive for a whole year. I would have gone crazy. I can't imagine how a man would feel. Then we counted the years. All the while I had in the back of my mind that he would have another seizure one day. It happens. Medicine can't stop everything. He will get sick or not get enough sleep or see one too many strobe lights. I just knew the day would come when he would have another seizure and it terrified me.
That day came a couple of weeks ago. And I immediately starting crying and shaking. My thoughts went back to how hard it was the first 6 months we were married and I did not want to go through that again. My husband was okay. I called my boss and went and picked him up from work and then started scheduling doctor appointments. Once I saw him, I wasn't as freaked out as I had been before. This one was different. It had been less than an hour since his last seizure and he was himself. He was alert and totally there. Normally after a seizure it's like he is in a fog all day, not really himself. But we both could tell this was different. That gave me hope that maybe wouldn't be back to square one. Maybe we wouldn't have to relive those first months of marriage, which would be even more difficult now as we have two year old.
Situations like this always remind me how glad I am that we go to church and have a community of people around us. Immediately we had people praying for him. We had a friend offer to drive into town to being his car home. Friends stopped by to check on him. I can't imagine what it's like to go through difficult times and not have this community.
For now, I am back to worrying about him more often than I have the past couple of years. But ultimately I know that God is in control. It sounds so cheesy, but it's true. Maybe he will never have another seizure again or maybe he will have alot more. I have to believe that there is a reason, even if I don't get it now.
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