Samuel’s rescue medicine has been Midazolam for a very long time. I think most (if not all) of the epilepsy world know about Midazolam. Samuel has had it since the beginning where he was given it several times a day – until his seizure treatment plan was tightened and he wasn’t given it for every single seizure. It’s always worked well. It does the job. If he exceeds his protocol (I will post that on here sometime in case anyone is curious) he gets a sqiurt of the prefilled syringe of Midazolam into his cheek. It generally works. But as Samuel has got older it’s had a more noticeable effect on his breathing and that was why we now have oxygen cylinders at home (and an oxygen protocol).
The other issue with having Midazolam in our armoury is it’s relationship with Clobazam. Now we love Clobazam. It’s been one of Samuel’s epileptic medicines for a long time and it is very effective. He has it twice a day and it is one of his most crucial medicines. But Midaz and Clobazam are almost like sister medicines. Give them too close together and you are at risk of over sedating him (which could effect his breathing), or as they work with the same receptors of the brain, Midazolam can almost dilute Clobazam making it less effective.
Prior to Samuel being admitted to hospital before the summer, he had earned himself Midazolam three days in a row. Not ideal. Think it was a contributing factor to why he got so poorly and had to be admitted.
So this is where Paraldehyde comes in. It was my suggestion to Samuel’s doctor about the possibility of introducing Paraldehyde as either an alternative to or replacement of Midazolam. Dr H thought it was a good idea (I occasionally do have them) and we agreed that we would trial it to see if we found it effective and it did the job adequately. Well it did, and it is now Samuel’s first rescue medicine (although we will still continue to have a good stock of Midazolam in the cupboard as back up).
Now you might be thinking, ‘why didn’t you have Paraldehyde before given that Midaz is obviously quite a dirty drug?’. Unfortunately you don’t give Paraldeyhyde in quite the same way as Midazolam. It’s given rectally, plus the medicine smells. The moment you open the bottle the room is filled with, let’s just say, a unique smell. Once the bottle has been opened you have to act quickly and fill the syringe (which has a tube attached) and ‘insert’ immediately. You need to be quick as the medicine will block the syringe and wont be useable. On the wards they use to give the medicine in glass syringes but I guess budget cuts and health and safety stopped that and now you’ve just got to use it fast.
It’s not the perfect drug (are any of them?), but it’s the lesser of two evils. Unfortunately given the terrible summer Samuel had I’ve gotten very experienced (and quick) at giving it, so don’t think much of it. The only thing that bugs me about it is the way it makes him smell of it for the next few days. It’s like it fills his pores and makes his breath smell. But it doesn’t stop me going in for a smooch. NOTHING would stop me giving my boy a big fat kiss!
Tricky Customer 