Happy Anniversary !

Congratulations to Ben (and us), we made it through our first month on the diet! It's been so hectic, weighing food & cooking meals, the days have gone really fast but the past 30 days have also seemed like a lifetime. Ben is doing really well. He's still seizure free and we're thrilled. In the past year, the longest time he's ever gone without a seizure was three weeks, so we are now in uncharted territory. It's amazing and sometimes a little scary. In the past,trips to Costco have usually resulted in a seizure (believe it or not). I think he has inherited his dad's aversion to shopping. Today we went and we had no problem, not even anything remotely weird on Ben's part. We have also gotten into the habit of checking on Ben if he falls asleep when we're driving in the minivan (especially if it's dark). It's always hard to know if he's asleep or if he's having a seizure. Now it's a little less scary driving with him b/c chances are, he's just asleep.
Some things are still a little tough. Ben has had quite a few days when he's really hungry. We had some friends over to swim this week and Ben whined alot b/c they brought food and he was still really hungry after dinner. I keep trying to get him to drink fruit flavored water or calorie & caffeine free soda to help curb his appetite but he really doesn't like it. I also bought a machine to make him shaved ice (alot like snow cones only smoother). He doesn't like the shaved ice either, it's to cold, but I'm not giving up yet. I have to find something else that will work as a snack & help with the hunger.
I've also realized that I've been depriving Grace. Since we started the diet, we haven't been eating any bread, bananas or crackers (all Ben's favorites). Last week, out of desperation, I made a half a PB&J sandwich for Grace. She was so thrilled, she hummed while she ate it & her hands were shaking as she stuffed the whole thing in her mouth. She choked it down & immediately asked for more. I felt so bad, the next morning I gave her a banana. She tried to stuff the whole thing in her mouth and she ended up eating 3 whole bananas for breakfast! (I hope this is just a phase or we'll be entering her in competitive eating competitions!)
We have hooked up with a compounding pharmacy. They will have to make any meds Ben may need if he gets sick (e.g. carbohydrate free antibiotics, allergy meds, motrin). They are a very small,very funky little pharmacy (only 4 staff members and no cash register!) But they are really thorough and go the extra mile (the pharmacist figured out a way to flavor Ben's Motrin & benadryl without adding carbs). The kicker is the expense. $85 for 2 small bottles of Motrin & benadryl. Something most folks get to pick up at any drug store or grocery. And, since they are not perscriptions, I don't think we'll be reimbursed by insurance. To add insult to injury, because they are"custom made" & not commercially manufactured, they expire in 8 weeks, 12 weeks tops! Oh well, the good news is that we are weaning Ben off his Keppra. It should take about 3 weeks till he's off completely. We then wait a week and if all is well, we'll then start weaning the Depakote. So hopefully we'll have less meds and less expense once we get him off his seizure meds.
We've also been able to get Ben a place at the local elementary school this fall. We're very excited b/c the school is very close to us and they have a full time school nurse so I know he'll be in good hands. I will probably still have to hire someone to go with him. Because his time will be split between 2 class rooms and to make sure he gets his snack when he's supposed to and that he doesn't eat anything else, he'll have a care giver/aide to facilitate his transitioning between classrooms and to assist/monitor Ben as needed. I'm totally willing to do it in order to help Ben and his teachers. School start at the end of the month. I'll have to talk with Ben's teachers & the nurse before then to do some staff ed. I also have to interview & hire the caregiver/aide. It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks. But compared to the roller coaster ride that is epilepsy, it's smooth sailing!
Hope everyone is well and staying cool. Enjoy the last dog days of summer!!