Sorry for the delay. Dan thought I was writing it, I thought Dan was writing it - and it didn't get written. I blame tryptophan overload.
Anyhow......hope all who celebrate Thanksgiving had a happy one. We overstuffed ourselves and there's no end of turkey leftovers and stale dressing still in sight.
The new medication seems to be working - as of Thursday's visit Estelle seems to have quit fixating on her face and chin and she is no longer picking and rubbing at it. The raw spots are healing up nicely already. That's all to the good, of course.
To the bad, since there is always a bad to accompany the good, she is also fairly unresponsive. She said a few words and spoke briefly on the phone to Viv but mostly she is very lethargic once again. Hopefully it is a side effect of the medication which will wear off as her system gets used to it. If it does not resolve we will speak to the doctors about lowering the dosage if at all possible. From what I understand, however, she is already on the lowest customary dosage.
Some days it feels like walking a tightrope. Too much and this happens, too little and that happens. We try to keep her as alert as possible but it always has to be weighed against pain, discomfort and the possibility of hurting herself. There are always trade-offs and most of them are hard ones to decide upon.
For now, we are glad she is no longer agitated and causing herself injury - but we are sad that she is, once again, lethargic and non-communicative. Brains and bodies take awhile to adjust to medications, however, so hopefully this, too, shall pass and we will get back an Estelle who is able to enjoy small things, to understand bits of conversation and who does not suffer from uncontrollable and repetitive arm and hand movements.
We'll be visiting again this afternoon and one of us will be back to offer an update.
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