adult onset epilepsy

Re: adult onset epilepsy

Submitted by hpheather on Fri, 2008-10-10 - 15:16

I am new here, too and it is so healing to read about others who have had the same experiences as I have had. I had my first seizure at age 36 and I am now 52. I have complex partial seizures and have had them controlled for 12+ years. I take tegretol extended release. Early on I tried other meds, but this one turned out to have the least side affects for me (it is so individual). Occasionally, (maybe three times a year) I do feel the deja vu feelings. This almost exclusively comes before my period or in high altitude. I started looking on the internet today because I was getting frustrated with not being able to recall some words and my internal critic was getting a little too loud about my lack of having a sharp and fast memory. I was starting to berate myself with these facts and then I remembered that it might be due to my epilepsy!! It was a relief to read all of your blogs. The really good news is that after all of these years epilepsy does not run my life and so I can forget that epilepsy does have certain affects on me. As soon as I read some of the online articles and then found this site, I experienced relief due to normalizing my situation. Epilepsy is simply part of who I am. It is not my enemy. I actually think that some of the ways I think and process the world are much more creative then if I did not have epilepsy. It reminds me that many creative people in history have had epilepsy. Also, some other cultures deeply honor our ways of thinking and emoting. I encourage us not to discount our way of Being. In a wonderful way, reading all of this reminds me that I am much more then what our culture calls having an "illness of epilepsy". One thing that has helped me all of these years is practicing mindfulness meditation and loving-kindness. I have raised three lovely children (my kids and I rode our bikes everywhere for a year when I lost my license that first year), and last year I finished my Master's degree. I am looking forward to continuing to read all of your comments.

Re: adult onset epilepsy

Submitted by valentines on Wed, 2008-10-22 - 20:09

Hi my name is Tina, I have had 3 seizures, the first one was happened just before my 42nd birthday in the morning, the drs did many tests and found nothing. The second one happened a month later after I had went to bed. Still after more test EEG,brain scan, ct scan they found nothing, but put me on topamax. It has been 4 1/2 years and had another seizure on Sept. 27th 2008. ( I would acted panicd then blackout, i would wake up when the ambulance came but have no memory what happened, I still dont, my boyfriend said he thought i stopped breathing for a min, but i never started shaking) since my first seizure I have had problems with memories, emotions, auditory halluncinations, and major headaches. 

My auditory halluncinations and headaches were getting worse for the past year, but I couldnt find a dr that would listen to me. I own and run a mobile hair salon in which I drive a 27 foot RV converted into a salon on wheels. My heart Dr informed the DMV that I could no longer drive. I am going crazy, I have no insurance and no insurance will touch me. I dont know what to do. The drs changed my medication but the auditory halluncinations and headaches along with lightheaded and nausea still persist.      

I feel lost,any sugestions