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When describing your seizures to your doctor...
Sat, 09/29/2007 - 13:16Do use more technical terms, describing them as absence, tonic-clonic, etc and so forth seizures, or do you just try and describe them or give the description other people have given you, "You looked like a fish out of water flopping all over the place", and hope that's given them a clue?
Personally I'm thinking of cornering my neurologist and telling him my understanding of each type of seizures and what I think mine are, I'm tired of sounding idiotic while trying to describe these things, esp. since they're showing more and more of a pattern that makes me think the absence and partial seizures were never controlled to begin with and they're triggering secondary generalized seizures, rather than starting out as tonic-clonics to begin with, but I have had doctors in other specialties not appreciate it when patients use technical terms.
So, how do you talk to your neurologist?
Comments
Re: When describing your seizures to your doctor...
Submitted by Seruzies on Wed, 2007-10-03 - 20:54
I use a combination of both, if I know a term, I use it. If I can't describe what I'm talking about by the correct term, I describe my symtoms to my Dr and let him figure out what I'm trying to describe. Hopefully, I'll learn something in the process. I never try to talk over my own head, but I'll use technical terms if I know them in describing my symtoms. For instance, I know when I have an aura, and don't describe it as a 'funny feeling.'
Re: When describing your seizures to your doctor...
Submitted by banffgirl on Fri, 2007-10-05 - 13:49
i have given up, no matter what i say either descibing the seizure or saying i had a aura then named the type of seizure, i am always wrong. my epi spec, is so confusing talking about my constant epileptic spikes but i might be having nes as well as real seizures and questioning my husband if my eyes are ope or closed. though have the time they are nocturnal so its dark and i am sleeping when it happens. then i wake up after wards with a bad headache. i read up on nes and they are usually 5min or longer, where mine are usually 1min or less. so i dont really understand where he is coming from. he says they are stress related but both kinds can be stress related. and the only one causing me stress is my doc with all this bull talk. i have had epilepsy since i was 6 and i dont know what is his problem. he says he puts me in the hospital for 4 days and gets 4 days of constant activity but no seizures. i tell him its very relaxing sleeping all day watching tv, having people bring your meals to you after you rasied a family and worked all your adult life in a high stress job. so its like a mini vacation. my daughter takes time to just hang out with mom and get a sitter. its great. only thing is its 4 bad hair days but no biggy, you are in a room by yourself. lol. i think if it wasnt for the fact that i needed the meds i would tell them all to stick it where the sun dont shine.
but that would be rude and i couldnt really do that. so i guess i will just put up with there bs and try to maintain my sanity with the help of my shrink who knows what i think of the medical profession.
lost in a lost world
banffgirl
Re: Re: When describing your seizures to your doctor...
Submitted by Gina Marie on Tue, 2007-10-02 - 12:01
It sounds like your wife found a good doctor, not only to know what questions to draw out the answers he needs to be informed but to be willing to educate at the same time.