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What to do?
Wed, 01/12/2005 - 18:58Ok so I seem to be having a harder time concentrating on everything and all my words and ideas just seem to slip out of my head as I talk. I take topamax and I'm 14 is this normal. I'm having some break though seizures but no one knows except my sister because they make me feel like it was my fault. Is this really wrong what should I do?
Comments
RE: RE: What to do?
Submitted by kwgreulich on Fri, 2005-03-25 - 14:55
I understand a lot of what you are describing. I started having Grand mals at the age of 24. I had graduated from UC Berkeley with honors and was a Park Ranger with the primary duty being law enforcement. It has now been 25 years and i am at least able to work but i am back doing the job i had the first summer as a temporary employee, i worked for the US Forest Service (1976).
I have had 3 brain surgerys, the last one 15. July 2003, and have been on most any seizure medication you can think of. The last one they tried that had really bad side effects. I took my 2nd dose in the morning before going to work. About an hour later i was seeing double with the 2 images floating around, and i could not function. My wife had to come get me rather than taking the bus home. Currently i take 2 seizure meds ( Depakote 2500 mg per day and Primidone 1000 mg per day ). I have a total of over 20 pills i take daily and have eyedrops for glaucoma. Yes, they might help, but there are certainly a lot of side effects.
I understand a lot of what you are describing. I started having Grand mals at the age of 24. I had graduated from UC Berkeley with honors and was a Park Ranger with the primary duty being law enforcement. It has now been 25 years and i am at least able to work but i am back doing the job i had the first summer as a temporary employee, i worked for the US Forest Service (1976).
I have had 3 brain surgerys, the last one 15. July 2003, and have been on most any seizure medication you can think of. The last one they tried that had really bad side effects. I took my 2nd dose in the morning before going to work. About an hour later i was seeing double with the 2 images floating around, and i could not function. My wife had to come get me rather than taking the bus home. Currently i take 2 seizure meds ( Depakote 2500 mg per day and Primidone 1000 mg per day ). I have a total of over 20 pills i take daily and have eyedrops for glaucoma. Yes, they might help, but there are certainly a lot of side effects.
RE: What to do?
Submitted by fishergal on Wed, 2005-01-12 - 07:48
I was 18 when all this began for me. Now I'm 48. Any time you go on medicine, are taken off medicine, or change medicine remember the antidrug commercials or the comedies about drug users. We might have prescriptions but until our bodies adjust, we can be just as werid to family and friends.
Topomax was added to my drug cocktail about 2 years ago. I warned them at work. The stoners had a blast about it. I would get "lost" on the way to get something. My teenage daughter did the dance/floating thing singing "rainbows and unicorns". After a couple of days I was back to "normal". Quite frankly I miss it sometimes.
It's hard for parents. You are coping the best way you know how and all they know is you have changed. Some go on a guilt trip thinking they are to blame for this and then take it out on you. Medicines like we have to take can change our personalities. We don't realize it, but all our friends and family don't know us anymore. To us nothing is different.
Depending on where the damage is in your brain, that's where the screwups occur most. I can't read for long periods of time so I couldn't finish college. When I'm tired, I don't do anything too important. But I didn't become mentally retarded overnight like my parents thought...still do.
Get a Cheech and Chong comedy skit and play it for your friends and ask them to bear with you. Have your folks read some of the stuff on this site and maybe they will come to understand. Get a sense of humor about it all as soon as you can so you and those close to you can laugh at the weridness. This takes lots of time to develop....lots of time.
I was 18 when all this began for me. Now I'm 48. Any time you go on medicine, are taken off medicine, or change medicine remember the antidrug commercials or the comedies about drug users. We might have prescriptions but until our bodies adjust, we can be just as werid to family and friends.
Topomax was added to my drug cocktail about 2 years ago. I warned them at work. The stoners had a blast about it. I would get "lost" on the way to get something. My teenage daughter did the dance/floating thing singing "rainbows and unicorns". After a couple of days I was back to "normal". Quite frankly I miss it sometimes.
It's hard for parents. You are coping the best way you know how and all they know is you have changed. Some go on a guilt trip thinking they are to blame for this and then take it out on you. Medicines like we have to take can change our personalities. We don't realize it, but all our friends and family don't know us anymore. To us nothing is different.
Depending on where the damage is in your brain, that's where the screwups occur most. I can't read for long periods of time so I couldn't finish college. When I'm tired, I don't do anything too important. But I didn't become mentally retarded overnight like my parents thought...still do.
Get a Cheech and Chong comedy skit and play it for your friends and ask them to bear with you. Have your folks read some of the stuff on this site and maybe they will come to understand. Get a sense of humor about it all as soon as you can so you and those close to you can laugh at the weridness. This takes lots of time to develop....lots of time.